The Truth will prevail, But only if we Demand it from Congress!
9-11 Inside Job and Neocons Hacked 2004
Pat Shannan
American Free Press
Monday, May 19, 2008
Six years after AFP first warned of the dangers of depleted uranium
(DU), the administration persists in claiming there is no conclusive
evidence that it is a silent weapon of mass destruction that may
harm U.S. troops and the alleged enemy.
However, the British government has long since attributed birth
defect claims from a 1991 combat veteran to DU poisoning, and
studies using cultured cells and laboratory rodents continue to
confirm the likelihood of leukemia resulting from chronic exposure
as well as the possibility of genetic, reproductive and neurological
effects.
Vietnam veterans of a generation ago remember the similar symptoms
that affected so many of them from their contact with Agent Orange.
Some of their offspring carry daily reminders of what their future
fathers inadvertently brought home with them and the eventual birth
defects that were passed on.
U.S. Guilty of Banned Weapons, War Crimes
Pat Shannan
American Free Press
Monday, May 19, 2008
Six years after AFP first warned of the dangers of depleted uranium
(DU), the administration persists in claiming there is no conclusive
evidence that it is a silent weapon of mass destruction that may
harm U.S. troops and the alleged enemy.
However, the British government has long since attributed birth
defect claims from a 1991 combat veteran to DU poisoning, and
studies using cultured cells and laboratory rodents continue to
confirm the likelihood of leukemia resulting from chronic exposure
as well as the possibility of genetic, reproductive and neurological
effects.
Vietnam veterans of a generation ago remember the similar symptoms
that affected so many of them from their contact with Agent Orange.
Some of their offspring carry daily reminders of what their future
fathers inadvertently brought home with them and the eventual birth
defects that were passed on.
(Article continues below)
A study by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Long
Island University in New York found that uranium dust may do
permanent damage to the lungs, resulting in chronic respiratory
problems, and that uranium exposure also affects neurological
function. Rats exposed to uranium had impaired nerve cell function,
and 1991 Gulf War I veterans who were excreting high levels of
uranium in their urine showed impairment in cognitive function.
More minor health effects from lesser exposure may also include skin
rashes, headaches, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and sound,
localized numbness and urinary symptoms, such as kidney stones,
increased urine volume and blood in the urine.
Nothing has changed, and until such issues are resolved with further
research, the controversial use of DU by the military will continue.
Citing the effectiveness of DU in penetrating enemy armor and
protecting U.S. forces, the military has rejected calls to ban its
use. In fact, some critics have even accused the Pentagon of working
to limit the scope of testing for exposure to DU.
In 2004, AFP reported, “The U.S. government has knowingly violated
conventions on war by subjecting our own troops and foreign
civilians and soldiers to this weapon of mass destruction. The U.S.
military should immediately stop using shells and armor made with
DU, and a thorough and independent probe of DU’s environmental
impact should be set up. Moreover, a comprehensive study should be
funded to test civilians in Iraq.”
It was at that time that AFP reported that Doug Rokke, a retired
Army officer and Ph.D. dedicated to exposing this coverup, demanded
“the end to the use of DU munitions.”
Rokke again publicly deplored the government’s inaction more than a
year ago and pointed out that the DU situation had worsened and
demanded that President Bush do something, but to no avail.
In early 2007, Rokke said, “The use of uranium weapons is absolutely
unacceptable and a crime against humanity. Consequently the citizens
of the world and all governments must force cessation of uranium
weapons use. I must demand that Israel now provide medical care to
all DU casualties in Lebanon and clean up all DU contamination. U.S.
and British officials have arrogantly refused to comply with their
own regulations, orders and directives that require U.S. Department
of Defense officials to provide prompt and effective medical care to
all exposed individuals. Israel must do so now.”
Dr. Rokke was quoted earlier as saying, “while U.S. and British
military personnel continue using DU munitions, the ‘dirty bombs’ in
the coalition arsenal, officials from the Army, Department of Energy
and Department of Defense are using agents and hired guns to attack
patriotic critics of DU weapons.”
Rokke claimed then, and has seen no change, that his detractors
continue to attempt to disrupt his efforts to ensure compliance with
mandated medical care and environmental remediation requirements,
because the Pentagon wants to be able to use the deadly DU
munitions.
His complaints continue to fall on deaf ears—mainly because the
corporate-controlled media continues to ignore the illegal use of DU
and its long-lasting effects on the health of veterans and the
public.
According to humanitarian law, the illegality of DU weapons is based
on four criteria:
• The “territorial” test. Weapons of war may only be used in the
legal field of battle. Weapons may not have an adverse effect off
the legal field of battle.
• The “temporal” test, meaning that weapons may only be used for the
duration of an armed conflict. A weapon that continues to act after
the war violates this criterion. The territorial and temporal
criteria are meant to prevent weapons from being “indiscriminate” in
their effect.
• A weapon cannot be unduly inhumane. The Hague Convention of 1907
prohibits “poison or poisoned weapons.” Because DU weapons are
radioactive and chemically toxic, as the military knows, they fit
the definition of poisonous weapons banned under the Hague
Convention.
• The “environmental” test says that weapons cannot have an unduly
negative effect on the natural environment. Depleted uranium does
not meet the requirements of any of the four.
This outrageous treatment of humanity by an elite few war profiteers
has not changed. The extent of adverse health and environmental
effects of uranium weapons contamination is not limited to combat
zones, but includes domestic facilities and sites where uranium
weapons have been manufactured or tested including: the island of
Vieques, Puerto Rico; Colonie, N.Y.; and the Jefferson Proving
Grounds, Ind.
Medical care must be provided by the Department of Defense for all
individuals affected by the manufacturing, testing or use of uranium
munitions. Thorough environmental remediation should be completed
without further delay.
