"The families who survived the tragic decade of sanctions, and the recent
shock-and-awe bombing campaign of Baghdad may not survive the radiated
aftermath of this continued military sacrilege." |
|
The Truth About Depleted Uranium Weaponry:
The Only Thing Depleting is Human
Life
Posted May 9, 2004 thepeoplesvoice.org
By: Vincent L. Guarisco
"The enormous gap between what US leaders do in the world and what Americans
think their leaders are doing is one of the great propaganda accomplishments
of the dominant political mythology. "~~Michael Parenti, political scientist
and author
Ever notice how crafty the inventors of modern weaponry working for the
Pentagon are -- giving
their weapons misleading names that deliberately give the opposite
impression of the actual intended use? None is more Orwellian, nor more
ghoulish, than "Depleted Uranium," or its even less intrusive acronym --
"DU."
Since the early 80's, the all-too-aware world has sounded the alarm about
depleted uranium, from a full-blown international outcry to United Nations
warnings transmitted through blood-stained pages of the Geneva and Nuremberg
conventions to the echos of wooden mallets feverishly slamming down in the
world court at the Hague.
The message is very clear -- the radiation level in depleted uranium is NOT
depleted, in fact, it WON'T be depleted to any safe degree for about two
billion years. In retrospect, that's a long time to beg for forgiveness, not only for what we have done, but for what we continue to do
on multiple battlefields.
Fact---only approximately 14 percent of Americans at best understand the
full matrix surrounding depleted uranium.
Listen up -- depleted uranium is a deadly weapon of mass destruction that
has been banned by virtually every nation on the planet. Its illegal use by
the United States breaks all existing international treaties, conventions,
protocols, and articles of war. It was first introduced into our arsenal
around 1983 under the leadership directives of then President George H. W.
Bush, and used in the first Gulf War in Iraq to the tune of 350 tons of
exploded poison.
The main difference between father Bush and his son is that junior unleashed
his radioactive arsenal mainly in Iraqi urban centers and civilian
neighborhoods, rather than in desert battlefields. Untold thousands of
Iraqi people, U.S. soldiers, and coalition troops will pay the price for
generations in chronic illness, widespread cancers, long-term disabilities
and genetic birth defects.
Last year, the Christian Science Monitor sent reporters into Iraq to
investigate long-term effects of depleted uranium. In his May 15, 2003
report, http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0515/p01s02-woiq.html staff writer
Scott Peterson tells of seeing children playing on top of a damaged tank
near a vegetable stand on the outskirts of Baghdad -- a tank that had been
destroyed by armor-piercing shells coated with depleted uranium. Wearing his
mask and protective clothing, Peterson pointed his Geiger counter toward the
tank. It registered 1,000 times the normal background radiation.
The families who survived the tragic decade of sanctions, and the recent
shock-and-awe bombing campaign of Baghdad may not survive the radiated
aftermath of this continued military sacrilege. The highly toxic "Highway of
Death" in 1991 after Desert Storm was only a warm-up session compared to
what is happening in Iraq during Enduring Freedom under George W. Bush.
DU was introduced into our arsenal under the pretension that by
incorporating this radioactive concoction into our munitions, it somehow
makes them more armor piercing. Even if this is true, what they (the
marketing department) forget to mention is that DU is perhaps the most lethal
time-released agent ever to be unleashed on mankind except for maybe one
exception -- its kin -- the Atom Bomb.
Its poisonous effectiveness continues to take life long after the tanks,
fighter jets, helicopters, Bradley vehicles, unmanned drones and troops have
long gone, put simply, DU is a prolonged latent kiss of death that
genetically keeps on embracing for generations to come.
It's a fact that other nations will forever hold us responsible for what our
government has done in our name, they fully understand that we are willing
participants who supply the needed funds that build these weapons; ignorance
is not an acceptable excuse for war crimes committed against humanity! This
will not soon be forgotten or forgiven.
Because I'm the offspring of an Atomic Veteran, and have witnessed what can
happen to loved ones exposed to radiation, I hereby claim my right to rename
DU --"Death Unlimited." May this horrible name always serve as a
subliminal reminder whenever you hear others fraudulently attempting to
reference it otherwise.
The documented track record associated with DU is a hideous reality, a
carcinogenic killer causing birth defects, lung disease, kidney disease,
leukemia, breast cancer, lymphoma, bone cancer, and neurological
disabilities, etc.
When DU munitions explode, it becomes an atomized dust devil that fills the
air with a blanket of radioactive poison, which travels in the wind and is
easily inhaled and ingested. Then it enters the soil polluting ground water
and infecting the food chain. Eventually, the uranium extends past its
immediate epicenter impacting the surrounding environment. This stuff is
nothing to play with.
What is most astonishing is that most Americans have never even heard of DU,
and few (14%) fully understand what it is, where its being used, and who is
being targeted by its usage. DU is one of the Pentagon's best-kept secrets,
its most widely-used genocidal weapon for wiping out entire populations
quietly and covertly.
Sara Flanders, co-director of the International Action Center and
coordinator of the DU Education Project, writes http://www.coastalpost.com/03/09/11.htm that the Pentagon "continues to
assert that there are no 'known' health problems associated with DU. But
Army training manuals require anyone who comes within 75 feet of any
DU-contaminated equipment or terrain to wear respiratory and skin
protection."
Although the Bush Pentagon denies publicly that DU weapons can cause
sickness, it's own internal reports warn that the radiation and heavy metal
of DU weapons could cause kidney, lung and liver damage and increased rates
of cancer. Flanders says the Pentagon continues to deny health problems
associated with DU. But Army training manuals require anyone who comes
within 75 feet of any DU-contaminated equipment or terrain to wear
respiratory and skin protection.
Who comes up with this crazy stuff? Was DU conceived somewhere deep some
murky hushed corridor of the Project for a New American century (PNAC)? Or
perhaps it came from some other think tank that funded a secret scientific
lab deep in the belly of the Atomic energy weapons program?
What was the dialogue? Did they say---gee, let's invent a quiet nuclear
weapon that can surreptitiously be deployed inside conventional weaponry to
progressively eliminate our enemies (and their families) long after we are
gone to help reduce future risks of blowback, retribution and revenge?
They had to entertain the idea that every plan has a degree of downside --
surely they knew that by using these weapons in battle our own troops would
be exposed too, in fact, even more so because they store, transport, handle
and load these DU munitions into the very guns that fire them.
So why do they continue with this knowing full well the danger to our own
troops? Do they purposely shorten the lifespan of our soldiers to shave
several costly years off healthcare and pension plans? What are we to think about all this? Are they premeditated murderers?
According to Dr. Doug Rokke, U.S. Army health physicist who led the first
clean-up of depleted uranium after the Gulf War, "Depleted uranium is a
crime against God and humanity." (Listen to Rokke's interview on the
subject at http://traprockpeace.org/RokkePressConf23July03.html)
Rokke's own crew -- 100 employees -- was devastated by exposure to the fine
dust. "When we went to the Gulf, we were all really healthy," Rokke said.
However, after performing clean-up operations in the desert (mistakenly
without protective gear), 30 staff members died, and most others --
including Rokke himself --developed serious health problems. Rokke now has
reactive airway disease, neurological damage, cataracts, and kidney
problems.
"We warned the Department of Defense in 1991 after the Gulf War. Their
arrogance is beyond comprehension," Rokke said.
Unbelievable? Think again. Or better yet---ask the more than 150,000 Gulf
War Vets who have filed claims after previously serving in Iraq's toxic
wastelands during the first Gulf War. After doing so, they were shamelessly
denied their benefits by the risk management boys who said that Gulf War
Syndrome was a figment of their imagination. Heck, the masters treat their
dogs better then them!
Is it any wonder that Uncle Sam took away their M-16's before they returned
home? With arms in hand, I would love to know which way those same gun
barrels would point after receiving such crap in the VA after serving so
valiantly. Conspiracy theory?
Everyone can't be wrong, so answer me this---why in Sam-Hell does the
Pentagon continue to use these weapons even though there is an overwhelming
abundance of scientific data from around the globe to back these claims?
George W. Bush justifies his continued carnage with a convenient "Saddam
Hussein was a horrible dictator who gassed his own people and threatened his neighbors..."
But Admiral Gene LaRocque, who fought the Cold War as a commander of a
nuclear-armed carrier task force in Europe and served as a war planner in
the Pentagon, says war has become a "spectator sport" for most Americans.
LaRocque said:
"I had been in thirteen battle engagements, had sunk a submarine, and was
the first man ashore in the landing at Roi. In that four years, I thought,
What a hell of a waste of a man's life. I lost a lot of friends. I had the
task of telling my roommate's parents about our last days together. You lose
limbs, sight, part of your life-for what? Old men send young men to war.
Flag, banners, and patriotic sayings...
"We've institutionalized militarism. This came out of World War Two... It
gave us the National Security Council. It gave us the CIA, that is able to
spy on you and me this very moment. For the first time in the history of
man, a country has divided up the world into military districts.... You
could argue World War Two had to be fought. Hitler had to be stopped.
Unfortunately, we translate it unchanged to the situation today...
"I hate it when they say, "He gave his life for his country." Nobody gives
their life for anything. We steal the lives of these kids. We take it away
from them. They don't die for the honor and glory of their country. We kill
them."
Are George Bush and his Pentagon guilty of war crimes against the people of
Iraq? By unleashing this most deadly of weapons of mass destruction, are
they demonstrating reckless disregard for the health and safety of American
troops?
You be the judge.
-###-
*Vincent L Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead City AZ., a
contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime member of the
Alliance of Atomic Veterans. Reprint permission is given as long as article
content is not altered or changed and credit is given to the author. Replies
welcomed at: vincespainting1@hotmail.com