Depleted Uranium has been used since the Gulf War and will not only damage Iraqis but our own soldiers as well. This is another major item we should be asking our media about! We go to war over WMD and them we USE them!
Depleted Uranium will prove to be a major Weapon of Mass Destruction used by our country:
Brief history in these 4 articles:
1 - Published on Friday, November 30, 2001 by Reuters
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1130-01.htm US Wins Defeat of Depleted Uranium Study
2 - Last Updated: Tuesday, 18 March, 2003, 16:28 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2860759.stm In the House of Commons in London on Monday, Labour MP Joan Ruddock said a test of the UK Government's pledge to keep civilian casualties to a minimum in an attack on Iraq would include not using depleted uranium weapons.
Apparently anticipating complaints, the US defence department briefed journalists about DU - making it plain it would continue to be used.
3 - Monday, April 5th, 2004
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/04/05/1356248&mode=thread&tid=25Broadcast Exclusive: U.S. Soldiers Contaminated With Depleted Uranium Speak Out
A special investigation by Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News has found four of nine soldiers of the 442nd Military Police Company of the New York Army National Guard returning from Iraq tested positive for depleted uranium contamination. They are the first confirmed cases of inhaled depleted uranium exposure from the current Iraq conflict.
After repeatedly being denied testing for depleted uranium from Army doctors, the soldiers contacted The News who paid to have them tested as part of their investigation.
4 - Sunday 14th November 2004
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=4324 U.S. use of depleted uranium under fire
Alvin Clark, of Tacoma, developed aplastic anemia he believes is related to his exposure to depleted uranium dust after he was hit by friendly fire in Saudi Arabia.
Shells and armor used by U.S. tanks, gunships and helicopters are often made of depleted uranium because depleted uranium, or D.U., is a heavy metal, able to pierce armored vehicles or resist being pierced. But it’s also radioactive, a waste product of nuclear enrichment plants like Hanford.
A pentagon training film shows how the D.U. ordnance bursts into a fiery powder on contact.
So, what happens when U.S. Troops are forced to march through the D.U. dust that’s left on the ground? Or get hit by friendly fire? Some vets say it made them sick. The Pentagon disputes that.
(PJ aside: No...Really?!? )