DEPLETED URANIUM: THE MILITARY'S READINESS TO RISK, DENY AND HIDE NUCLEAR HEALTH THREATS

By John LaForge
(1310 words)

This Commentary is Unpublished

Like earlier Pentagon denials of the dangers of the Vietnam Era defoliant Agent Orange, the U.S. military now claims publicly that its uranium munitions -- made from waste uranium-238 and sometimes called depleted uranium (DU) -- are not known to cause health problems. Yet the strongest evidence to the contrary comes from its own reports.

According to a June 1995 report to Congress by the U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute (USAEPI), "Depleted uranium is a radioactive waste and, as such, should be deposited in a licensed repository." To put the issue frankly, the U.S. has been shooting this radioactive waste at people all over the world: At testing ranges in the U.S., So. Korea and on Vieques Island; at civilian populations in Iraq (380 tons in 1991; 170 tons in 2003), Afghanistan in 2001 (amounts unknown), Kosovo in 1999 (10 tons) and Bosnia in 1994-95 (5 tons).

On August 16, 1993, the U.S. department of the Army's Office of the Surgeon General issued its "Depleted Uranium (DU) Safety Training" manual. The document plainly says the expected effects of DU exposure include possible increase of cancer (lung and bone) and kidney damage. It recommends "…that you convene a working group to define competing risks of combat with DU weapons, to identify countermeasures against DU exposure …"

(to examine the full text for possible publication, contact us).

-- LaForge is on the staff of Nukewatch and edits its quarterly newsletter. A draft version of these remarks was presented Feb. 14 to the Standing Committee on Defense of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague.

Beyond the Rhetoric of Withdrawal: Our Unknown Air War Over Iraq

by Ed Kinane
(1,450 words)

A key element of the drawdown plans, not mentioned in the President’s public statements, is that the departing American troops will be replaced by American airpower.

….

The American air war inside Iraq is perhaps the most significant – and underreported – aspect of the fight against the insurgency.

– Seymour M. Hersh, “Up in the Air,” Nov. 29, 2005, New Yorker

There’s an air war over Iraq. It’s invisible (here). It’s deadly (there).

The Iraq air war may be the longest such war in history. In one way or another it has been undermining Iraq’s sovereignty, destroying its infrastructure, and killing and maiming Iraqis for some 16 years.

Despite global pressure to withdraw, Bush Inc. – and indeed the broader US power structure – has no intention of giving up Iraq. The potential oil bonanza is too huge. And Iran – with its oil bonanza – is next door.

That air war is intensifying. The US dropped five times as many bombs in Iraq during the first six months of 2007 as it did in the first half of 2006.

... (to examine unpublished full text for possible publication contact PeaceVoiceDirector@gmail.com)

Ed worked in Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness before, during and after “Shock and Awe.” Reach him at edkinane@verizon.net.

GET TO WORK!

(1,350 words)
By Kathy Kelly

Amman, Jordan

“GET A JOB!” These three words are very familiar to activists bearing signs calling for an end to war, whether standing on street corners, walking along highways, holding vigils, or nonviolently occupying the offices of elected representatives. Listen to the activists, and you’ll often hear, “We’re doing our job. We’re trying.”

I’m convinced that our work must always have one foot placed in nonviolent resistance to the forces that design and wage wars, with the other foot standing among people who bear the physical and mental affliction caused by these forces. Today, I’m thinking especially about two young women who found themselves in nightmare circumstances because, in their view, they simply wanted to have a job.

When American troops invaded Iraq in 2003, Noor (not her name), was living with her aunt in a small town near Baghdad. The aunt received a minimal “retirement” salary from the former Iraqi government. As a young teenager, Noor had left her family to assist the aunt and to enter college there. She felt deep and strong attachments to people in her town, and she loved her aunt intensely. After graduating, still living with her aunt, Noor didn’t want to become a burden to her parents who were already being supported by her brothers. She wanted to earn money and a measure of independence. When a neighbor suggested she come with him to the place where he worked, she was surprised by how easily she had become employed, working to inspect the handbags and purses of people entering the workplace of a large American contractor. Initially, when troops began occupying her town, residents could walk the streets without much anxiety. Working for an American company didn’t seem to carry grave danger. ...

(to receive this for your exclusive consideration, email PeaceVoiceDirector@gmail.com).

Kathy Kelly (kathy@vcnv.org) co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence (www.vcnv.org) which is organizing “The Occupation Project.” a campaign of nonviolent resistance to U.S. funding for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information about support for Iraqis who have fled to Jordan, see http://www.electroniciraq.net/news/abouttheproject/Direct_Aid_Initiative.shtml

Judgment Call

(1,329 words)

by Kathy Kelly

Amman, Jordan

Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations may seem to be transfixed, almost mesmerized, by the mounting humanitarian catastrophe in Iraq. Bus, since 2003, an admirable group of NGOs, including Oxfam, has steadily tried to address humanitarian needs through collecting and organizing data, establishing priorities, responding to emergencies, and working out ways to deliver food, medicine, and clean water to some of the neediest areas in Iraq.

Although it isn’t ideal, these groups have generally relied on “remote management,” primarily from Jordan, working with anonymous human rights and relief workers, primarily Iraqis, inside of Iraq. From their experience, they are able to identify problems which could be solved, they believe, given the political will of the U.S. government, the Iraqi government, other foreign governments, and the United Nations. The report strongly urges each of these groups to accept critiques of their current programs and to greatly increase efforts to deliver emergency assistance to impoverished and displaced Iraqis.

They’ve particularly urged the Iraqi government to decentralize the distribution of aid.

There are seven huge warehouses in Baghdad. The Iraqi government requires relief groups to deliver all incoming food and medical aid to these central warehouses for quality control followed by coordinated distribution. In theory this could work, but Iraqi government ministries such as the Ministries of Trade and of Labor and Societal Affairs, haven't been functioning well enough to actually allow for delivery, leaving desperately needed food and medicine piling up inside the warehouses.

...(for full text exclusive consideration email PeaceVoiceDirector@gmail.com)

###

Kathy Kelly (kathy@vcnv.org) is founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence in Chicago and Amman, Jordan.

"Latin America begins to reject U.S. pax Romana" by Jason Howd

"Latin America begins to reject U.S. pax Romana" by Jason Howd (word count: 1281)

"Costa Rica is most often thought of as a country with pristine coastlines, emerald mountains, and a relaxed vibe to vacation in. What is not often thought of is paramilitaries, assassins, and rogue police officers. In the last several decades the government of Costa Rica has sent at least 2,600 police officers to be trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA). On Wednesday, May 16, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias, a 1987 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, said that he would withdraw the current enrollees from the school this June and vowed that no more would be sent in the future. While the country has no standing army, at the time of his decision, there were reportedly three police personnel training at the school."…

Reply to: peacevoice.thais@gmail.com

Jason Howd is a journalism student at Portland State University serving a journalism practicum in Costa Rica. He can be contacted at bowiehowd@yahoo.com.

"Who is to blame" by Pendar

"Who is to blame" by Pendar (word count: 1236)

"Today, we live in the information age that should make it extremely difficult to simply lie to a nation and fool them. Yet, many governments can easily gather the people in support of their unjust wars. Later, people try to justify their action by simply saying that they were manipulated by the government--nothing feels better than blaming others. However, if people were fooled, they should not repeat the same mistake."…

Reply to: PeaceVoiceDirector@gmail.com

Pendar is a graduate student in Conflict Resolution. Pendar is a nom de plume because Pendar travels to Iran and Pendar is not a US citizen. Pendar means Thought in Persian.

"Iraq – Leaving the war behind" by Mary Hope

"Iraq – Leaving the war behind" by Mary Hope (word count: 1414)

"The 'War in Iraq' as we know it now will not remain the same, no matter which course of action we take. The deep tensions and centuries of pain left in the wake of the many wars fought over this territory will not subside quickly. Terrorists' promotions of 'jihadist' belief systems will not go invisibly into the night. When we leave Iraq, the people of Iraq will still have to deal with the war that wages inside its borders. To turn the tide of this war, we must begin to help the people of Iraq win this war within."…

Reply to: peacevoice.thais@gmail.com

Mary Kendall Hope is a Professor of Conflict Resolution at the American University, holds a doctorate degree in conflict resolution and has been an active writer.

"Virginia Tech shootings: choosing a violent or a nonviolent response" by Richard L. Johnson

"Virginia Tech shootings: choosing a violent or a nonviolent response" by Richard L. Johnson (Word Count: 1279)

" … many articles are being written to suggest solutions to this kind of tragic violence in the future. It seems to me that they all boil down to two approaches: 1. arming greater numbers of citizens on a regular basis so that we can defend ourselves against would-be killers. 2. involving professionals and greater numbers of citizens in nonviolent approaches to reduce violence and to increase effective responses when violence does occur."

Reply to: peacevoice.thais@gmail.com

Richard L. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of German and Peace Studies at Indiana University - Purdue University Ft. Wayne, is a nonviolent activist and researcher whose most recent edited book is Gandhi's Experiments with Truth: Essential Writings by and about Mahatma Gandhi .