Sickened Iraq Vets Cite Depleted Uranium

[bigtree]

Sunday August 13, 2006

By DEBORAH HASTINGS
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - {snip}

But for every outspoken soldier like them, there are silent veterans like Raphael Naboa, an Army artillery scout who served 11 months in the northern Sunni Triangle, only to come home and fall apart.

``A lot of guys went trophy-hunting, grabbing bayonets, helmets, stuff that was in the vehicles that were destroyed by depleted uranium. My guys were rooting around in it. I was trying to get them out of the vehicles.''

``I was an artillery scout, these are folks who are in pretty good shape. Your Rangers, your Special Forces guys, they're in as good as shape as a professional athlete.

``Then we come back and we're all sick.''

They feel like men who once were warriors and now are old before their time, with no hope for relief from a multitude of miseries that has no name.


full report: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6011968,00.html

[Monkeyman]

1. Link to our soldiers

http://www.vawatchdog.org

[Raydawg1234]

2. It's time for congressional hearings

[Monkeyman]

3. Only if we take back the House

Lane Evans before he got sick with Parkinson left the Committe with his list of hearing. Steve Buyer Rep[ublican Chairman who said "the only veteran is a wounded veteran" . Will stop any hearings

[JohnyCanuck]

4. One Canadian vet we know of was in great shape when

he was sent off to Gulf War 1 and was a basket case when he got back. After his death an analasys of his bones showed contamination by DU.

I was an artillery scout, these are folks who are in pretty good shape.Your Rangers, your Special Forces guys, they're in as good as shape as a professional athlete.

Terry Riordon was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces serving in the Gulf War. He passed away in April 1999 at the age of 45. The official cause of death was Gulf War Syndrome.

Terry went to the Persian Gulf in December 26, 1990 with honor, dignity and pride - serving his country as Captain J. Terry Riordon of the Canadian Armed Forces. Terry left Canada a very fit man who did cross-country skiing and ran in marathons. On his return only two months later he could barely walk.

He returned to Canada in February 1991 with documented loss of motor control, chronic fatigue, respiratory difficulties, chest pain, difficulty breathing, sleep problems, short-term memory loss, testicle pain, body pains, aching bones, diarrhea, and depression. After his death depleted uranium (DU) contamination was discovered in his lungs and bones.

For eight years he suffered his innumerable ailments and struggled with the military bureaucracy and the system to get proper diagnosis and treatment. His wife, Susan Riordon, speaks most eloquently of the nightmare of physical, mental and emotional hardship endured not just by Terry but his entire family.

He was ultimately unsuccessful it getting the answers or help he needed in his lifetime. His final wish was to donate his body to independent research on DU. That was Terry's gift to all who served in the Persian Gulf. He wanted his body to supply the answers to years of suffering and frustration. Through his gift UMRC was able to have obtain conclusive evidence of internal DU contamination in his lungs and bones. Even after death Terry continues to contribute to his country and his fellow veterans.

http://www.umrc.net/riordon.aspx

[CoffeeCat]

5. It is so disheartening to read this...

My heart aches for these soldiers. They take so many pills
and they are in such pain.

I was astounded to read that 30 percent of the Vets from Gulf 1
have the same illness. Thirty percent!!! That is a moral outrage.

Furthermore, the government does not help these soldiers. They
lie to them and tell them that they have "unrelated symptoms."
The article even stated that the doctors were telling these guys
that "it's all in your head."

Oh my God! How can we allow our soldiers, who fight for our government--
to suffer and be invalidated like this?

This is such a disgrace.

This administration--which often uses military personnel as a backdrop
for speeches--is ignoring the pain and suffering of these soldiers.

Anyone who cares about our soldiers and supports the war--should be
just as supportive for MASSIVE ACTION to help these soldiers. End
the cover-ups and the stonewalling. Get these guys some help, dammit!

I'm so upset by this.

[rubberducky]

6. It is so hard for me to believe..

that *&co knew nothing about the reactions of du. They keep sending "America`s finest" into harms way withour proper training,arms, or leadership. Now they want us to believe they didn`t know the harmful effects of du?? How dare they send our people into a situation not knowing the effects of this substance! "support the troops"????? I can not think of words bad enough to describe the criminals in the white house.

[TomInTib]

8. Oh, they have known for years.

But DU is darned efficient, don't you know?

[rubberducky]

17. DU is wonderful, but du is a killer!

[Monkeyman]

10. Link to a Marine who can tell you how long they know

Yes he is running for state rep. But just leave a message about you only wanting to know about DU he will get back in touch right away.

http://www.Enger4rep.org

[rubberducky]

18. Left a message, then googled du...

this is so unbelievable! It makes me sick to think that our gov has this little regard for the people that they have sent into harm`s way.

[TomInTib]

7. They will put them in line behind those of us who are suffering

the ill effects of Agent Orange.

Good luck, guys.

Good luck...

[proud patriot]

9. Support the soldiers when they come back

k and r

[bigtree]

11. more stuff

The American death-count from that first Gulf war was 346 total from all causes, out of 511,000 troops deployed from August 1990 to February 1991.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, thirty-six percent of the 581,000 retired veterans serving at the height of the 1991 Gulf War have filed health claims.

Of that number, 22 percent of the claims remain pending, or have been denied. As you stated, ore than 11,000 Gulf War veterans, whose average age was 36 when the war began, have since died, many from illnesses their families believed were war-related from exposures to chemical weapons that troops found and destroyed, depleted uranium from U.S. armor-piercing munitions, pollution from oil well fires, experimental vaccines, and anti-nerve agent pretreatment pills, among other toxins.

According to: Steve Robinson, of the
National Gulf War Resource Center
http://www.ngwrc.org /

~697,000 served in the first Gulf War;

~320,000 veterans who deployed in the first Gulf War have sought medical treatment from the VA;

~214,000 veterans who deployed to the first Gulf War have filed for disability;

~167,000 veterans who deployed to the first Gulf War have had their claim approved;

~40,000 veterans who deployed have had their claim denied;

~22,000 veterans have a claim pending

GAO Report, Gulf War Illness
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-833T

British Syndrome Diaries
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-833T

Gulf War 'linked to nerve disease'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3129180.stm

Gulf War Illnesses~

Department of Veterans Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
http://www.va.gov/rac-gwvi /

Department of Defense, Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil /

Walter Reed Medical Center Program for Gulf War Veterans
http://160.151.186.19/departments/dhcc /

Gulf War Illnesses: Fact & Fiction - A Guide for Veterans and Families Am. Leigon
http://www.legion.org/pdf_files/gwi1.pdf

Gulf War Benefits & Programs: A Guide for Veterans and Families Am. Leigon
http://www.legion.org/pdf_files/gwi2.pdf

Gulf War/Agent Orange Helpline: 1-800-749-8387

National Gulf War Resource Center
http://www.ngwrc.org /

Citizen Soldier depleted uranium report
http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS09-uranium.html

GULFLINK FILES
http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS09-uranium.html

Depleted Uranium National Public Radio broadcast (4/18/03)
http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1236241

Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs - Gulf War Veterans Project
http://www.kcva.org/gulfwar.html

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Division of Epidemiology - Gulf War Syndrome
http://www.swmed.edu/home_pages/epidemi/gws /

Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC)
http://hsrd.durham.med.va.gov/ERIC/ALS/ALSregistry.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov /

Gulf War Veterans' Health
http://www.va.gov/gulfwar /

[GuvWurld]

12. Depleted Uranium is Mr. Bush's slow-motion holocaust

US Soldiers Use Nuclear Weapons In The Field

[Karenina]

15. All part of the PNAC depopulation plan.

:kick:

[BeHereNow]

13. To the Hague with the entire administration.

Have I told everyone how much I hate the
Bush KKKabal today?
Where in the HELL are our criminal congress critters
on this?
BHN

[oasis]

14. Bush's been a miserble failure in keeping America's promise to our troops.

:thumbsup:

[malaise]

16. A failure?

Bush is a mass murderer, a fugging war criminal.