| . .JOIN THE ARMY AND DESTROY OWN YOUR
LIFE QUICKER THAN THE ENEMies......... Down Under With DU, DUBYA?
Adapted
From Sydney Morning Herald
Australian
servicemen in the recent Iraq war were reporting symptoms
of Depleted Uranium Syndrome, a United States nuclear
weapons expert says.
Dr Douglas Rokke is a former US Army nuclear health
physicist and was formerly the Pentagon's expert on the
health effects of depleted uranium ammunition.
Dr.Rokke said Iraqi women and children and American and
Iraqi military personnel had reported respiratory
illnesses and rashes after the recent conflict, and he
had also been told of Australian servicemen and women
with similar symptoms. "That's the reports I
received from the US Army medical department. That's
something that needs to be verified and looked
into.”
During operation Desert Storm in 1991, Dr Rokke led a
team assigned to clean up uranium contamination caused by
friendly fire. "What we saw can be described in only
three words: Oh my God! The wounds were horrible. The
contamination was extensive. Although myself and my team
members wore respiratory and skin protection, that
protection we know today does not provide any adequate
protection against the inhalation, the ingestion, the
absorption of uranium compounds."
He said he now suffered rashes, respiratory problems, and
kidney problems related to his exposure to uranium. Dr
Rokke is in Australia to speak against the use of
depleted uranium weapons, which he describes as a crime
against humanity, creating a toxicological nightmare. He
is campaigning for the outlawing of depleted uranium
munitions, medical care for those who have been exposed
to uranium and a cleanup of exposed environments.
He will speak at public meetings and meet government
officials and returned service groups while in Australia.
"What I have learned from my work is that uranium
munitions must be banned. When we can no longer clean up
the environment and we can no longer provide medical care
for anybody that's exposed, then that weapon must never
be used in conflict."
Jacob Grech of OzPeace Network said: “We'd like our
government as a bare minimum to put Australian service
veterans from the first and second Gulf wars, as well as
Afghanistan, through rigorous testing to get a baseline
study of exactly what the health effects are of depleted
uranium and other chemical toxins and treat them. So far
our government has been prevaricating, it's been
releasing reports which parrot the Pentagon line six to
12 months later, it's been in a state of denial. I think
what we are going to see with Australian returned service
people from the Gulf and Afghanistan is 20 years down the
track exactly what happened with agent orange in
Vietnam."
Fullstory=http://www.smh.com.au/articles
/2003/06/23/1056220529069.html.
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