THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
The Department of
Defense says depleted uranium is powerful and safe and not that worrisome.
Herbert Reed, 54, of Columbia, S.C. and a veteran of the Iraq War would beg
to differ. Depleted Uranium (DU) may well become to the Iraq War what Agent
Orange was to Vietnam. DU is the byproduct, the waste, actually, left from
the process of making enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and energy
plants. As a metal it is radioactive, toxic and twice as dense as lead. It
is used as a coating for shells, which allows them to pierce through tank
armor. Used as a coating on tanks, it protects them from artillery fire. It
leaves behind a radioactive dust with a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Talk
about the gift that keeps on giving.
Herbert Reed, as well as an increasing number of his fellow soldiers, has
been plagued with a host of medical problems since returning from duty. A
veteran of two wars and a twenty year veteran of the New York Police
Department, Reed says he was in perfect health prior to his deployment to
Iraq. Since returning, his gums bleed, there is blood in his urine, he had a
tumor removed from his thyroid. He has severe migraines and a seemingly
endless rash. His joints ache with such severe pain that he is practically
unable to function. Of his team of doctors at the VA, some tell him it is
all in his head while others are simply baffled. He has an arsenal of
medicines he must take daily. During his stay at the VA, Reed began talking
with other soldiers with similar problems who were also getting the
run-around. They began to research DU on the internet.
DU was first used by the military in Iraq and Kuwait in 1991. It is
estimated that 286 tons were used then. In our current war with Iraq we have
used 130 tons so far. Reed, along with seven other soldiers, decided to have
their urine tested overseas where the only definitive tests were available.
From Germany, all seven came back positive for DU. The VA then tested the
seven and, predictably, came up with negative results. This set off a
firestorm of dispute regarding the test procedures.
When the medic from Reed's unit showed up with the same symptoms, he had
some interesting information for Reed. They had all spent time at a place
called Camp Smitty in Iraq which was an abandoned train depot that had been
taken over by Dutch Marines. The camp was surrounded by tank skeletons and
unexploded ordnance. They had bought radiation detection equipment and found
the readings were so "hot" that the Dutch Marines opted for staying in the
desert rather than live at the camp.
DU can contaminate soil and water and coat buildings with radioactive dust.
So, you would think, there's probably a lot of attention getting paid to
this problem. You would be wrong. The military insists that there is no
substantial risk. I know, you feel better knowing that, right? The truth is,
fifteen years after first being used in battle, there is but one government
study monitoring veterans who were exposed. The number of soldiers in both
Iraq Wars exceeds 500,000. The number of soldiers in the study? You probably
guessed at least over 10,000 right? Lower..lower......a little bit
lower.....no, keep going...a little more...that's right, 32. Thirty-two
veterans are being monitored. Thirty-two. It took twenty-five years for the
government to admit that Agent Orange did indeed cause untold death and
suffering to veterans of the Vietnam War. We may be headed down a similar
road.
This is not an Anti-Government rant. This is not an Anti-American rant. It's
not even an Anti-War rant. It's all about how we treat our service men and
women who make the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of us, and how brutally
shameful that treatment sometimes is. This is exactly the kind of treatment
that breeds the cynicism of government that the country is now saturated
with. Can you really blame anyone? Somewhere amidst all the patriotic
speeches and pep rallies we have to endure from our elected official’s lies
the real truth. As a culture, as a great nation, we should all rise up and
demand more for our soldiers who were lucky enough to make it home.