In
Iraq,
UN UNaware of
Airdrop to
ISIL, Of
Airstrikes
& Open
Dam,
Barrel Bombs
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 7 --
When UN
official Kevin
Kennedy called
into the
UN noon
briefing from
Erbil on
October 7, he
mentioned
bringing aid
into Iraq's
Anbar
Province,
under control
of the Islamic
State and
not the
government.
So
Inner City
Press asked
Kennedy, until
recently the
head of the UN
Department of
Safety and
Security and
now UN Deputy
Humanitarian
Coordinator in
Iraq, if the
UN could
confirm human
rights groups'
reports on the
use of barrel
bombs in
Anbar.
Kennedy
replied,
“I don't know
about the
military
issues, I'm
not in charge
of that.”
We'll take him
at face value.
But note that
the UN Office
for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs in its
reports on
Syria
does report on
barrel bombs.
What's the
difference?
Inner
City Press
asked Kennedy
about Islamic
State's use of
water as a
weapon,
specifically
its threat to
dams. Kenney
said “water is
a
concern, a dam
just south of
this region
[Erbil] opened
and began to
flood this
morning, We
begin working
on today.”
On
a second
round, Inner
City Press
asked Kennedy
since there
are aid
workers in the
field in Iraq
if the US and
others give
the UN
notification
of their
airstrikes.
Kennedy
replied
obliquely that
the
UN tried to
keep aid
workers safe
by “any means
we can.” So is
that a yes?
Finally,
Inner
City Press
asked Kennedy
about the
report by NBC
News that the
Iraqi Air
Force dropped
supplies to
ISIL. Kennedy
said he hadn't
seen
it. Well, here
it is.
Watch this
site.
, 
