Guest guest Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 > " GeorgiaAnn " <nyknak > Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:58:33 -0700 > [theoneswithoutnames] Depleted Uranium - > The Real Dirty Bombs > > > Depleted Uranium - The Real Dirty Bombs > By Christopher Bollyn > 8-27-4 > > > Lost in the media circus about the Iraq war, > supposedly being fought to prevent a tyrant from > obtaining weapons of mass destruction, is the > salient fact that the United States and Britain are > actively waging chemical and nuclear warfare in Iraq > - using depleted uranium munitions. > > The corporate-controlled press has failed to inform > the public that, in spite of years of UN inspections > and numerous international treaties, tons of banned > weapons of mass destruction (WMD) - used and unused > - remain in Iraq. Indeed, both chemical and > radioactive WMD have been - and continue to be used > against U.S. and coalition soldiers. > > The media silence surrounding these banned WMD, and > the horrendous consequences of their use, is due to > the simple fact that they are being used by the > U.S.-led coalition. They are the new " Silver Bullet " > in the U.S. arsenal. They are depleted uranium > weapons. > > Depleted uranium (DU) weapons were first used during > the first Gulf War against Iraq in 1991. The > Pentagon estimated that between 315 and 350 tons of > DU were fired during the first Gulf War. During the > 2003 invasion and current occupation of Iraq, U.S. > and British troops have reportedly used more than > five times as many DU bombs and shells as the total > number used during the 1991 war. > > While the use of DU weapons and their effect on > human health and the environment are subjects of > extreme importance the Pentagon is noticeably > reluctant to discuss these weapons. Despite numerous > calls to specific individuals identified as being > the appointed spokesmen on the subject, not one > would answer their phone during normal business > hours for the purpose of this article. > > Dr. Doug Rokke, on the other hand, former director > of the U.S. Armyís Depleted Uranium Project, is very > willing to talk about the effects of DU. Rokke was > involved in the " clean up " of 34 Abrams tanks and > Bradley armored vehicles hit by friendly fire during > the 1991 Gulf War. Today he suffers from the ill > effects of DU in his body. > > Rokke told American Free Press that the Pentagon > uses DU weapons because they are the most effective > at killing and destroying everything they hit. The > highest level of the U.S. and British governments > have " totally disregarded the consequences " of the > use of DU weapons, Rokke said. > > The first Gulf War was the largest friendly fire > incident in the history of American warfare, Rokke > says. " The majority of the casualties were the > result of friendly fire, " he told AFP. > > DU is used in many forms of ammunition as an armor > penetrator because of its extreme weight and > density. The uranium used in these missiles and > bombs is a by-product of the nuclear enrichment > process. Experts say the Department of Energy has > 100 million tons of DU and using it in weapons saves > the government money on the cost of its disposal. > > Rather than disposing of the radioactive waste, it > is shaped into penetrator rods used in the billions > of rounds being fired in Iraq and Afghanistan. The > radioactive waste from the U.S. nuclear weapons > industry has, in effect, been forcibly exported and > spread in the environments of Iraq, Afghanistan, the > former Yugoslavia, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere. > > THE REAL " DIRTY BOMBS " > > " A flying rod of solid uranium 18-inches long and > three-quarters of an inch in diameter, " is what > becomes of a DU tank round after it is fired, Rokke > said. Because Uranium-238 is pyrophoric, meaning it > burns on contact with air, DU rounds are burning as > they fly. > > When the DU penetrator hits an object it breaks up > and causes secondary explosions, Rokke said. " It's > way beyond a dirty bomb, " Rokke said, referring to > the terror weapon that uses conventional explosives > to spread radioactive material. > > Some of the uranium used with DU weapons vaporizes > into extremely small particles, which are dispersed > into the atmosphere where they remain until they > fall to the ground with the rain. As a gas, the > chemically toxic and radioactive uranium can easily > enter the body through the skin or the lungs and be > carried around the world until it falls to earth > with the rain. > > AFP asked Marion Falk, a retired chemical physicist > who built nuclear bombs for more than 20 years at > Lawrence Livermore lab, if he thought that DU > weapons operate in a similar manner as a dirty bomb. > " That's exactly what they are, " Falk said. " They fit > the description of a dirty bomb in every way. " > > According to Falk, more than 30 percent of the DU > fired from the cannons of U.S. tanks is reduced to > particles one-tenth of a micron (one millionth of a > meter) in size or smaller on impact. > > " The larger the bang " the greater the amount of DU > that is dispersed into the atmosphere, Falk said. > With the larger missiles and bombs, nearly 100 > percent of the DU is reduced to radioactive dust > particles of the " micron size " (virus size -ed) or > smaller, he said. > > While the Pentagon officially denies the dangers of > DU weapons, since at least 1943 the military has > been aware of the extreme toxicity of uranium > dispersed as a gas (or dust particles -ed). > > A declassified memo written by James B. Conant and > two other physicists working on the U.S. nuclear > project during the Second World War, and sent to > Brig. Gen. L.R. Groves on October 30, 1943, provides > the evidence: > > " As a gas warfare instrument the [radioactive] > material would be ground into particles of > microscopic size to form dust and smoke and > distributed by a ground-fired projectile, land > vehicles, or aerial bombs, " the 1943 memo reads. > > " In this form it would be inhaled by personnel. The > amount necessary to cause death to a person inhaling > the material is extremely small. It has been > estimated that one millionth of a gram accumulation > in a personís body would be fatal. There are no > known methods of treatment for such a casualty. " > > The use of radioactive materials " as a terrain > contaminant " to " deny terrain to either side except > at the expense of exposing personnel to harmful > radiations " is also discussed in the Groves memo of > 1943. > > " Anybody, civilian or soldier, who breathes these > particles has a permanent dose, and itís not going > to decrease very much over time, " Leonard Dietz, a > retired nuclear physicist with 33 years experience > told the New York Daily News. " In the long run - > veterans exposed to ceramic uranium oxide have a > major problem. " > > " Inhaled particles of radioactive uranium oxide dust > will either lodge in the lungs or travel through the > body, depending on their size. The smallest > particles can be carried through cell walls and > " affect the master code - the _expression of the > DNA, " Falk told AFP. > > Inhaled DU can " fool around with the keys " and do > damage to " practically anything, " Falk said. " It > affects the body in so many ways and there are so > many different symptoms that they want to give it > different names, " Falk said about the wide variety > of ailments afflicting Gulf War veterans. > > Today, more than one out of every three veterans > from the first Gulf War are permanently disabled. > Terry Jemison of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs said > that of the 592,561 discharged veterans from the > 1991 war in Iraq, 179,310 are receiving disability > compensation and another 24,763 cases are pending. > > The " epigenetic damage " done by DU has resulted in > many grossly deformed children born in areas such as > southern Iraq where tons of DU have contaminated the > environment and local population. An untold number > of Americans have also been born with severe birth > defects as a result of DU contamination. > > The New York Daily News conducted a study on nine > recently returned soldiers from the New York > National Guard. Four of the nine were found to have > " almost certainly " inhaled radioactive dust from > exploded DU shells. > > Laboratory tests revealed two manmade forms of > uranium in urine samples from four of the 9 > soldiers. The four soldiers are the first confirmed > cases of inhaled DU from the current Iraq war. > > " These are amazing results, especially since these > soldiers were military police not exposed to the > heat of battle, " said Dr. Asaf Duracovic, who > examined the soldiers and performed the testing. > " Other American soldiers who were in combat must > have more DU exposure, " Duracovic said. Duracovic is > a colonel in the Army reserves and served in the > 1991 Gulf War. > > The test results showing that four of nine New York > guardsmen test positive for DU " suggest the > potential for more extensive radiation exposure > among coalition troops and Iraqi civilians, " the > Daily News reported. > > " A large number of American soldiers [in Iraq] may > have had significant exposure to uranium oxide > dust, " Dr. Thomas Fasey, a pathologist at Mount > Sinai Medical Center and an expert on depleted > uranium said, " And the health impact is worrisome > for the future. " > > HOTTER THAN HELL > > " I'm hotter than hell, " Rokke told AFP. The Dept. of > Energy tested Rokke in 1994 and found that he was > excreting more than 5,000 times the permissible > level of depleted uranium. Rokke, however, was not > informed of the results until 1996. > > As director of the Depleted Uranium Project in > 1994-95, Rokke said his task was three fold: > determine how to provide medical care for DU > victims, how to clean it up, and how to educate and > train personnel using DU weapons. > > Today, Rokke says that DU cannot be cleaned up and > there is no medical care. " Once you're zapped - > you're zapped, " Rokke said. Among the health > problems Rokke is suffering as a result of DU > contamination is brittle teeth. He said that he just > paid out $400 for an operation for teeth that have > broken off. " The uranium replaces the calcium in > your teeth and bones, " Rokke said. > > " You fight for medical care every day of your life, " > he said. > > " There are over 30,000 casualties from this Iraq > war, " Rokke said. > > The three tasks set out for the Depleted Uranium > Project have all failed, Rokke said. He wants to > know why medical care is not being provided for all > the victims of DU and why the environment is not > being cleaned up. > > " They have to be held accountable, " Rokke said, > naming President George W. Bush, Secretary of > Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and British prime minister > Tony Blair. They chose to use DU weapons and > " totally disregarded the consequences. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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