Natalia, thank you for this. It's often difficult to assess whether
things that governments do are done out of ignorance or malice. Ignorance
may play a much larger role than we think. I have a book on my shelves
that documents the stupidity and lack of precaution associated with early atomic
testing in the Nevada desert. And in doing some work on uranium mining and
health about ten years ago I ran into many instances of the public having been
exposed to radiation because mine sites hadn't been cleaned up, etc. For
example, Navaho kids would get testicular cancer because they went to their
favourite swimming hole not recognizing the dangers of swimming in a pit from
which uranium ore had been extracted. My conclusion was that it was mostly
ignorance on the part of the authorities, but ignorance to the point of
malice.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 2:25
PM
Subject: Re: [Futurework] Finding weapons
of mass destruction
Hi Ed,
Thanks for the C.B.C. "full" story.
Darryl and I were loaned some tapes which are titled, "GERMS",
Biological Weapons & America's Secret War,
by: Judith Miller
Stephen Engelberg
William Broad
and read by Murphy Guyer
Perhaps you recognize some of the names, the tapes were
released at some point towards the end of Clinton's terms
in office. No date visible. Maybe bootleg? The tapes seemed to us
to be credible because the writers were describing a program that
they felt was essential and in response to a "genuine" threat.
These tapes describe a rather more expanded program through the
cold war years and well into Clinton's term. Clinton was supposedly
obsessed with the idea of bio/chem weaponry, not just because of
their effectiveness or the need to protect his nation, but the
attrac-
tion of the low cost involved in their production.
At the time of the gulf war, Desert Storm, with Bush I, the fear
that
Hussein would be using bio/chem weaponry urged the military to
get a vaccine going to protect the troops. Of course, there was
really nothing, and they barely had a clue as to what to use for the
most commonly manufactured e.coli types, mostly untested especially
in humans. However, they had zeroed in on some test subjects
who
were religious conscientious objectors (possibly Quakers) to the Viet
Nam
war, who sadly agreed to experimental testing as an alternative to
going to war
and knowingly hurting or killing someone, plus they enforced
administrations
upon their troops, who were not allowed to refuse or they were
subject
to court-martial, detention, corporal punishment--the usual. The vaccines
were
quite taxing to the system, but were prepared on the inadequate budget
and
time-frame for the front-line troops nonetheless.Yet, out of the
approximate
10,000 inoculations prepared, only 7,000 were actually issued, and most
of
those apparently did not leave the Washington area. The suggestion was
that
top military brass, politicians, and other influential people were
given first access
to said vaccine, and possibly a thousand or so actually got to the
troops.
Sadly, no one informed the troops that inoculation took some weeks
to
take effect. Those inoculated were sick as dogs for combat.
There are many twists to this tale, yet what was being related
certainly
challenged the spin that the U.S. had ceased to manufacture
W.M.D's,
or any bio/chem weaponry throughout any of the years since their
in-
ception. Testing was tantamount to a fever, and spending in this
field
increased enormously. During the cold war, a million was a lot, then
a billion
became a lot. Today, what's three trillion missing? Bush would care
if
it wasn't in his pocket!
We've read many reports of extensive testing, some conducted in
Canada
with permission from the Canadian government, who were totally ignorant
of the nature of several aerial releases of toxic substances.
The C.B.C. usually makes a better effort, but they are government
owned.
Interesting that this came up. We had just finished the tapes four months
ago.
Natalia
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 6:12
AM
Subject: [Futurework] Finding weapons
of mass destruction
It would seem that the Americans don't have to go to Iraq to look for
WMDs.
Ed Weick
|
|
C B C . C A N e w s -
F u l l S t o r y :
U.S. tested dangerous chemicals on its military
in 60s
Last
Updated Mon Jun 30 23:25:22 2003
WASHINGTON --
Between 1962 and 1973,
the Pentagon involved more than 5,800 service members in its secret
testing of dangerous chemical and biological agents.
Findings released Monday by the Pentagon said that during a 10-year
period, 50 tests were conducted by the military to see how these
chemical agents measured up.
Some of the tests used non-lethal bacteria and other experiments
tested ways to use submarines to distribute biological weapons.
Officials said the tests were done to study the combat uses of
biological and chemical weapons and how to protect American troops
from such attacks.
It was originally believed that simulated agents were used in the
testing, but last year the Defence Department admitted that real
chemical and biological weapons were used.
One test called Blue Tango, involved spraying two types of
bacteria, including E. coli, in a rain forest in Hawaii in 1968 to
gauge how the bacteria would linger in the vegetation.
Another test, Folded Arrow, involved spraying bacillus globigii
from a submarine over part of Oahu, Hawaii, and over several boats off
the coast in 1968 to gauge how Venezuelan equine encephalitis would be
carried by wind.
"It bespeaks the time, the early '60s, when we were in the Cold
War, and we were concerned that Russia and perhaps China had chemical
and biological capabilities that could be used against American troops
and against us in the homeland," said an official with the Defence
Department's Deployment Health Support Directorate.
The U.S. scrapped its biological weapons program in the late 1960s
and agreed in a 1997 treaty to destroy all its chemical weapons.
Written by CBC News Online staff
Copyright �
2003 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved
|
