-Caveat Lector- The Military's Guinea Pigs by Joseph Farah ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- There was a more innocent time in this country when U.S. soldiers rolled up their sleeves when they were told and took their medicine -- in the form of all kinds of vaccines for who-knows-what. Today, some 240 military service personnel are refusing to be inoculated with the anthrax vaccine -- with good reason. Approximately 100,000 Persian Gulf War veterans have become sick with a still-unexplained syndrome many suspect has to do with vaccines they were given and/or through possible exposure to chemical or biological weapons. Since the Pentagon has been less than forthcoming in providing answers to the victims and their families, it's more than understandable that there would be a little suspicion about another vaccine of limited effectiveness. Furthermore, this administration has gone out of its way to do anything and everything it can to destroy the military its commander in chief once candidly admitted he "loathed." But there's a lot more to this picture -- a lot more. It turns out the company with the sole contract for manufacturing the anthrax vaccine is in deep financial trouble -- this after being provided the taxpayer support to renovate its facility and after agreeing to a $29 million contract with the Defense Department. Now Bioport Corp. says it can't meet its commitment to produce the vaccine for $3.50 a dose; instead, it will need to be paid more like $10 a dose. But it gets worse. Despite publicly minimizing the vaccine's risks, the military is taking a different posture in protecting Bioport from any liability. Last September, Army Secretary Louis Caldera agreed to accept the burden of potential claims made against the vaccine manufacturer by service members, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported this week. In doing so, he wrote that the vaccine "involves unusually hazardous risks associated with the potential for adverse reactions in some recipients and the possibility that the desired immunological effect will not be obtained by all recipients." In the memo, Caldera also acknowledged just what those refusing to accept the vaccine have been saying all along -- that there is little assurance it will work against the forms of biological warfare likely to be employed by enemies in the field. The Defense Department is spinning this little development in Clintonesque fashion, downplaying the agreement to take Bioport off the hook for any defects in the vaccine. "It's legalese," explains Army Col. Dick Bridges, a senior Defense Department mouthpiece. "It's like the San Diego Union-Tribune buying libel insurance. You don't expect to libel anyone, but you can't say it's never going to happen." Not quite a perfect analogy. Bioport is not buying insurance against liability claims. It is being provided broad-brush protection against them at taxpayer expense. That raises the question of why. Who's behind Bioport? Why is the company getting this kind of unusual protection and favored treatment from the Pentagon? It turns out the major force behind the company is Fuad El-Hibri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent. How does a company whose principal is a foreign national win a contract to produce such a militarily sensitive product? Here's the answer: Just bring into your company Admiral William J. Crowe, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and give him -- that's right, give him -- 22.5 percent ownership. Crowe invested not one penny of his own money, according to his spokesman. But it's amazing how much attention you can get at the Pentagon with such a resume on your executive team. There's not a doubt in my mind it was well worth the 22.5 percent share of the company to snag Crowe. Doesn't this smack of insider wheeling and dealing? Bioport has had every advantage imaginable handed to it -- from taxpayer subsidized renovations of its plant to product liability underwritten 100 percent by the federal government. And who benefits from it? A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And even with all those advantages, Bioport still has its hand out, threatening bankruptcy if it doesn't get three times its current price for the product. This is a shady deal. And I don't blame the 240 service personnel who have refused to be guinea pigs in this scam. Soldiers are being asked to risk their health for a vaccine of questionable effectiveness and safety. Why? Is it for political reasons? Is it for reasons of greed? Is it some morbid desire to experiment with people's lives? Or is it simply one more of this administration's strategies to destroy the morale and spirit of the U.S. military? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- A daily radio broadcast adaptation of Joseph Farah's commentaries can be heard at http://www.ktkz.com/ DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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