DO UGANDANS KNOW THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE NORTH????? THEY SHOULD READ THIS.
BWAMBUGA. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >-------- Original Message -------- >Subject: [Mwananchi] MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ATTACKING IRAQ >From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Fri, October 11, 2002 1:19 pm >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > > > >Helen Caldicott � Thursday, October 10, 2002 > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >As the Bush administration prepares to make war on the Iraqi people -- >and make no mistake, it is the civilian population of that country and >not Saddam Hussein who will bear the brunt of the hostilities -- it is >important that we recall the medical consequences of the last Gulf War. >That conflict was, in effect, a nuclear war. >During the 1991 Gulf War, the United States deployed hundreds of tons of >weapons, many of them anti-tank shells made of depleted uranium 238. This >material is 1.7 times more dense than lead, and hence when incorporated >into an anti-tank shell and fired, it achieves great momentum, cutting >through tank armor like a hot knife through butter. >What other properties does uranium 238 possess? First, it is pyrophoric: >When it hits a tank at high speed it bursts into flames, producing tiny >aerosolized particles less than 5 microns in diameter that are easily >inhalable into the terminal air passages of the lung. Second, it is a >potent radioactive carcinogen, emitting a relatively heavy alpha particle >composed of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Once inside the body -- either in >the lung if it has been inhaled, or in a wound if it penetrates flesh, or >ingested since it concentrates in the food chain and contaminates water >-- it can produce cancer in the lungs, bones, blood, or kidneys. Third, >it has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, meaning the areas in which this >ammunition was used in Iraq and Kuwait during Gulf War will remain >effectively radioactive for the rest of time. >Children are 10 to 20 times more sensitive to the effects of radiation >than adults. My fellow pediatricians in the Iraqi town of Basra, for >example, are reporting an increase of 6 to 12 times in the incidence of >childhood leukemia and cancer. Yet because of the sanctions imposed upon >Iraq by the United States and United Nations, they have no access to >drugs or effective radiation machines to treat their patients. >The incidence of congenital malformations has doubled in the exposed >populations in Iraq where these weapons were used. Among them are babies >born with only one eye or missing all or part of their brain. >The medical consequences of the use of uranium 238 almost certainly did >not affect only Iraqis. Some U.S. veterans exposed to it are reported, by >at least one medical researcher, to be excreting uranium in their urine a >decade later. Other reports indicate it is being excreted in their semen. >(The fact that almost one-third of the American tanks used in Desert >Storm were themselves made of uranium 238 is another story, for their >crews were thereby exposed to whole-body gamma radiation.) >Would these effects have surprised the U.S. authorities? No, for >incredible as it may seem, the American military's own studies prior to >Desert Storm warned that aerosol uranium exposure under battlefield >conditions could lead to cancers of the lung and bone, kidney damage, >non-malignant lung disease, neurocognitive disorders, chromosomal damage >and birth defects. >Do George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, and >Donald Rumsfeld understand the medical consequences of the 1991 war and >the likely health effects of the next one they are now planning? If they >do not, their ignorance is breathtaking; even more incredible though -- >and alas, much more likely -- is that they do understand, but do not >care. Helen Caldicott has devoted the last 25 years to an international >campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear >age. She spoke in San Francisco recently in a benefit for the Nuclear >Policy Research Institute, which she founded an > > > > > > > > > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > >ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Join the Mwananchi group at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/mwananchi to >discuss African issues > >Join the Kiswahili group at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/kiswahili if >you are interested in learning about Swahili language and culture > >Join Digital Africa-an information technology group that discusses >internet technology in Africa at >http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/digafrica2 > >Join the Kenyan discussion group at >http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/wananchi to discuss Kenyan related >issues > > > > > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > __________________________________________________________________ The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now! http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/
