Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz Wednesday sent a message to former United States attorney general and peace activist Ramsey Clark expressing sympathy for families of the victims of last year's September 11 attacks, the official INA news agency reported.
"On the occasion of the first anniversary of the tragic September 11 events, I offer my deepest sympathy to you, and through you, to the victims' families," Aziz wrote in the message.
"Our sympathy over this event goes hand in hand with what we feel in Iraq about the tragedies inflicted on our people in the course of 12 years of continuous aggression" and United Nations sanctions, he said.
The US may have lost some 3,000 people in the Sept. 11 attacks, but Iraq lost "more than 1.5 million children, women and men as a result of the embargo and the aggression," Aziz wrote.
The number of victims on both sides shows "the magnitude of the tragedies that can be caused by non-peaceful behavior (or conduct) that does not conform with international law," he added.
In addition, it goes to show "the extent to which the world needs peace, stability and cooperation in the pursuit of justice and peace," said Aziz. (Albawaba.com)
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