The following is my report on
Gulf War Casualties and Depleted Uranium,
a presentation by Major Doug Rokke, Ph.D.

The US has lied and continues to lie concerning depleted uranium munitions. The country of Iraq now joins Afghanistan and Bosnia in being a toxic dump for depleted uranium, which has a half-life of 40,000 years. The innocents who suffer include over 2,000,000 Iraqi babies and even the unborn, who have already suffered horrible birth defects and cancers. Tons of radioactive military debris left behind, most of it from friendly fire, continues to discharge its lethal payload, over a decade after the US “won” the war.

Fully a third of the troops in Gulf War I were affected by DU, when the US used 320 tons of it. According to Peace Action's flier, as of May 2002, 8,000 service men and women have died of DU exposure, with another 159,000 on service-related disability and illness. Medical care had been denied to them, since to admit the effect of DU would expose the US to liability. Babies of the troops are paying the price for the lies of their country with birth defects. Depleted uranium ended up in the cooking pots used to feed US troops. I ask you, could the US find an enemy any worse than itself?

Has the US learned its lesson with DU? Not so, dear reader. At least 5 times as much DU was used in Gulf War II, and again troops were lied to. Respirators cannot filter out the ceramic uranium oxide dust particles under 7 microns. They lodge in the lungs, where they cannot be removed, exposing the lungs to continuous bombardment and eventual cancers. Nor does the dust does stay in the bombed tanks, but moves in the air.

What can be done? Major Rokke urged all to support Congressman James McDermott's bill, HR 1483, which calls on the US to study the effects of DU and how to mitigate its contamination. He also urged that the existing directives on DU, including the Geneva Convention, be adhered to.

Moreover, it was urged that the audience encourage the mainstream media to cover this issue. To their credit, CBS covered this lecture, WAMC radio (Albany, NY) aired an interview on it, and National Public Radio (NPR) will feature Rokke on the May 8 edition of Fresh Air, which airs locally at 7pm.

Further information can be found at www.traprockpeace.org on his continual campaign to obey the 1991 order he was issued to “clean up the mess” of DU munitions after Gulf War I. Unfortunately, he reports, there is no way to clean up the mess.

We CAN admit we made a mess and stop producing and using DU. The technology of warfare makes warfare obsolete.

Information on the uranium contamination locally at NL Industries on Central Avenue in Albany was also provided in some depth. Airborn particles have been found many miles from the site. Mr. Dred Parsons offered his phone number (265-5402) for those interested in the next quarterly Availability Session regarding the site.