In a message dated 20/02/2003 12:10:08 GMT Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< I thought that the illness from depleted uranium in warheads was connected with the war in Bosnia. I had not heard about this in connection with the gulf war syndrome. Maybe you or Sarah can point me to the info. >> Kakki, it is widely believed (and that is putting it mildly) that depleted uranium was used in the gulf war as well; for a sample item, you could try the link below: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/362484.stm << Many people in the west, particularly in the U.S,. were shown it every night TV for about 10 years during the Vietnam war and I think it left most with an utter dread and abhorrence of war. Many of those same people also watched live on TV the mass murder and carnage of thousands of innocent people on 9/11/01 and were left with an utter fear and dread of it ever happening again. >> First question: are you suggesting that waging war on Iraq now will achieve this aim? I simply don't believe it. Second question: imagine how the people of Bagdhad will feel when bombs rain down from the skies and destroy their buildings, killing hundreds or maybe thousands of innocent civilians - no less innocent than those who lost their lives on September 11, let us remember. Imagine how the people of Khartoum felt when the US Air Force levelled a huge pharmaceuticals factory with 13 (yes, thirteen) cruise missiles in 1998. Not a shred of evidence was ever produced to substantiate claims that the factory was producing weapons of any sort; indeed the factory owner's Bank of America assets, which had been frozen by Washington, were subsequently released without condition, which was more or less an admission that the attack on the factory had been a catastrophic mistake. To people in Khartoum, this assault would have been terrifying and unforgivable - and we must remember that the attacks were authorised not by some crazed fanatics but by the US government [insert punchline here]. And I'm not trying to make a party political point here, I know it was Clinton who gave the go-ahead for this atrocity, although who's to say Bush wouldn't have done the same. So yes, many of us were left with a horror of war, and a horror of mass murder and destruction of civilian targets - I believe, though, that this applies to ALL countries, not just the USA. If you support war on Iraq, I believe that it is incumbent on you to consider these issues. Azeem in London
