Gulf War Syndrome depleted uraniumI recently penned an article, “Why are our Gulf War veterans dying?” Some of the comments touched my heart, and I want to update the article and discuss another serious consequence of those wars, the 1991 Gulf War, and the Gulf War II — wars that have been and continue to be fought against our own military by an incompetent and corrupt Department of Defense. But I also want to condemn the entire U.S. government for its level of arrogance and feeling that we are a nation that is above law. It seems that when we go to war, there are two enemies: the one we face on the battlefield and the one sending us off to war. We as a nation must stand up for our forgotten heroes. Let us be the wind beneath their broken wings.

Gulf War Syndrome, which has impacted more then 80,000 members of our military, continues to kill our men and women in uniform more than two decades after it was concluded. It is a remarkable reminder of the level of corruption we would expect to find in countries like North Korea and China, not here in the “land of the free”

But are we as free as we believe, or are our freedoms an illusion masked by deception? A growing body of attitudes suggest that we are the subjects rather than the masters, that we are to be ruled rather then the rightful rulers of our government.

Gulf War Syndrome depleted uranium
Image: MsMilkytheclown1 / CC BY-SA 3.0

The use and inclusion of depleted-uranium weapons are a serious violation of the laws of war. In short they are illegal weapons. But the U.S. government has never been one to follow laws, not only in war but even with its own citizens. And its slipshod arrogance has demonstrated a psychotic lack of compassion that goes beyond human endurance and is reflective of a broader problem: the final days of our republic.

As Karen Parker, a prominent lawyer, has said, “Weapons fall under Customary international law, which includes: The Hague law (governing military operations); and Geneva law (governing protected parties in time of war) is binding on all countries. The United States Supreme Court has consistently upheld the binding nature of customary law, including customary humanitarian law. All of international law, including the UN Charter and Statute of the International Court of Justice, reflects the binding nature of customary law.”

Yet the countries with nuclear weapons, which have used them in Iraq and include both the U.K. and the U.S, have flaunted their superiority by engaging lesser nations with superior weapons that contaminate not only the enemy but the soil, the drinking water, and the air, leaving in their wake generations of children born with life-threatening defects. Uranium is a toxic, organ-destroying weapon directly or indirectly. But to say that we only crippled Iraq is a lesson to be brought home to America.

The following is taken verbatim from the government’s “Clinical Guide to Veterans Specific Issues”:

“Depleted Uranium (DU) is a dense radio-active, poisonous metal which is used as a coating in order to improve the performance of shells and armor. Intense friction caused by penetration of a bullet or missile into a tank or armored vehicle can cause the uranium to ignite which results in the formation of a concentrated aerosol capable of killing personnel in the vehicle. It is reported that at lest 320 tons of DU was “lost” in the Gulf War (and others estimate that an additional 1,700 to 2000 tons in this latest war) and that much of that was converted at high temperature into an aerosol, or minute insoluble particles of DU in a mist or fog.”

This aerosol is able to travel many kilometers in the air. Once it resettles on the ground, it can be re-suspended when the sand is disturbed by some motion or by wind. Once breathed in, the very small particles can reside in the lungs for years, passing slowly through lung tissue into the blood. It can also be stored in bone, lymph, liver, kidney, or other tissues. Eventually, the uranium is excreted through urine.

Gulf War Syndrome depleted uranium
Photo: Mark / CC BY-ND 2.0

Soil, air, and water samples from Iraq studied in 2003 show “hundreds to thousands of times” the normal levels of radiation. Uranium is a chemical toxin and a radioactive hazard. Because of its slow absorption through the lungs and long retention in body tissues, its primary damage will be due to its radioactive damage to internal organs rather than chemical damage to the renal system. Both types of damage occur simultaneously, but with the length of time the contaminant resides in the body, the risk of cancer death becomes greater than the risk of significant damage to the renal system.

The National Gulf War Resource Center reported that as of May 2002, 221,000 Gulf War I veterans were on medical disability, and 56,000 more were in the process of applying for disability. Because veterans serving in the Middle East have often been exposed to several different toxins, it is often difficult to sort out exactly which exposure is responsible for the physical problems soldiers have developed.

These are some of the physical symptoms that may occur as result of exposure to depleted uranium:

— Sleep problems.

— Mood swings.

— Symptoms in upper or lower respiratory system.

— Neuropsychological symptoms, including memory loss.

— Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS).

— Skin rashes and unusual hair loss.

— Aching joints.

— Headaches.

— Abdominal pain.

— Sensitivity to light.

— Blurred vision.

— Menstrual disorders.

— Gastrointestinal symptoms, recurrent diarrhea, and constipation.

— Nervous system disorders, such as numbness in a limb.

—Multiple chemical sensitivity.

— Birth defects in children whose parents were exposed.

Our messengers of war

Gulf War Syndrome depleted uranium
Image: Hesham Tillawi / CC BY-SA 3.0

Our messengers of war, our men and women in uniform, carry the brunt of these illegal weapons. They bring home their own contamination, which becomes a death sentence not only for them but for their offspring.

As I have said before, it is one thing to face an enemy on some battlefield and another to come home and face yet another enemy: a government that lives in a constant state of denial whose lawlessness may in the end bring about a counter-revolution to take back our country and set right the embedded principles upon which it was founded.

Depleted uranium and birth defects

In September 2009, Fallujah General Hospital in Iraq had 170 new births with 24 percent of whom died within seven days. Of the babies who dies, 75 percent were deformed. In some cases, they had two heads. A significant number of the babies that did survive developed severe disabilities at a later stage, including organ failure and cancer.

The cause is well known: It is the result of depleted uranium (DU) weapons used by the U.S. and U.K. military when we invaded Iraq both times.

Gulf War Syndrome depleted uraniumDepleted uranium bullets can rip through tank armor. And once inside, they combust on contact with air, exploding into a 10,000-degrees-centigrade ball of fire. Both the U.S. and U.K. used depleted uranium in Iraq. During Gulf War I, the U.S. fired some 320 tons of DU in Iraq and another 2,000 tons in Gulf War II.

The Department of Defense knew of the health risks of DU but concealed reports of its lethal nature: its cancer-causing effects and organ-killing potential.

Why have these traitors not been brought to justice?

Terry Jamison of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported to the American free press that “Gulf-era Veterans” now on medical disability since 1991 number 518,739 with only 7,035 wounded in Iraq in that same period.

Of the 580,400 soldiers who served in Gulf War I, 11,000 are deceased. By 2000, there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability.

Of soldiers who served, 56 percent now have medical problems.

The number of disabled vets has been increasing by 43,000 every year.

We have more disabled vets from the Gulf Wars than from World War II.

Gulf War Syndrome depleted uranium
Photo: Karen Elliott / CC BA-SA 2.0

Iraqi birth defects are far worse than those incurred in Hiroshima: babies born with two heads, one eye, multiple tumors, disfiguring facial and body deformities, and complex nervous system problems.

According to the figures of the U.S. General Accounting Office, between 2002 and 2005, the U.S. armed forces expended six billion DU bullets. That is 250,000 bullets per “insurgent” killed.

Now the Gulf War has come back to haunt us. Our veterans have also experienced deformed babies.

The U.S. Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (2004) “Scientific Progress in Understanding Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses: Report and Recommendations” found increased rates of immune system disorders. Other wide-ranging symptoms including chronic pain, fatigue, and memory loss have been reported in over one quarter of combat veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

A study by Fleming and Townsend found that veterans of the conflicts in the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, and Kosovo have been found to have up to 14 times the usual level of chromosome abnormalities in their genes.

Human epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in the offspring of persons exposed to DU. A 2001 study of 15,000 U.S. Gulf War combat veterans and 15,000 control veterans found that the Gulf War veterans were 1.8 (fathers) to 2.8 (mothers) times as likely to have children with birth defects. After examination of children’s medical records two years later, the birth defect rate increased by more than 20 percent.

The U.K. has experienced the same birth defect rate as the U.S.

Gulf War Syndrome depleted uranium
Image: Illuminating9_11 / CC BY_ND 2.0

This is a serious problem not only for our military personnel but for us as a nation. We owe our military the best care possible and above all the truth. We should be on a mission to rid ourselves of the deceit, lying, and gross incompetence that has killed more of our military personnel than actual conflict on some battlefield. We own them a cure for the contamination our own government has heaped upon them.

Many are too sick to stand up for themselves so it is up to us to stand up for them.

In 1947, Albert Einstein wrote:

“Through the release of atomic energy, our generation has brought into the world the most revolutionary force since the prehistoric discovery of fire.

This basic power of the universe cannot be fitted into the outmoded concept of narrow nationalism. For there is no secret and there is no defense, there is no possibility of control except through the aroused understanding and insistence of the people of the world.

We scientists recognize our inescapable responsibility to carry to our fellow citizens an understanding of the simple fact of atomic energy and its implications for society. In this lies our only security and our only hope — we believe that an informed citizenry will act for life and not death. …”

Perhaps it’s time to use the government petition process and air our multiple grievances. A petition requires some 100,000 signatures for a White House response. Surely there are more then 100,000 concerned citizens who will sign an online petition!

petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/create

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Let’s see where to start…

    Engineering – “Depleted Uranium (DU) is a dense radio-active, poisonous metal which is used as a coating in order to improve the performance of shells and armor.” Actually that is not the way the material is used. DU forms the core with a jacket of other materials surrounding it, not as a coating. When the projectile hits, the outer material (generally steel and aluminum) either peals away and lets the DU core do the penetration because of it’s pyrophoric and self sharpening qualities, or the DU provides added mass to a tungsten penetrator due to its high density.

    Shoddy logic – “The National Gulf War Resource Center reported that as of May 2002, 221,000 Gulf War I veterans were on medical disability, and 56,000 more were in the process of applying for disability. Because veterans serving in the Middle East have often been exposed to several different toxins, it is often difficult to sort out exactly which exposure is responsible for the physical problems soldiers have developed.” I actually am a disabled vet who served in both conflicts. Could you tell me which toxin caused my shoulder injury? because the VA keeps telling me that it was a fall that I took. How about my tinnitus? The military keeps telling me that it was from working around aircraft for 15 years when according to your flawless logic it must me DU exposure. Citing the fact that veterans from that time have disabilities and linking all of them to “toxins’ is preposterous.

    Math – “During Gulf War I, the U.S. fired some 320 tons of DU in Iraq and another 2,000 tons in Gulf War II.” “U.S. armed forces expended six billion DU bullets”. 2,320 x 2000 = 4,640,000 lbs. 4,640,000/6,000,000,000 = .0007 lbs per projectile or .317 of a gram per bullet and that does not take into account the shoddy nature of the original statement. Is the 2,320 the weight of the munition, the wight of the projectile, or the net weight of the DU? I would use the citing link for the GAO, but that is to an Aljazeera article which is also vague. The Aljazeera links to another third party article, I just stopped when I got to third hand numbers.

    A vague piece written without any practical knowledge of the subject, with shaky logic, questionable sources, and math that does not add up. I hope for your sake you are a better loan broker than journalist.

    • Boomer, Try reading my links, you claim you did, but I have doubts…because your argument is as flawed as your thinking….You don’t have to accept them, but they provide real evidence, why try and argue with facts? when these are acknowledged facts, not you’re opinion! and of course there can be other causes such as working around aircraft for 15 years can and has caused tinnitus…but I stand by my research more then a possible Government troll!
      However thank you for your comment…By the way, I suppose the Government has also asked you to attempt to discredit the babies born with two heads… deformities from DU? Good luck to you!

      • Boomer Evidence you are a government troll…

        The following is taken verbatim from the government’s “Clinical Guide to Veterans Specific Issues”:

        “Depleted Uranium (DU) is a dense radio-active, poisonous metal which is used as a coating in order to improve the performance of shells and armor. Intense friction caused by penetration of a bullet or missile into a tank or armored vehicle can cause the uranium to ignite which results in the formation of a concentrated aerosol capable of killing personnel in the vehicle. It is reported that at lest 320 tons of DU was “lost” in the Gulf War (and others estimate that an additional 1,700 to 2000 tons in this latest war) and that much of that was converted at high temperature into an aerosol, or minute insoluble particles of DU in a mist or fog.”

        Sorry but Not even a good try!

  2. How about we start with math. It is easy to understand. I will be using the following The following source:

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230785663_Dispersion_of_PGU-14_ammunition_during_air_strikes_by_combat_aircrafts_A-10_near_urban_areas

    This paper (and the PDF attached to it) provides solid (and actually properly researched) numbers on how DU works in munitions (and even pictures of what a DU penetrator looks like), and a comprehensive list which munitions used in the conflicts actually contained DU.

    Let’s see if your “properly researched” number of rounds claim passes the math test. The PGU 14/B 30mm projectile is actually one of the smaller rounds that contains a DU penetrator at 298 g. per round. In an effort to make your 6 billion number of rounds work, let’s use PGU 14/B as the source of your DU. 6,000,000,000 rounds x 298g. per round = 1,788,000,000,000 grams. 1,788,000,000,000 grams / 453.592 (grams per pound) = 3,941,868,463 pounds or 1,970,934 tons of DU.

    Or… we can do it the other way. 2340 tons (the weight your research gives) x 2000 = 4,680,000 pounds of DU. 4,680,000 x 453.592g per pound = 2,122,810,560g of DU. 2,122,810,560g / 298 (the amount of DU in one of the smallest projectiles) = 7,123,525 projectiles or bullets as you call them.

    So basically, either your “properly researched” number of rounds or your “properly researched” weight is off by a factor of 842 using data as friendly as possible to your argument. So which number is off Jack?

    • Try arguing with The DOD and the VA, My numbers and FACTS are taken directly from the Government handout “Clinical Guide to Veterans Specific Issues”: if and when you get passed them and their material, then come back and continuing trolling. I thought you would have disappeared after I outed you. But a Government troll doesn’t go away that easily do you? Give it up! You are making no sense at all and arguing in the wind rather then address the real issues facing Veterans…Birth Defects and serious illness, which you are trying to deny are real issues, also try telling that to the thousands of Veterans now on Disability…

  3. OK, so math isn’t your thing. The fact that even if the best possible scenario is used,l some of your numbers are wildly inaccurate.

    How about sources?

    I am having a bit of difficulty locating the “Clinical Guide to Veterans Specific Issues” that you seem to like to site. Since it seems to be so critical to your work, I was wondering if you could provide a way to see the whole document instead of the selected quotes that you are using?

    Your second source leads to an article from “Iraq solidarity news”. I am unfamiliar with their work, but they sound like a legit source to me.

    Your cited quote of “the U.S. armed forces expended six billion DU bullets. That is 250,000 bullets per “insurgent” killed.” actually leads to an article that says “Between 2002 and 2005, the US armed forces expended six billion bullets according to the figures of the US General Accounting Office. That is 250,000 bullets per “insurgent” killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. ” You seem to have included the letter “DU” into your quote. OOPSIE…

    If you would like, I could point out how you seem to have a problem with correlation vs causation. Or maybe I could question the data sets that you are using when it comes to veteran disability rates (I saw what you used as your “proof” and I bet you won’t find them in the “weplanet” website)

    So with, 20 minutes worth of digging I have found fault with your math, found a dubious sources, one that you tout but fail to produce, and a quote that you screwed up to support your point. Maybe you are right, maybe I am a troll. A disabled vet that likes to troll sloppy published work that would at best get a charity C- in a freshman English class. Solid grammar but, faulty logic, poor sourcing, and no bibliography.

    • Boomer, of course you can’t locate my source, that would blow your false arguments and your effort to troll for the government, in short I know you’re a plant…you have given yourself away “Clinical Guide to Veterans Specific Issues”: request a copy from the VA…Apparently you haven’t tried the obvious source The VA! This is a hand out provided me by a Veteran who is sick with DU Poisoning just what you are trying to dismiss for your employer!

      You are wasting your time with nonsense, You still have not been able with all your false claims where or how the article is false and Veterans aren’t dying and having deformed babies some with two heads…I am through debating you, show me where veterans aren’t dying or on disability from The Golf War Syndrome DU poisoning or give up, your nonsense is not convincing anyone and is making you look like a fool!

      That said I always give Trolls that last word, you all find a way to discredit yourself

  4. Actually Boomer is convincing due to the fact that to his response you tried to attack the messenger instead of providing a link to your referenced material. Any lawyer will tell you that to win you have to discredit the evidence and when that isn’t possible discredit the witness.

    I found what you were saying very disturbing. Unfortunately until you provide references to your sources, it’s you who has been discredited.

    • Response to Name withheld: real name is Stever Bingham: You are free to take your friend Boomers side and also deny our veterans are dying, or that they are having deformed children, but the reality is he as you are attempting to avoid the real arguments the article discusses. with nonsense! That’s okay, in response I will say I can not provide a link to a pamphlet that is a hand out, and no link is available….you are also free to request the hand out from the VA…I will check with the editor of this cite and see if there is a way to up-loan the pamphlet which I have in a PDF file. I will also email you the hand out and expect an apology….But I know you will just disappear after you and your friend Boomer have been outed….also why were you afraid to show your name, why did you try to hide? My name and photo is available with each report. I don’t hide!

  5. But Jack, I don’t hide, you ban me from the comments because you article is dodgy at best. Corroborate your shoddy sources, admit that you doctored quotes, redo your laughable math, provide source material that actually exists someplace other than on your desk and we can talk. until then I will just make fun of you and your ridiculous pieces that sound like they were pulled from a conspiracy website.

    Grade changed to D-

  6. Jack,

    By-the-way. if you are concerned about copyright implications of publishing your “VA” pamphlet you don’t need to be. According to 17 U.S. Code § 105 “Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government…” Put whatever information you want from your “source” in your comments or your piece, it is not copyrighted. Isn’t it nice to have reliable and reference-able sources to pull information from Jack? Notice how I put the quote, and then how to find the quote yourself. It makes the information so much more trustworthy that way.

  7. Jack,

    By-the-way. if you are concerned about copyright implications of publishing your “VA” pamphlet you don’t need to be. According to 17 U.S. Code § 105 “Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government…” Put whatever information you want from your “source” in your comments or your piece, it is not copyrighted. Isn’t it nice to have reliable and reference-able sources to pull information from Jack? Notice how I put the quote, and then how to find the quote yourself. It makes the information so much more trustworthy that way.

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