DAMACIO LOPEZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF IDUST DEMANDS BAN ON WEAPONS CONTAINING DEPLETED URANIUM

International Depleted Uranium Study Team (IDUST) is a non-governmental organization of researchers, activists and scientists throughout the world dedicated to stopping the use of depleted uranium U-238 (DU) in military weapons

DoD  REAPS THE WHIRLWINDS.

The DoD did what it thought was its best ten years ago to protect our servicemen and women by giving them what they thought were the best tools for the job. They also did what they thought was best in giving our armed forces vaccinations against chemical and biological weapons that they knew Iraq had. However no-one spent enough time researching the effects of the new toys they were about to use.

Their friends and colleagues in the armaments and nuclear industrial complex who supplied them with lucrative employment on their retirement assured them that this was a safe bet. Yet they did not give the DoD all of the facts that they needed to make a rational decision about using Depleted Uranium as a weapon. They said it was OK as it did not exceed the safe low limit of radiaton, a limit they themselves had set, a limit they cannot scientifically verify themselves. A limit that was contradicted by reality in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, members of the Britsh Medical services serving in Japan knew from their own experiences and observations that the after effects of the bombings produced leukaemia. and other carcinoma's on a vast scale. Yet the DoD banned anyone from doing the research on it so they could keep their options open to use this as a new weapon of war.

Documents released show us that they contempleted using radioactive dust as a weapon of war in the 1940's, why if it is not dangerous? After the Doha fire the team sent in by the DoD wore full NBC suits .

  Why if it is not dangerous? We could say that they erred on the side of caution, however what we need to ask is why no-one else was told to be cautious when dealing with Depleted Uranium after a fire.

Europe is in turmoil after ten years of being lied to, and misinformed by the DoD & the MoD and the nuclear Industry. The truth about Depleted Uranium is out of the bag. The mistakes of ten years ago are coming home to roost. The DoD knew about Depleted Uranium usage and its effects on the environment and on human beings from the research carried out in 1947 after the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Yet it chose to put a military advantage before the needs of humanity, it allowed its connections with the industrial armaments and nuclear complex to over-ride its moral obligations towards its own men and women and the people of the world. It chose to put at unneccesary risk those who voluntarily placed themselves in harms way for the sake of their country and their allies.

Oscar Wilde once said "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" I do not think he was right in this case, however the senior figures in both these establishments have it would seem a very poor understanding of how to view their responsibilities holistically. The demon in this case appears to be the mentality which accepts the dictum that "The End Justifies the Means".

The men and women who serve in our armed forces deserve better than this; we as citizens need to control and limit the actions of those who cannot accept responsibility for their actions, without taking into consideration the needs of others.

It is time for the military indutrial complex to be disolved, it is time for control to be removed from those who are unable, unwilling or incapable of thinking long-term about who and what they are and what they are expected to do.

Col Doug Rokke and many others have put their lives on the line and tried at every opportunity to inform those who are willing to listen about the dangers of Depleted Uranium and the misinformation being peddled by the DoD. & MoD and the Nuclear industrial complex.

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia forced the DoD to remove burntout US Tanks with Depleted Uranium armour that had been destroyed in friendly fire incidents involving depleted Uranium and buried in the dessert. Why?

  The Nederlands contingent in Kosovo removed all of the effects of their soldiers and burnt them. Why? The Nederlands contingent sent all of their vehicles to a nuclear facility for decontamination. Why?

Now the Spanish, Portugese and Italian contingents are asking why were we not told about this? So far, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Finland have said they will screen their Kosovo veterans, and Bulgaria is also to monitor the health of its small detachment in the province.

In Britain, the Ministry of Defence said it would monitor developments closely. The Pentagon said it was aware of the worries being raised by some of America's allies.Several European nations  including the current holders of the European Union Presidency, Sweden, echoed these concerns, intensifying pressure on NATO to investigate the so-called "Balkan Syndrome."Belgium has reported that five peacekeepers who were in Bosnia and other parts of the former Yugoslavia have died from cancer.The syndrome came under the spotlight following reports that six Italian soldiers who served in the former Yugoslavia had developed leukemia and died after exposure to spent ammunition. The Netherlands reported that two soldiers who served in Kosovo and Bosnia had died from leukemia and Portugal has raised concerns over the death of one of its Balkans veterans. On Thursday, a spokesman for the European Union said the 15-nation group would conduct an inquiry, and Bacon said the United States expects the issue to be raised at a NATO meeting next week. Last week, Italy began investigatin possible links between depleted uranium munitions and about 30 cases of serious illness among soldiers who served in Kosovo and Bosnia.

"We have not found any link between illnesses and exposure to depleted uranium," Kenneth Bacon, spokesman for Defense Secretary William Cohen, said Thursday. "We're pretty confident of what we've said, which is we have found no direct link." Of course they have not found any link they are not going to find that which will make them answerable before the International Criminal Court. They are taking the 5th ammendment. Why are they not certain? Why is  it they cannot scientifically prove that low level radiation causes Leukaemia? What  kind of a mind-set is it that makes them think that it is the victim of their irrationalbehaviour  sould prove that they are  responsible?

The Nuclear industrial complex says it cannot recycle this waste yet they are willing to inflict it on all and of humanity as commercial products.
Why?

They say there is no Scientific evidence to support public concern over depleted Uranium yet they wanted to use it as a weapon of war back in the 1940's because they knew it would cause harm to people. Now they want us to believe that it is harmless. Why?

Senior military commanders asked UNEP not to release the full data on the contamination of Kosovo as it might affect the US Presidential election outcome. Why?

Are we allowing the military industrial complex too much independence? The US Constitution needs to guarantee the rights of those who serve their country as well as the civil population.

In the UK no authority or Member of Parliament or member of the European  Parliament nor Assembly member has been able to supply IDUST with any Health  & Safety guidelines or regulations converning the use, storage or  manufacturing of Depleted Uranium products. Why?

Read this

  Nato warned in 1999 of the possible dangers from depleted uranium ammunition in the Balkans, the German Defence Ministry has confirmed.

  The Berliner Morgenpost newspaper, in an article to be published on Monday, said it had obtained a document from the ministry, dated July 16, 1999, stating that NATO had warned soldiers and aid workers of "possible toxic threat" and advised them to take "preventative measures" .

  The document said NATO planned no further moves itself, according to the newspaper.  Fears have recently arisen in Europe due to increased cases of serious illness in soldiers who served in the Balkans.

  The European Union has launched an investigation into the effects of depleted uranium ammunition, used by the United States for its armour-piercing qualities.

  Meanwhile, the head of the U.N. Environment Programme criticised NATO for not being more forthcoming with information about where it used the ammunition.

  Klaus Toepfer told the Berliner Zeitung, in an article to be published Monday, that the alliance had taken the stance "that investigation at these locations wasn't necessary anymore. That is very clearly not correct."

  UNEP has visited 11 of 112 sites identified by NATO in Kosovo as having been targeted with ordnance containing depleted uranium, and found higher radiation levels in eight locations.

The final results of the checks are expected in March.

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