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One
of the legacies of the Vietnam War is the now infamous
quote from an American military press officer that "we
had to destroy the village in order to save it".
In the name of 'fighting terror', countries with secret
weapons programs have pulverized Iraq because of its secret
weapons programs. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are
being used against civilians in order to prevent WMD from
being used against civilians.
The American military makes ongoing use of depleted uranium
(DU), despite numerous independent studies warning of
DU's toxic-radioactive effects.
Research conducted six months before the Gulf War found
that short-term high doses of DU could result in death;
long-term low doses could lead to cancer. Yet American
forces used DU weapons in the 1991 Gulf war, the 1999
Balkan conflict, in hostilities in Afghanistan –
and in the recent military action on Iraq.
The implications are staggering. The Geneva Conventions
clearly ban weapons that continue to kill or cause genetic
effects after the fighting ends, not to mention weapons
that unduly damage the natural environment. DU fails miserably
on each count. And DU makes no distinction between friend
and foe - its victims include local civilians as well
as service members sent abroad to fight.
Courtesy
of WILPF
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