Great essay on depleted uranium use in Iraq

[ZapaPaine]

I think this is a must read to better understand the history of the Middle East, Iraq and our use of depleted uranium which is slowly creating an Iraqi and American soldier holocaust. The author hits a home run, imho. This is powerful shiite! Valenzuela is truly a master of the pen and of thought.

The Killing Fields: Ghosts of the Walking Dead

-- snip --

Depleted uranium is a silent mass murderer, a clandestine nuclear bomb whose mushroom cloud is never seen exploding, yet the radiation and heavy metals excreted from the weapons it envelopes when they strike their target, the heat evaporating uranium particulates into the air, become airborne contagions that latch onto our carbon and organic bodies. It attacks our organs and our bones, our nerves and blood, mutating our DNA genetic sequence, destroying our immune systems, penetrating our reproductive systems and causing various terminal cancers. It is the ultimate weapon of genocidal intentions, a perfect weapon if one wishes to slowly make putrid the human body, embedding itself into our DNA, guaranteeing that it passes onto the next generation of human being, usually resulting in macabre and grisly consequences.

Today in Iraq, thanks to the Gulf War, cancers have skyrocketed beyond the pale of comparison, leaving doctors dumbfounded how so many clusters of Iraqis with various cancers can exist when so few existed before. Today the natural rate of deterioration of the body once DU enters it is over, resulting in an exponential and ominous increase in fatalities, most by cancer, disease and immune system chaos. Depleted uranium used fifteen years ago is now being felt where American ordnance was dropped from the sky above, as lands, food supply, water and air once contaminated, inhaled and ingested release the WMD lingering in their midst.

Child deformities, stillbirths, mutated fetuses, miscarriages and birth defects have been springing up for quite some time now, as the DU embedded in the sperm and eggs of parents transfers over to the embryo. The mutations taking place, along with the deformities now apparent yet hardly ever seen in human society, are gross distortions of human normalcy, creating beings the likes of which have never been seen before. The photos of what DU can do to newborn babies and fetuses are available on the Internet. Entire regions, towns and neighborhoods are experiencing clusters of these mutations in their newly born babies, with doctors unable to explain the sudden rise in defects and deformities that did not exist previously.

What we are seeing is the beginning of decades of death in Iraq from the aftereffects of DU, an epidemic of radiation poisoning caused by American WMD. An entire population has been exposed to nuclear radiation by America and its government – which has been aware of the effects of DU for some time – and soon the world will be witness to the death of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Iraqi citizens. The world has entered a black hole into a genocide that will possibly last for centuries. We will see the Iraqi nation’s cancer rate skyrocket to levels we though impossible, affecting large segments of the populace, as well as the subsequent deaths of terminally ill patients, most of them children whose bodies have embedded inside them the deadly remnants of their parents’ depleted uranium. We will witness, as we already can through the grisly photos of DU mutations in babies, the horrific rise in child birth defects and deformities and miscarriages and stillbirths that are already causing thousands of potential Iraqi parents to strongly consider ever giving birth for fear of producing in their child a gross distortion of a human baby.

Read the entire essay at:http://valenzuelasveritas.blogspot.com/2006/01/killing-fields-ghosts-of-walking-dead.html

[Tom Joad]

1. thanks, great stuff there.

Never heard of him before.

[mom cat]

2. Our government has brought eternal shame to our country.

[TheWraith]

3. Long on talk, short on facts.

Like so many people who talk about depleted uranium, this person doesn't really have an understanding of the nature of the beast. They talk about "radiation poisoning," but they fail to understand that depleted uranium is incapable of producing the dangerous gamma rays that can cause this. They also fail to understand that the primary danger is heavy metal poisoning, as depleted uranium is not "radioactive" in the traditional sense, producing only ultra-short-range alpha particles which can't penetrate human skin, and are only harmful if the material is inhaled. And the casualties are greatly exaggerated, both in terms of the effect of depleted uranium, and in ludicrously irrational claims about the effect of economic sanctions.

Also, they completely skip over questions about the veracity of links between depleted uranium and the toxic effects reported in Iraq and Gulf War veterans. A big flaw in this conclusion is that weapons bearing depleted uranium were also used in the Balkans, and as yet there has been no evidence of anything amiss there. So while heavy metals are bad, we're far from having conclusive evidence that these are the cause of the problems. There were, after all, a few other things going on around the time that the problems started happening: bombing of chemical weapons sites, massive oil fires, and who knows what else.

[rodeodance]

4. these problems are turning up in soldiers babies-after return from Iraq

there was an article on DU about a week ago

[TheWraith]

5. And that has what to do with the price of milk?

Presumably, the environmental contaminant caused the problem in the first place is still there, whatever it is. So it should hardly be surprising that people going over there come back with whatever it is.

[ZapaPaine]

6. Have you seen the pictures of babies coming out of Iraq?

My God! If that is not radiation poisoning of the human genome than I would hate to think what could possibly be causing this. Those deformities have the hallmarks of DNA that has been severely compromised by radiation, plain and simple. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Likewise with the huge increase in cancers.

Some holocausts are loud and marketable to serve certain interests. Some are silent and hidden and do not have the power of Hollywood to be exploited.

[TheWraith]

7. I'm quite aware of them, yes.

"If that is not radiation poisoning of the human genome than I would hate to think what could possibly be causing this."

If it is, it's not coming from depleted uranium, as depleted uranium releases little to no gamma radiation. However, heavy metals are in and of themselves capable of causing genetic damage and birth defects, as are dozens of other chemical toxins. If only radiation caused cancer, we'd see a lot less of it.

[apple_ridge]

8. Speaking of long on talk, short on facts......

Would you provide some links to supporting data?

[TheWraith]

9. Happy to.

Just don't try to tell me afterwards that the IAEA is covering up for this alleged genocide.

--------------------------------------

Depleted uranium is what is left over when most of the highly radioactive types (isotopes) of uranium are removed for use as nuclear fuel or nuclear weapons.

Depleted uranium is a heavy metal that is also slightly radioactive. Heavy metals (uranium, lead, tungsten, etc.) have chemical toxicity properties that, in high doses, can cause adverse health effects. Depleted uranium that remains outside the body can not harm you.

A common misconception is that radiation is depleted uranium's primary hazard. This is not the case under most battlefield exposure scenarios. Depleted uranium is approximately 40 percent less radioactive than natural uranium. Depleted uranium emits alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays. Alpha particles, the primary radiation type produced by depleted uranium, are blocked by skin, while beta particles are blocked by the boots and battle dress utility uniform (BDUs) typically worn by service members. While gamma rays are a form of highly-penetrating energy , the amount of gamma radiation emitted by depleted uranium is very low. Thus, depleted uranium does not significantly add to the background radiation that we encounter every day.

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/du/du_factsheet_4aug98.html

DU is considerably less radioactive than natural uranium because not only does it have less U-234 and U-235 per unit mass than does natural uranium, but in addition, essentially all traces of decay products beyond U-234 and Th-231 have been removed during extraction and chemical processing of the uranium prior to enrichment.

...

Regarding exposures to DU, there have been studies of the health of military personnel who saw action in the Gulf War (1990-1991) and during the Balkan conflicts (1994-99). A small number of Gulf war veterans have inoperable fragments of DU embedded in their bodies. They have been the subject of intense study and the results have been published. These veterans show elevated excretion levels of DU in urine but, so far, there have been no observable health effects due to DU in this group. There have also been epidemiological studies of the health of military personnel who saw action in conflicts where DU was used, comparing them with the health of personnel who were not in the war zones. The results of these studies have been published and the main conclusion is that the war veterans do show a small (i.e., not statistically significant) increase in mortality rates, but this excess is due to accidents rather than disease. This cannot be linked to any exposures to DU.

http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/DU/du_qaa.shtml


A fact-finding mission to Kosovo, undertaken in November 2000, did not
find any evidence of DU contamination although it has been confirmed that DU munitions were used. Further studies and checks on the health of the local population were recommended. A task force is being sent to Iraq to investigate claims that thousands of civilians have contracted various forms of cancer and that babies have been born with deformities, due to DU contamination. The possible effects of DU have already been extensively studied, along with other possible contributors to "Gulf War sickness" such as chemical and biological agents, oil well fires, pesticides, pyridostigmine bromide, immunisations, infectious diseases and stress. A British evaluation (see www.mod.uk/policy/gulfwar/info/du.htm), updated to February 1999, concludes:

"In the light of the known exposures to uranium in the uraniumindustry during and after World War II it would seem unlikely that the hazards of uranium have been underestimated. To date there is no indication that harmful overexposures to DU with respect to chemical toxicology or radioactivity have occurred either at the UK ranges or in the Gulf conflict."

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:UePTrnoCck4J:www.arps.org.au/DU.htm+&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&ie=UTF-8&client=opera

[ZapaPaine]

10. Pure disinformation, plain and simple

What this disinformation artist fails to point out is that even a rudimentary seach on Google for depleted uranium turns out a vast amount of information making it clear that DU is a type of radiation poisoning millions in Iraq. Has this master of deception failed to have seen the incredible amount of pictures of Iraqi children born deformed and with genetic defects? Has he been blind to the vast amount of data regarding the increase in Iraqi cancers? In his world, DU harms few and damages even less. Well, tell that to the tens of thousands now afflicted with radiation poison. Tell that to the soldiers dying of cancers and birthing deformed children.

For a clearer understanding of the DU problem, in a scientific and objective article, take this link below. Masters of disinformation will always try to point us in the wrong direction. That is their job. Ask yourselves, why does this person rabidly deny the effects of DU? What does he gain from his disinformation campaign? And buddy, please don't cite US government/Pentagon articles and studies. That's like trying to read the Weekly Standard while searching for Bush's many impeachable offenses.

http://www.ccnr.org/du_hague.html


Disinfo King: How can you look at the vast amount of images of deformities in chidren and still deny the radiation from DU and its tremendous effects on the human body? What deluded world do you live in?

[TheWraith]

11. Why, thank you for elevating the debate.

"What this disinformation artist fails to point out"

So you couldn't rebut my information on its merits, you had to resort to the personal attack and smear? Nice.

And what you fail to mention is that most of these results from Google are completely unsubstantiated, unresearched statements of the type that got this thread started. Please tell me exactly how three different expert sources, including the IAEA, are all lying about the effects of depleted uranium or the research conducted on it.

"pictures of Iraqi children"

You're playing the heartstrings card--the irrational supposition that somehow, if I don't agree that depleted uranium is responsible for a radioactive death cloud, I'm betraying the poor crippled Iraqi children. Again, you have nothing to actually rebut my data? If you'd bothered to look at the facts, you would know that heavy metals like uranium are capable of causing genetic damage on their own, with no need for radiation. I'm not saying this is or is not main cause--see below for a few of the massive toxic events in Iraq over the last 20 years--but it's the facts.

"vast amount of data regarding the increase in Iraqi cancers?"

Actually, if you bother to look, there is very little real data about cancer in Iraq. There's a lot of secondhand information and claims, but very little serious clinical information about how many cases there are, what type, what caused them, etcetera. So we're hardly in a position to say what of the many possible causes, from heavy metal poisoning, to the bombing of chemical weapons sites, to atmospheric fall-out from the oil well fires in '91, could be responsible for a rise in rates. All of these things and more I didn't mention would possess ample direct toxic and mutagenic qualities to cause a host of ailments.

"tens of thousands now afflicted with radiation poison"

Are you not listening, or are you simply ignoring the facts? Look up the scientific definition of radiation poisoning. You'll find out that depleted uranium doesn't put out one tenth, not even one one hundredth of enough radiation to cause radiation poisoning. It's a simple scientific fact, and no matter how much depleted uranium you throw around. Alpha particles can't cause radiation poisoning--only gamma rays can. And depleted uranium doesn't produce gamma rays.

Not to mention the fact that you're assuming facts not in evidence. Show me one person coming back from Iraq who has radiation poisoning, or who is even mildly radioactive. This should be easy to do if your claims are true. Just take a Giger counter (they're easy to get, look on eBay) and scan returning GIs.

"For a clearer understanding of the DU problem, in a scientific and objective article, take this link below."

One, your link goes to an anti-nuclear website. Just thought I'd point that out, as it's a source considerably more prone to exaggeration than the IAEA. And second, your source backs ME up. Read:

...12,400 atomic transformations every second, each of which releases an energetic alpha particle.

Do a Google search for alpha radiation to learn a little about it. You'll find that it's nonpersistent and ultra-short range--they can only travel about an inch before they morph into helium. More to the point, they can't penetrate human skin, or even paper. If you inhale alpha emitters, that can cause damage and an increased risk of lung cancer--although in the case of depleted uranium, if you inhale it, you're also going to be dealing with heavy metal related issues, which can also damage lung tissue. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the only radiological risk from depleted uranium is if it's pulverized and inhaled. This presents a temporary risk to the people within the immediate area of a bomb detonation, but beyond that, the primary danger is heavy metal.

Uranium and all of its decay products, with the exception of radon which is a gas, are heavy metals. Unlike some other heavy metals which are needed in trace quantities by the human body, there is no known benefit to having uranium in the body. It is always a contaminant.

Again, talking about heavy metal poisoning as the biggest danger, not radiation.

Only later do they go off talking about radiation, but even then they aren't talking about gamma radiation, which is the dangerous kind--they're talking about alpha exposure from uranium sublimated into the body. While this sort of alpha exposure may be slightly dangerous in terms of cell damage, the person in question would be in even more danger from the toxic effects of the uranium itself, because the quantities needed to produce a sizable dose of alpha particles would likely cause serious internal organ damage.

"Masters of disinformation will always try to point us in the wrong direction. That is their job."

Still nothing better to rebut me with? You sound desperate.

"Ask yourselves, why does this person rabidly deny the effects of DU?"

I "rabidly deny" this bubble-like reality you've created where depleted uranium creates a radioactive death cloud. It's just not true. The other negative effects of depleted uranium aside, massive radiation is NOT one of them. But feel free to keep believing it.

How about we ask ourselves why you're so hell-bent on claiming that depleted uranium is some kind of deliberate radioactive genocide perpetuated by the US and completely covered up by EVERY major scientific establishment, EVERY news outlet, and EVERY soldier who's been in Iraq? Because that's what it would take to cover up a radioactive death cloud. Could it be because you have some kind of personal crusade against anything that has ever been related to the word nuclear?

"And buddy, please don't cite US government/Pentagon articles and studies."

Then tell me how the IAEA and the Australasian Radiation Protection Society are both complicit in this genocide theory you're so cheerfully pushing. When you can do that, then you can get away with dismissing the DOD studies--which were done under CLINTON, if you didn't bother to actually read them.

"Disinfo King: How can you look at the vast amount of images of deformities in chidren and still deny the radiation from DU and its tremendous effects on the human body? What deluded world do you live in?"

I live in a world of science, where I don't look at something and assume that the boogeyman did it, which is what your genocide by radioactive death cloud theory comes down to. Elementary reasoning could tell you that birth defects can be caused by a vast number of factors, but you take the opposite of the scientific view. You start with a conclusion, then either twist or make up facts to fit your viewpoint. If you were actually interested in getting the answers, instead of blatantly exploiting maimed children for your own personal agenda, you would seek to find out exactly what was and is causing issues currently seen in Iraq.

[Doctor Panacea]

12. I disagree

I am not a physicist, just a physician.

Alpha and beta radiation are dangerous.

Yes, the danger comes from ingestion.

When countless tons of the stuff get pulverized in a desert area, the radioactive dust particles (yes, I know it is just alpha and beta radiation) do get spread around. Anyone who has lived in West Texas knows what happens to that dust when the wind blows. It happens in Iraq, too.

Our use of depleted uranium in the Iraq conflict is indefensible.

I do not know whether anyone here is a disinformation artist. I really do not.

I only know that it is insane to pollute the world with depleted uranium dust.

[katty]

13. Bio, Cultural Genocide