posted 05-27-2003 12:44 PM            

26 May 2003

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=409679

Four soldiers vaccinated before the war in Iraq have triggered fears of a "Gulf War II syndrome" after exhibiting symptoms similar to those suffered by hundreds of troops who fought in the 1991 conflict.

Veterans' organisations are demanding that Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, explain why he told the Commons in January that soldiers would not be given multiple vaccinations over a short timeframe because of "lessons learnt" from the previous Gulf conflict, They claim he then allowed the armed forces to follow the 1991 procedures for vaccinations.

The new syndrome became apparent when two men vaccinated before the Iraq conflict became so ill that they were unable to fly to the Gulf. One, Stephen Cartwright, was admitted to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge because he developed a serious rash after he was inoculated. He had had five vaccinations, including two against anthrax, in a single day. The other, Tony Barker, also became too ill to travel to join his unit after the vaccinations.

Two other soldiers, based in Germany, who served in Iraq have fallen ill, according to the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association, which has 4,500 members who say they are suffering from Gulf War syndrome. Charles Plumridge, a senior co-ordinator for the association, said: "Wives of present servicemen are concerned about whether their husbands will get ill too. It's only a small number so far but we fear it will get bigger."

The group blames the original syndrome on the powerful cocktail of vaccinations against diseases and germ agents that was given to troops over a short period in 1991. The symptoms include skin disorders, hair loss, headaches, muscular pain, nervous system disorders and sleep disturbances.

The group says promises made by Mr Hoon were broken. On 7 January 2003 he was asked by Paul Keetch MP whether the Government was confident that "vaccines issued to servicemen today will not make them ill in the future". Mr Hoon replied that "a key lesson learnt from the Gulf conflict was the importance of ensuring that members of the armed forces should not undergo in a short time a series of different vaccinations. That was identified as a particular cause of difficulty, and the lesson has been learnt and acted upon, so that there is now a process whereby individual members do not receive a number of vaccinations in a short timeframe".

But Mr Plumridge said recent reports suggested that the advice was not followed. "We blame the Ministry of Defence for giving vaccinations in multiple doses rather than singly," he said. "It would be a serious offence for Mr Hoon to mislead the Commons."

On 23 May, the Medical Research Council published a review of existing research, which recommended "a full review of the differing vaccinations schedules used in participating countries" for the Gulf War in 1991.

posted 05-27-2003 12:47 PM            

Four British soldiers who received jabs for the Iraq conflict are to sue the Ministry of Defence claiming they are suffering from a new form of Gulf War Syndrome.

The revelation comes as a veterans' support group predicted today that thousands of UK servicemen will come forward with mystery illnesses linked to "vaccine overload".

Tony Flint of the National Gulf Veterans and Families' Association, confirmed he now anticipates a fresh wave of health cases. "We are expecting at least 6,000 new cases as a result of the Iraq conflict - about 30 per cent of the 22,000 troops who had the anthrax vaccination."

The first four soldiers from the latest conflict who are set to sue - two reservists and two regulars - are blaming depression, breathing problems and eczema on injections they were given before being sent to the Middle East.

Professor Malcolm Hooper, chief scientific adviser to the veterans' association, said the MoD did not seem to have learned from "the mistakes of the 1991 conflict" in relation to multiple vaccinations. "These guys are clearly suffering from vaccine overload," he said.

The key concern centres on soldiers given anthrax vaccines on top of other more routine inoculations.

Professor Hooper added: "The problem was one which was there in 1991. Our studies have shown that these people have excessive symptoms - three to four-fold compared with people who have not been vaccinated in the same way."

Concern about the long-term side-effects led to almost half the 45,000 British servicemen and women in the recent conf lict refusing vaccinations against anthrax, fearing that they might be afflicted by the syndrome. However, all four men are understood to have been given the anthrax vaccination and had multiple jabs in one day before falling ill.

Royal Engineers reservist Stephen Cartwright was taken to hospital with a fever and blistered skin after being given a number of jabs, including the controversial anthrax vaccine. The 24-yearold spent four days in hospital and was so ill he did not make it to the Gulf.

The second reservist, Tony Barker, 45, was given five vaccinations - hepatitis, typhoid, polio, diphtheria and yellow fever on 17 February, days after he was called up. The father-of-one received an anthrax jab less than a week later. The Royal Logistics Corps driver fell ill in Kuwait after being given nerve agent pre-treatment and anti-malarial pills. He also had a second anthrax jab on 13 March.

Lawyer Mark McGhee, who is acting for the four men, said: "The symptoms that these four individuals are experiencing are identical to those of the individuals I represent in relation to the first Gulf war." The High Court is due to rule within weeks on whether Gulf War Syndrome can be recognised in law.

posted 06-06-2003 07:25 AM            

June 5, 2003

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030605.wmili0605/BNStory/National/

Canada's military ombudsman on Thursday launched an investigation into how the forces treated members who believed that they had been exposed to environmental dangers while on foreign deployment.

Several militaries involved in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, including Canada's, have been plagued by nagging accusations that senior leaders played down the severity of the alleged "gulf war syndrome," while avoiding a proper search for its cause.

André Marin, who said that he was inviting Canadian Forces members to come forward to assist in his investigation, said that he was not trying to prove or disprove the existence of a gulf war syndrome.

"This is not an enquiry into the cause of members' illnesses," Mr. Marin emphasized. "We will not debate the merits of gulf war syndrome or whether vaccinations cause illnesses; instead, we want to know whether or not the policies and procedures in place ensure that soldiers and their families are cared for."

Mr. Marin's office said that he launched the investigation after a number of complaints from Canadian Forces members who alleged that they had been left ill after exposure to environmental toxins.

"Though the office will not attempt to either prove or disprove the authenticity of these claims," the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement, "it will investigate the treatment of members once they return from deployment."

posted 06-06-2003 07:35 AM            

I am afeard there are few die well that die in a battle: for how can they charitably dispose of anything when blood is their argument! Now, if these men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the king that led them to it.

posted 06-14-2003 04:29 PM            

The High Court in London has upheld a ruling that a former soldier is entitled to a pension because he is suffering from a syndrome linked to his service in the 1991 Gulf War.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2986898.stm

Campaigners hope it will make it easier for other veterans who say their health has been wrecked to claim damages.

But the judge has made it clear that the ruling does not mean official recognition of the generic concept of Gulf War Syndrome. Subsequent cases would have to be considered on their individual merits, he said.

Mr Justice Newman decided on Friday to back a decision by a war pensions tribunal that former Parachute Regiment medical officer Shaun Rusling was the victim of an identifiable syndrome attributable to his service in the Gulf.

I treated Iraqi casualties with more care and compassion than the MoD has treated me
Shaun Rusling

Implications of the ruling
The decision had been challenged by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which does not accept the existence of any such syndrome.

Initially, the War Pensions Agency had refused Mr Rusling a war pension.

But that ruling was overturned at the subsequent tribunal, prompting the MoD to act.

After the judgment, Mr Rusling said: "I am elated. It is a total vindication of all war veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome."

Immunisations offered to troops in both Gulf Wars...

*Polio
*Tuberculosis
*Meningitis A and C
*Typhoid
*Tetanus
*Diptheria
*Yellow fever
*Cholera
*Anthrax
*Hepatitis B

Soldiers fighting in the first conflict were also offered vaccinations against whooping cough and the plague.
However, he criticised the MoD for repeatedly trying to block his claim.

"How many times do you have to go before a court to prove the problems you have got from service for your country?

"The treatment we have had is outrageous. I treated Iraqi casualties with more care and compassion than the MoD has treated me, and my fellow sufferers from the Gulf War."

Many veterans of the 1991 Gulf War claim to suffer a range of symptoms which they say amounts to a "syndrome".

Symptoms....

Depression, eczema, fatigue, nausea and breathing problems were among the symptoms they reported.

They have identified several possible causes, with the most likely being injections against chemical weapons.

The MoD disputes there is any one syndrome. Though it accepts some troops have suffered ill-health as a result of the war, it says factors such as exposure to DU depleted uranium and the smoke from burning oil wells cannot be ignored.

Soldiers were given drugs to combat chemical weapons
It had turned down claims by victims for army pensions, until Mr Rusling won his appeal in May 2002.

During the Gulf War, he served as an army medic in the Parachute Regiment, treating the Iraqi wounded at a field hospital inside the Saudi border.

After coming home, he suffered chronic fatigue and was discharged on medical grounds in 1995.

A year ago a pensions appeal tribunal cited Gulf War syndrome as the injury, wound or disease on which his case was based.

The MoD appealed and the case went to the High Court.

But in his ruling, Mr Justice Newman said he could find no basis upon which the tribunal's decision could be legally impugned.

More claims

Mr Rusling's lawyer Mark McGee said the victory may make it easier for other Gulf War veterans to pursue their claims.

"All other Gulf veterans who say they are suffering from this condition will now be able to bring their claims to an appeals tribunal."

But in a statement after the hearing the MoD pointed out that despite the decision, the judgment did not find that Gulf War Syndrome exists.

"We accept that some Gulf veterans have become ill and that many veterans believe this ill-health is related to their Gulf experience.

"There is no medical or scientific consensus about the causes of this ill-health.

"The overwhelming consensus of medical and scientific opinion is that the symptoms reported by some Gulf veterans do not constitute a discrete medical disorder or syndrome."

Four soldiers who fought in this year's conflict are threatening to sue the MoD because they say they share similar symptoms.

posted 06-23-2003 12:17 PM            

June 23 2003

Uranium expert Dr Doug Rokke.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/23/1056220529825.html

Australian servicemen and women who served in the recent Iraq war were reporting symptoms of uranium sickness, a United States nuclear weapons expert said today.

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.

Speaking in Melbourne today, 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," he said.

"When American soldiers are sick and the Iraqis are sick there's nothing that says an Australian soldier is going to be isolated when he goes through those areas and he is not going to become ill.

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," he said.

"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, kidney problems and cataracts 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 clean-up 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," Dr Rokke said.

"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 the OzPeace Network, said while Australia did not use depleted uranium munitions, the country exported between 2500 and 3000 tonnes of uranium to the United States each year for energy.

"It's the waste energy products that is used in the manufacture of these munitions.

"From the very start, before they are even made, Australia and the Australian government is complicit in the production of these weapons."

"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," Mr Grech said.

"So far our government has been furphying, it's been releasing reports which parrot the Pentagon line six to 12 months later, it's been in a state of denial."

Mr Grech said he had not yet had reports of service personnel from the most recent conflict suffering uranium sickness, but there were a lot of veterans from the first Gulf war displaying symptoms.

posted 06-30-2003 12:41 PM            

Birth Defects Tied to GWS

The man in the street may have heard about the deformed Iraqi children, born following the first Persian Gulf war. But Americans remain largely un aware about the shocking number of children with horrifying birth defects born to U.S. vets who returned home after the war ended in 1991.

Exclusive to American Free Press

By Christopher J. Petherick
http://www.americanfreepress.net/06_29_03/Birth_Defects_Tied/birth_defects_tied.html

American veterans of the 1991 war in Iraq, who reported suffering a wide array of debilitating illnesses now known as Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), have had an alarming number of children born with severe birth defects, according to several independent researchers. The Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), however, have refused to acknowledge a direct relationship between those who served in or around Iraq during the war and the increase in birth defects among their offspring.

On Jan. 17, 1991, the United States attacked Iraq to expel the country’s forces from Kuwait after it was invaded in 1990. Some 697,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors participated in the war, which barely lasted a month-and-a-half.

At first, U.S. war planners were applauded for keeping U.S. casualties to a minimum. But after the war officially came to close on Feb. 28, 1991, veterans began reporting illnesses doctors were at a loss to explain.

Veterans reported suffering a wide range of symptoms, including chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches, memory loss, depression, un explained rashes and sleep disturbances. This wide array of ailments came to be known collectively as GWS.

Despite the evidence, the government still refuses to link the war with illnesses suffered by vets.

The VA disputes reports on GWS, saying it “is a non-scientific label that has frequently been used to describe those veterans with unexplained illnesses.”

VA officials argue that veterans are actually suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, “an anxiety disorder commonly diagnosed in individuals exposed to extraordinary stress or trauma, such as that associated with military combat.”

But, 12 years after the war has ended, more and more veterans have reported their illnesses getting worse. According to some independent researchers, thousands of Gulf War I vets have died from illnesses related to GWS.

It’s not just veterans who are suffering from GWS. Another tragic result of the war, according to independent researchers, is the shocking number of children with severe birth defects born to Gulf War vets.

“Sixty-seven percent of babies born to the 400,000 vets who suffer from Gulf War Syndrome have birth defects,” said Joyce Riley, a former nurse who flew in Iraq and the founder and spokesperson of the American Gulf War Veterans Association. “But the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs do not want America to know the number of sick, dead and deformed kids that vets are having. It’s another cover-up.”

Mrs. Riley served in the Gulf War as a captain in the Air Force Reserve and flew C-130 missions with a medical team in support of the war.

“A lot of the babies are being born with organs out of place—kidneys in the wrong place, hearts out of the body,” Riley told AFP. “The most [common birth defect] is failure to thrive, where they could not keep weight on and just didn’t make it.”

Though the government refuses to acknowledge that many children of vets are suffering, Mrs. Riley says the evidence linking the ghastly birth defects to Iraq is overwhelming.

“One nurse who served over there—all three of her children were born autistic,” she said. “We’ve also seen a lot of what is known as ‘Goldenhar Syndrome,’ that is where there is a missing left eye and left ear. It’s very strange. A lot of people believe this has something to do with the radiological problem related to the use of depleted uranium.”

“Goldenhar Syndrome is a congenital birth defect which involves deformities of the face,” reports the National Craniofacial Association (NCA), a non-profit organization based in Tennessee that assists families of children born with facial deformities. “It usually affects one side of the face only. Characteristics include: a partially formed or totally absent ear; the chin may be closer to the affected ear; one corner of the mouth may be higher than the other; or a missing eye.”

According to NCA, the causes of Goldenhar Syndrome are a bit of a mystery. It is not caused by anything the mother does while pregnant. However, certain factors, such as the environment, play a part.

The group is specifically looking into a link between the Gulf War and an increase in this type of birth defect.

“[T]here does seem to be an increased incidence of Goldenhar among the children of Gulf War veterans,” reports NCA.

The NCA, along with the University of Texas South western Medical Center at Dallas and the Association of Birth Defect Children, Inc., have initiated a study into the relationship between Gulf War vets and Goldenhar. The groups are trying to locate all children with Goldenhar syndrome who were born subsequent to July 1, 1991, and who had a parent who served in the U.S. military between 1990 and 1991.

The reasons remain puzzling as to why so many children with birth defects have been born to veterans.

Some believe it is due to the vast number of highly toxic depleted uranium rounds fired into Iraq by U.S. forces. Others contend that it is due to the many vaccines given to troops working in the area. Still others argue that it is the result of the demolition of Iraq’s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.

posted 07-23-2003 04:30 PM            

NATO experts attribute the mysterious symptoms suffered by U.S. soldiers to the use of depleted uranium

BAGHDAD, July 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Several mysterious diseases were reported among a number of American troops within the vicinity of Baghdad airport, a military source closely close to NATO unveiled.

U.S. soldiers deployed around Baghdad airport started showing symptoms of mysterious fever, itching, scars and dark brown spots on the skin, the source, who refused to be named, said in statements published Thursday, July 17, by the Saudi Al-Watan newspaper.

He asserted that three soldiers who suffered these symptoms did not respond to medical treatment in Iraqi hospitals and were flown to Washington for medication.

The military source reported a media blackout by U.S. officials to hide such information from the public.

The Americans claim the symptoms and the mysterious diseases were resulting from exposure to the scourging sun, which the U.S. troops are not used to, he added.

U.S. officials did not come up with an explanation for the symptoms, which NATO experts tend to believe result from direct exposure to powerful nuclear radiations of the sophisticated B-2 bombs used in the war on Iraq, particularly in striking Iraqi Republican Guards forces who deployed to defend the vicinity of Baghdad airport.

The military source stressed that the shrouds of secrecy imposed by American officials on the issue were prompted by fears of creating waves of panic and anger among the troops, particularly after announcements that American troops would remain in Iraq indefinitely.

He asserted that NATO experts measured levels of radioactive pollution in Iraq and confirmed there were levels of radioactive pollution with destructive impacts on man and environment that may lead to risks suffered by generations to come.

On April 25, the British Observer quoted military sources as affirming that depleted uranium shells and bombs used by U.S. and British troops during Iraq invasion were five times more than the number used during 1991 Gulf war.

posted 08-04-2003 03:50 PM            

Army Sends Teams to Probe Iraq Illness

By PAULINE JELINEK
Associated Press Writer

August 1, 2003, 12:40 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- The Army is trying to figure out what is causing a rash of serious pneumonia cases, including two fatalities, among soldiers serving in Iraq.

A six-person team of specialists was en route to Iraq Friday to investigate 14 cases of pneumonia serious enough that the soldiers had to be put on ventilators to breathe and evacuated from the region, the Army Surgeon General's office said Friday.

Two soldiers died, nine recovered and three were still hospitalized as of Thursday, spokeswoman Lyn Kukral said.

The team on its way to Iraq includes infectious disease experts, laboratory officers and people who will take samples of soil, water and air.

So far, officials have identified no infectious agent common to all the cases. There is no evidence any of the cases were caused by exposure to chemical or biological weapons, environmental toxins or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), officials said.

A two-person team already has gone to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where most of the cases were treated after evacuation. The two teams also will review patient records and laboratory results and interview health care workers and patients, if possible, said a statement from the Army Surgeon General and U.S. Army Medical Command.

The teams will be looking for similarities among the cases, which so far have hit troops in geographically dispersed areas and from different units, said the Thursday statement. They also were spread over time, with two in March, three in April, two in May, three in June and four in July.

Though only 14 cases were considered serious, there have been 100 cases altogether since March 1 among troops that began deploying late last years to the Persian Gulf.

Army-wide, pneumonia cases serious enough to warrant hospitalization happen in about 9 of 10,000 soldiers per year. Given the number of troops deployed, the 100 cases "do not exceed expectations," the surgeon general's office said.

posted 08-04-2003 08:05 PM            

You have a right to your opinion.

posted 08-05-2003 11:48 AM            

"That's fine....
You have a right to your opinion."'

posted 08-05-2003 11:55 AM            

I guess the problem simply doesn't exist.

Kind of like the female Pavelow pilot who took her jabs and shrivelled away down to nothing and basically spends her life in a fetal poition.

Nah...It just doesn't exist.

How convenient for TPTB.

Yeah...but lets not forget how HARMLESS Uranium dust in your lungs is...nah it would
never give you cancer or radiation sickness..or birth defects....nahhh...just suck it right in your lungs...nothing will happen.

posted 08-05-2003 01:37 PM            

War's unintended effects
Use of depleted uranium weapons lingers as health concern.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/133581_du04.html

By LARRY JOHNSON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER FOREIGN DESK EDITOR

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The ideal legacy of the war in Iraq is a free and democratic society, but a sinister legacy of another kind is possible as well -- cancers and birth defects.

Depleted uranium weapons used by the U.S.-led forces in the war have left battle sites throughout Iraq contaminated with abnormally high levels of radiation. of Baghdad. Depleted uranium weapons were used in populated areas in Iraq.

Although there is no firm consensus, nuclear experts and laymen alike generally agree that depleted uranium, which is toxic as well as radioactive, is at the very least a potential cause of cancers and birth defects. Some Iraqi physicians and others blame depleted uranium weapons used in the 1991 Gulf War for a major increase of cancers and birth defects that occurred a few years later. It is also a prime suspect for the Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) that has sickened and killed thousands of U.S. veterans.

The Pentagon and United Nations estimate that U.S. and British forces used 1,100 to 2,200 tons of armor-piercing shells made of depleted uranium (DU)during attacks in Iraq in March and April -- far more than the estimated 375 tons used in the 1991 Gulf War.

U.S. tanks, Bradley fighting machines, A-10 attack jets and Apache helicopters routinely used depleted uranium rounds, but in the recent war, the ammunition was used in and near heavily populated areas, not just in the desert.

There are some studies under way that could shed more light on the effects of depleted uranium, a highly complex and poorly understood subject. Critics say DU shouldn't be used until the studies have been completed, while supporters, primarily the military, say it is critical to success on the battlefield.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced legislation requiring the U.S. government to conduct studies of DU's effects on health and the environment, and cleanup of DU contamination in the United States. The bill, co-sponsored by 23 other Democrats, remains in committee.

He said DU may well be associated with increased birth defects.

"We continue to get these sporadic reports of various places where a lot of people are getting sick, and nobody is willing to connect the dots yet," he said. "I'm afraid we're going to have a lot of people get sick before they finally admit that depleted uranium really causes a problem for us (U.S. veterans and their families) as well as for the Iraqis."

After NATO's use of DU weapons in Kosovo in 1999, the Council of Europe parliamentarians called for a worldwide ban on the manufacture, testing, use and sale of weapons using depleted uranium, asserting that NATO's use of DU weapons would have "long term effects on health and quality of life in South-East Europe, affecting future generations." The call went unheeded.

An independent policy analyst on the use and effects of DU, in a June 24 report, was critical of both the British and the Americans for not doing more to protect their troops and civilians from DU in Iraq. But the report held criticism for those on all sides of the DU issue.

"What is clear ... is that elements of the U.S. government will manipulate information and even lie about the health of U.S. combat veterans to avoid liability for DU's health and environmental effects," said Dan Fahey, who has testified on DU at a number of congressional hearings. "Equally as clear is the willingness of some anti-DU activists to promote theories as fact, fabricate data and manipulate statistics, and exploit the suffering of people to further political or financial interests."

'A well-established risk'

In June, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer conducted tests at six sites from Basra to Baghdad, and found elevated levels of radiation at all of them. One destroyed tank near Baghdad was 1,500 times more radioactive than normal background radiation. Another was 1,400 times more radioactive than background.

To get additional evidence that DU was used on these tanks, the P-I used swabs of cloth to gather samples of residue from the blackened bullet holes on two tanks on the outskirts of Baghdad, and from the black ash on a tank in Kut.

Bruce Busby, radiation safety officer for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle analyzed the swabs. Although stressing that far more sophisticated equipment and tests are required to positively identify DU and precisely measure contamination levels, he was able to determine that the swabs had elevated levels of radioactive contamination, consistent with DU. Still, Busby is not convinced it is a severe problem in Iraq. " ... Considering all the other hazards those people are exposed to, this is a small risk," he said.
A tank outside Kut in southern Iraq
Zoom Dan DeLong / P-I
Outside Kut in southern Iraq, two young Iraqi men remove parts from one of the many tanks in the area.

Others were more alarmed by the P-I findings.

"... if you found it (DU), it's possible kids could get it on their hands by playing on tanks, and adults could inhale re-suspended dust if salvaging equipment," Fahey said.

Tedd Weyman, deputy director of the Uranium Medical Centre, an independent research group in Canada and Washington, D.C., was also concerned about DU in Iraq.

"... Alpha emitters -- DU is one -- are carcinogenic and . . . inhalation exposure of low quantities of low-level radioactive material is a well-established risk," Weyman said. "Externally, the radioactivity travels a very short distance -- centimeters -- before fully releasing all its energy and disintegrating, (But) if inhaled and lying adjacent to cells in the body, it is a serious hazard."

Although the Pentagon has said depleted uranium is the material of choice because its density allows it to slice through heavy tank armor, the Army is currently looking at an alternative. A Florida company, Liquidmetal Technologies, says it can get comparable performance from ammunition using an exotic alloy of tungsten, and if the Army decides to switch, the new rounds could be in service within two years.

The Pentagon has sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, saying there have been no known health problems associated with the munition. At the same time, the military acknowledges the hazards in an Army training manual, which requires that anyone who comes within 25 meters of any DU-contaminated equipment or terrain wear respiratory and skin protection, and says that "contamination will make food and water unsafe for consumption."

According to the Army Environmental Policy Institute, holding a spent DU round would expose a person to about 200 mrem per hour. That's a level of radiation equivalent to receiving eight chest X-rays per hour, said Tom Carpenter, director of the Government Accountability Project's Nuclear Oversight Campaign. That's also twice the annual radiation exposure limit allowed by the Washington state.

The Environmental Protection Agency Web site says, "There is no firm basis for setting a 'safe' level of exposure (to radiation) above background. Most regulatory and advisory bodies around the world (including EPA) assume that any exposure carries some risk and that the risk increases as the exposure increases."

The April issue of New Scientist magazine reported that Alexandra Miller, a radiobiologist with the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, Md., has discovered the first direct evidence that radiation from DU can damage chromosomes. "The chromosomes break, and the fragments reform in a way that results in abnormal joins. Both the breaks and the joins are commonly found in tumor cells," the article says. The implication is that it could cause cancer.

Miller's work suggests that the toxic nature of DU, combined with its radioactivity, could produce effects more dire than either of those characteristics acting alone.

"I think that we assumed that we knew everything that we needed to know about uranium. (But) This is something we have to consider now when we think about risk estimates," the article says.

Cancer on the rise

Researchers aren't the only ones concerned.

The U.S. and British use of DU during the latest conflict, also alarms doctors in Iraq. Cancer had already increased dramatically in southern Iraq. In 1988, 34 people died of cancer; in 1998, 450 died of cancer; in 2001 there were 603 cancer deaths. The rate of birth defects also had risen sharply, according to doctors in Iraq.

Now, doctors in Iraq say, the number of cancers and birth defects may be "devastating."

"This is the right time for active support to help prevent the catastrophic effects of the bombing," said Dr. Alim Yacoub, on his last day as dean of the Al Mustansiriya Medical School in Baghdad.

"It is the right time for our U.S. friends to alleviate the consequences of depleted uranium and dirty weapons," he said.

"If there isn't a centralized health plan soon, the consequences could be devastating," said Yacoub, the foremost Iraqi authority on the effects of DU. Yacoub has tracked the rise of cancer in Iraq for years, and places the blame squarely on DU.

"For the past 12 years, we have only been able to watch what's going on in this country, now it is time for a comprehensive health plan for cleaning up DU and for treating cancer," he said. Yacoub has carefully preserved his studies and is eager to present them to other researchers.

From the cancer ward at the Mother and Child Hospital in Basra, Dr. Janan Ghalib Hassan has also tracked the rise in cancer in Iraq, primarily in the south, for years. It is a phenomena that she also says is most likely caused by the DU used by U.S. forces in the Gulf War in 1991.

"I worked here in this hospital in 1980 and never saw so much cancer, but after 1991, I started to see many more cancer cases," Hassan said.

She said that because the incubation period for cancer is about five years, the effects of the latest war should start showing up in 2008. "I think the number of cancer cases will be as much as 10 times or more higher," she said. "It is a crime; a crime."

FOR MORE INFORMATION
DEPLETED URANIUM

WHAT IT IS:

Depleted uranium is a highly dense, toxic and radioactive metal that is the byproduct of the process during which fissionable uranium used to make nuclear bombs and reactor fuel is separated from natural uranium. The U.S. uses it for bullets and shells.

WHAT IT DOES:

Depleted uranium contains the highly toxic U-238 isotope, which has a radioactive half-life of about 4.5 billion years. As U-238 breaks down, an ongoing process, it creates protactinium-234, which radiates potent beta particles that may cause cancer as well as mutations in body cells that could lead to birth defects.

HOW IT SPREADS:

posted 08-09-2003 11:22 PM            

AUGUST 8, 2003
NEW REVELATION SURFACES ABOUT
GULF WAR II “MYSTERY ILLNESS”

The American Gulf War Veterans Association (AGWVA), an independent Gulf War Veterans’ support organization, has long searched for answers to explain why nearly half of the 697,000 Gulf War I Veterans are now ill and why over 200,000 of those servicemen/women have requested disability, but have received no adequate diagnosis or treatment, from either the Department of Defense (DOD), or Veteran’s Affairs. Though there have been over 125 studies done by the government at the cost of over $300,000,000 to the taxpayer, we still have no answers as to what caused so many of our soldiers to become ill. Meanwhile, the suffering veterans are receiving little, if any, medical treatment for this illness. It seems that whenever veterans become ill, the term “mystery illness” seems to be the first and often the only diagnosis that is ever made. Veterans are then left to fend for themselves, sick and unable to work, with little hope of a normal life again.

The AGWVA is now again asking questions, this time, about the newest “mystery illness” to hit the military. After being pressured by a few independent news reporters who have not permitted this “mystery” to continue unabated, The DOD recently has been forced to announce the “mystery” deaths of Gulf War II soldiers and that at least 100 other men and women have become ill. Again, however, there were no adequate answers, but, only that the “mystery illness” diagnosis had reared its ugly head again. According to a family member of one of the military victims, the DOD recently, has changed its label of the illness and is now calling it “pneumonia” in sharp contrast to what a physician on the scene reported. Due to continuing pressure for sound answers, the DOD was again forced to send an investigative team to Iraq, however the convenient, repeated lack of diagnosis, unfortunately translates into lack of treatment, and lack of compensation for the veteran. The jury is still out, however, if the DOD will be forthcoming with the truth this time.

Contrary to the “pneumonia” and “mystery illness” labels, enlightening information surfaced today on “THE POWER HOUR” radio show (www.thepowerhour.com) in an interview with Mark Neusche, father of Josh Neusche, one of the GW II troops to lose his life from the “mystery illness” while serving in Iraq. The father stated that his 20-year-old healthy son, a former track star and non-smoker, had written home on June 26th explaining that he would be going on a 30-hour “hauling” mission, but that he could not disclose what they would be hauling. The son had stated that he had been to the Palace of Sadaam Hussein, and it was later learned that he was “hauling” at the Baghdad Airport.

Marsha Paxson also appeared on the show, as she is the journalist who broke the U.S. story for the Lake Sun Leader (www.lakesunleader.com). Although the “facts” behind this story are continually changing, Ms. Paxson is one of the few journalists who is remaining true to the facts of the original story. Ms. Paxson revealed in her articles that the father reported that his son was not the only ill soldier. Neusche stated that while his son was in a coma at Landstuhl Hospital, the father overheard the nurses say that they were expecting numerous sick troops to be brought in all at one time. In fact, the father actually witnessed approximately 55 other troops being received by the hospital after they were transported by a military ambulance (bus). According to the father, the transported troops were exhibiting varying degrees of the illness. Some walked, some were in wheelchairs and others were on respirators. In the commotion, a doctor reported to the father that his son was suffering from a “toxin.” No mention of pneumonia was ever made to him, nor was it ever reported in the medical record.

Paxson and the AGWVA now question the diagnosis, the actual number of troops that were reported ill, and when the DOD first became aware of this incident.

One of the most surprising statements to come from The Power Hour interview conducted on “The Genesis Network” was that while the son, Josh Neusche, was a healthy young soldier on June 26, 2003, when he reported that he was going to serve on the secret hauling mission, by July 1, 2003, he was in a coma, and that day was suddenly classified by the military, as medically retired from the Army without Josh or his family’s consent. Josh did not die until July 12, 2003. Among other problems that this new classification created was that the DOD was no longer obligated to assist the family in getting to Germany to be with their son as he lay in a coma. Because the DOD would not provide even so much as plane or taxi fare for the Neusche family, all 650 members of the 203 Engineer Battalion each contributed $10.00 to make the family’s final visit possible.

The AGWVA is demanding answers in a timely fashion and according to spokesperson Joyce Riley, “We will not tolerate another whitewashing of a tragedy against our veterans. It has happened too many times before with our failure to safeguard our troops, adequately diagnose and effectively treat the victims of Agent Orange spraying, Project Shad shipboard-experimentation, and Gulf War Illness I. This time someone has to be held accountable.” Ms. Riley closed by saying, “Speaking out for our past and present sick veterans is the best way for Americans to support our troops!”

The interview with Mark Neusche and Marsha Paxson can be heard at: www.thepowerhour.com click on the “GWII mystery illness interview.”

For more information on Gulf War illnesses, go to www.gulfwarvets.com

posted 08-18-2003 01:38 PM            

Workers World newspaper, 21 August 2003 www.globalresearch.ca 18 August 2003

The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FLO308B.html

Has U.S. use of depleted-uranium weapons turned Iraq into a radioactive danger area for both Iraqis and occupation troops?

This question has already had serious consequences. In hot spots in downtown Baghdad, reporters have measured radiation levels that are 1,000 to 1,900 times higher than normal background radiation levels.

It has also opened a debate in the Netherlands parliament and media as 1,100 Dutch troops in Kuwait prepare to enter Iraq as part of the U.S./British-led occupation forces. The Dutch are concerned about the danger of radioactive poisoning and radiation sickness in Iraq.

Washington has assured the Dutch government that it used no DU weapons near Al-Samawah, the town where Dutch troops will be stationed. But Dutch journalists and anti-war forces have already found holes in the U.S. stories, according to an article on the Radio Free Europe website.

DU-caused radiation had already raised alarms in Europe after studies showed increased rates of cancers, respiratory ailments and other disabilities of occupation troops from NATO countries stationed in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

In general, the health and environmental dangers of weapons made with DU radioactive waste have received far more attention in Europe than in the U.S.

In this year's war on Iraq, the Pentagon used its radioactive arsenal mainly in the urban centers, rather than in desert battlefields as in 1991. Many hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people and U.S. soldiers, along with British, Polish, Japanese and Dutch soldiers sent to join the occupation, will suffer the consequences. The real extent of injuries, chronic illness, long-term disabilities and genetic birth defects won't be apparent for five to 10 years.

By now, half of all the 697,000 U.S. soldiers involved in the 1991 war have reported serious illnesses. According to the American Gulf War Veterans Association, more than 30 percent of these soldiers are chronically ill and are receiving disability benefits from the Veterans Administration. Such a high occurrence of various symptoms has led to the illnesses being named Gulf War Syndrome.

This number of disabled veterans is shockingly high. Most are in their mid-thirties and should be in the prime of health. Before sending troops to the Gulf region, the military had already sifted out those with disabilities or chronic health problems from asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, cancers and birth defects.
A long-term problem

The impact of tons of radioactive waste polluting major urban centers may seem a distant problem to Iraqis now trying to survive in the chaos of military occupation. They must cope with power outages during the intense heat of summer, door-to-door searches, arbitrary arrests, civilians routinely shot at roadblocks, outbreaks of cholera and dysentery from untreated water, untreated sewage and uncollected garbage, more than half the work force unemployed, and a lack of food--which before the war was distributed by the Baathist regime.

But along with these current threats are long-range problems. Around the world a growing number of scientific organizations and studies have linked Gulf War Syndrome and the high rate of assorted and mysterious sicknesses to radiation poisoning from weapons made with depleted uranium.

Scott Peterson, a staff writer for the Christian Science Moni tor, reported on May 15 about taking Geiger counter readings at several sites in Baghdad. Near the Republican Palace where U.S. troops stood guard and over 1,000 employees walked in and out of the building, his radiation readings were the "hottest" in Iraq, at nearly 1,900 times background radiation levels. Spent shell casings still littered the ground.

At a roadside vegetable stand selling fresh bunches of parsley, mint and onions outside Baghdad, children played on a burnt-out Iraqi tank. The reporter's Geiger counter registered nearly 1,000 times normal background radiation. The U.S. uses armor-piercing shells coated with DU to destroy tanks.

The Aug. 4 Seattle Post Intelligencer reported elevated radiation levels at six sites from Basra to Baghdad. One destroyed tank near Baghdad had 1,500 times the normal background radiation. "The Pentagon and the United Nations estimate that the U.S. and Britain used 1,100 to 2,200 tons of armor-piercing shells made of depleted uranium during attacks on Iraq in March and April--far more than the 375 tons used in the 1991 Gulf War," wrote the Post Intelligencer.

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle analyzed swabs from bullet holes in Iraqi tanks and confirmed elevated radiation levels.
Radioactive and toxic

The extremely dense DU shells easily penetrate steel armor and burn on impact. The fire releases microscopic, radioactive and toxic dust particles of uranium oxide that travel with the wind and can be inhaled or ingested. They also spread contamination by seeping into the land and water.

In the human body, DU may cause harm to the internal organs due both to its chemical toxicity as a heavy metal and its release of radiation.

An otherwise useless by-product of the uranium-enrichment process, DU is attractive to military contractors because it is so cheap, often offered for free by the government.

According to the Uranium Medical Research Center, the toxic and radiological effects of uranium contamination may weaken the immune system. They may cause acute respiratory conditions like pneumonia, flu-like symptoms and severe coughs, renal or gastrointestinal illnesses.

Dr. Asaf Durakovic of UMRC explains that the initial symptoms will be mostly neurological, showing up as headaches, weakness, dizziness and muscle fatigue. The long-term effects are cancers and other radiation-related illnesses, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, joint and muscle pain, rashes, neurological and/or nerve damage, mood disturbances, infections, lung and kidney damage, vision problems, auto-immune deficiencies and severe skin conditions. It also causes increases in miscarriages, maternal mortality and genetic birth defects.

For years the government described Gulf War Syndrome as a post-traumatic stress disorder. It was labeled a psychological problem or simply dismissed as mysterious unrelated ailments. In this same way the Pentagon and the Veterans Administration treated the health problems of Vietnam vets suffering from Agent Orange poisoning.
The cover-up

The U.S. government denies that DU weapons can cause sickness. But before the first Gulf War, where DU weapons were used extensively, the Pentagon's own internal reports warned that the radiation and heavy metal of DU weapons could cause kidney, lung and liver damage and increased rates of cancer.

Ignoring these dangers, the Pentagon went on to use these weapons, which gave it a big advantage in tank battles. But it denied publicly that DU use was related to the enormously high rate of sicknesses among GIs following the war.

Today the Pentagon plays an even more duplicitous role. It continues to assert that there are no "known" health problems associated with DU. But Army training manuals require anyone who comes within 75 feet of any DU-contaminated equipment or terrain to wear respiratory and skin protection.

The manuals say that "contamination will make food and water unsafe for consumption." According to the Army Environmental Policy Institute, holding a spent DU round exposes a person to about 200 rems per hour, or twice the annual radiation exposure limit.

This March and April U.S. and British forces fired hundreds of thousands of DU rounds in dense urban areas. Superfine uranium oxide particles were blown about in dust storms. Yet the Pentagon refuses to track, report or mark off where DU was fired. There is no way Iraqis or the occupying soldiers can keep 75 feet away or use respiratory and skin protection in 120-degree heat.

The American Gulf War Veterans Association (AGWVA) reports that suffering veterans are receiving little, if any, medical treatment for their illnesses. "Whenever veterans become ill, the term 'mystery illness' seems to be the first and often the only diagnosis that is ever made. Veterans are then left to fend for themselves, sick and unable to work, with little hope of a normal life again."

Iraq's National Ministry of Health organized two international conferences to present data on the relationship between the high incidence of cancer and the use of DU weapons. It produced detailed epidemiological reports and statistical studies. This data showed a six-fold increase in breast cancer, a five-fold increase in lung cancer and a 16-fold increase in ovarian cancer.

Because of the U.S.-imposed sanctions, Iraqi doctors and scientists were barred from presenting their research papers in most of the world.

Doug Rokke of AGWVA, former head of the U.S. Army DU Project, who is seriously ill with respiratory problems, has been campaigning against the use of DU. Rokke reports that U.S. troops presently in Iraq are already falling sick with a series of Gulf War Syndrome symptoms.

The AGWVA says the Department of Defense has information regarding "mystery" deaths of soldiers in this latest war and the emergence of a mysterious pneumonia that has sickened at least 100 men and women.
U.S. position: no clean-up

While the U.K. has admitted that British Challenger tanks expended some 1.9 tons of DU ammunition during major combat operations in Iraq this year, the U.S. has refused to disclose specific information about whether and where it used DU during this yearcampaign. It also is refusing to let a team from the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) study the environmental impact of DU contamination in Iraq.

Despite this refusal, it is public knowledge that the U.S. made extensive use of weapons that can fire DU shells. These include the A-10 Warthog tank-buster aircraft with 30-mm cannons that can fire up to 4,200 DU rounds per minute; the AC-130 gunship; the "Apache" helicopter, and Bradley fighting vehicles that fire anti-armor 105-mm to 120-mm tank rounds containing DU.

The U.S. followed the same tactics in the wars in the Balkans. While claiming full cooperation with UNEP's Balkans studies, the Pentagon delayed releasing target locations for 16 months. It gave misleading map information. Then bomb, missile and cluster-bomb targets were excluded. NATO allowed 10 other teams to visit or clean up sites before UNEP inspections started.

Washington refuses to acknowledge DU use anywhere or that it poses any danger. To acknowledge radiation poisoning would immediately raise demands for a cleanup.

According to Alex Kirby, BBC News Online environment correspondent: "The U.S. says it has no plans to remove the debris left over from depleted uranium weapons it is using in Iraq. It says no cleanup is needed, because research shows DU has no long-term effects."
Evidence of DU use

But in the information age, the Pentagon can't suppress all the evidence. The Dutch example shows this. Though the U.S. government specifically denied any firing of DU weapons near the city of Al-Samawah, where Dutch troops were to be stationed, a simple Internet search by journalists undid this lie.

The Dutch government, to get a resolution through the parliament to authorize sending troops to Iraq, depicted the Al-Samawah region as a remote, barely inhabited desert where no noteworthy events had occurred.

In actual fact, Al-Samawah is strategically located on the road from Basra to Baghdad, providing access to a bridge over the Euphrates River. On its march to Baghdad, the U.S. Army encountered fierce resistance from Iraqi forces there, according to American officers. This was well covered by their embedded media.

It was more than a week before the town and the road were cleared of all pockets of resistance. Some 112 civilians, most of them inhabitants of Al-Samawah, were killed in battle.

DU ammunition was widely used during this operation. In a widely distributed field message, Sergeant First Class Cooper reported that the weapons systems used by the 3rd Infantry, 7th Cavalry, en route to Al-Samawah and on to Najaf, were performing well, especially the 25-mm DU and 7.62.

Of greater interest to Internet researchers was a letter a young soldier sent home to his parents, which they posted in their church bulletin on the Internet. In the letter E. Pennell, a crew member on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle of the 1st Infantry Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, described how his crew fired a 25-mm DU round as they encountered seven Iraqi troops in the town of Al-Samawah.

Pennell's letter has raised concern among groups like the United Federation of Military Personnel, a kind of labor union for Dutch troops. It fears that its members might be at risk of contracting cancer or other diseases because of exposure to DU ammunition.
Resistance: the only solution

Officers and politicians in imperialist countries have always treated rank-and-file soldiers as cannon fodder. These young lives are totally expendable. The occupied or colonized people are not counted at all.

As a global movement against imperialist wars grew over the past century, military planners made great efforts to hide the true costs of war, especially the human cost. The nearly 60,000 U.S. casualties in the Vietnam War provoked a mighty mass anti-war movement. This time, long before U.S. casualties reached 100 soldiers, the movement to "Bring the Troops Home" had gained momentum.

This new movement must demand a true accounting of the enormous human costs of the war. The impact on the health and future of not only U.S. troops but the millions of people in Iraq must be part of the demand.

posted 08-20-2003 03:42 PM            

They allege liability for ailments linked to service in 1991
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/08/19/iraq.chemical.suit/index.html

From Phil Hirschkorn and Deborah Feyerick
CNN New York Bureau
Wednesday, August 20, 2003 Posted: 8:10 AM EDT (1210 GMT)

Former U.S. Marine Capt. Daniel Hammond’s physical ailments forced him to quit business school and left him unable to hold a job.
Former U.S. Marine Capt. Daniel Hammond’s physical ailments forced him to quit business school and left him unable to hold a job.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Veterans of the first U.S.-led war with Iraq filed a lawsuit in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday alleging that companies that exported chemicals to Iraq in the 1980s, and the banks that financed those deals, are liable for illnesses the U.S. veterans sustained from exposure to chemical weapons stockpiles that were blown up during the 1991 war.

The veterans are among the more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers who have symptoms including extreme fatigue, memory loss, and bone and joint pain, which are often referred to as Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness.

The defendants are 11 companies that the suit accuses of supplying Iraq with precursors for chemical weapons, and 33 banks that provided letters of credit for Iraq's purchases according to Iraq's declarations to U.N. weapons inspectors.

Plaintiffs attorneys acquired the never-made-public documents last year from Iraq and showed them to CNN.

They list banks that provided letters of credit for Iraq and more than 50 suppliers of chemical precursors that could have been used to manufacture mustard gas, sarin and VX.

"Those documents reveal which companies were involved, what they sold -- and the veterans have unfinished business with these companies," attorney Gary Pitts said.
start quoteThey have to pay for what they've done or they'll do the same thing in the future with some other tyrant who has money.end quote
-- Gary Pitts, attorney

"They knew or should have known that the chemicals that were being sold were being used a part of the weapons of mass destruction program of the Iraqi regime," attorney Kenneth McCallion said.

All the companies and banks sued are based outside the United States.

Although the companies have been previously sued in state court in Texas, the banks are new to the class-action litigation.

The banks sued are mainly based in Germany, Italy, France, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Kuwait, and Pakistan, and include such well-known firms as Deutsche Bank, Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro, Barclays Bank, Credit Lyonnais, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

None of the banks reached by CNN would comment on the suit.

A number of the companies previously denied any connections to Iraq weapons programs.

Daniel Hammond was in peak physical condition when he served with the Marines.

Former U.S. Marine Capt. Daniel Hammond, 37, from Chicago, Illinois, is among the plaintiffs.

He was deployed to the gulf in late December 1990 and returned home the following March.

"Three months out of my life -- it was almost a footnote, but it's become the defining moment in my life," Hammond said.

Hammond, a high school gymnast and a college diver, was among the first troops to cross into Kuwait in February 1991, expelling the Iraqi forces that had invaded the country.

"We had vehicles with us that could detect the chemical weapons, and those alarms went off five or six times," Hammond said.

His physical ailments forced him to quit business school a few years ago and left him unable to hold a job. He's been unemployed for eight months.

"In the last five years, I've worked 10 different jobs, trying to find something that I can do," he said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and medical monitoring.

All of the defendants or their subsidiaries conduct business in New York, which is also home to a number of plaintiffs.

Raymond Bordonaro, 65, a former New York police officer from Long Island, called up as an Army reservist, was 52 years old when he was sent to the gulf.

The chief warrant officer was deployed to Kuwait to remove enemy artillery.

Since returning home, he has suffered memory loss and other ailments.

For him, the suit is about "vindication more than anything."

Both he and Hammond are among the 161,000 Gulf War veterans receiving disability payments from the Veterans Administration.

"I'm looking for these companies to pay for their dirty deeds," Bordonaro said.

The veterans' first suit on the matter is pending in Texas state court.

Attorneys filed the new suit with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in part because the court has handled similar cases in the past, such as settlements for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and for Holocaust survivors who sought to reclaim inheritances left in Swiss banks.

Pitts said the U.S. justice system can also hold Saddam Hussein's former suppliers and financiers accountable.

posted 09-07-2003 10:48 AM            

By Jon Rappoport

From: Jon Rappoport | http://www.nomorefakenews.com

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS WAR WHAT HAVE THEY WROUGHT?

From Jon Rappoport www.nomorefakenews.com

Dr. Doug Rokke was the man who went to Iraq a decade ago on a mission to report on depleted uranium (DU). What he found was so horrifying the Pentagon scuttled his work and tried to make him an invisible man. Rokke suffered uranium poisoning himself. But his medical records, and those of who knows how many thousands of other soldiers, do not reflect that. History has been suppressed, has been re-written.

Our conversation began with me asking Rokke if he thought that the announced cause of David Bloom's death, pulmonary embolism, could have resulted from DU. But Rokke stopped me short. He said, "This was the diagnosis they immediately gave out? I don't see how. You can't diagnose that from the battlefield. You really need an autopsy to discover whether that's the cause..."

Which opened up new questions. Rokke began to talk about conditions in the Gulf now. He said that the PR about the US limiting civilian casualties is absurd, because, for example, the Pentagon admits to losing 700 cruise missiles that have been fired at Baghdad in the current campaign. In other words, those missiles strayed off course and no one really knows where they landed and exploded. "700 missiles, each one loaded with DU, is 700,000 pounds of explosives," he said. 700,000 pounds of explosives going off, spreading cancer-causing uranium in all directions.

Rokke then informed me that, since 1990, and up to the beginning of Gulf War 2, some 260,000 US soldiers have been granted disability. 10,000 have died. I'm relaying these facts to you in a sober way, but of course I was staggered as Rokke talked. He painted a picture of the Iraqi landscape as a toxic soup. DU, yes. But also many other toxins, because as he explained, when bombs and missiles rip up ANY material that is composite or synthetic, like plastics, you get all sorts of poisonous byproducts. And that, for example, is what happened at the WTC on 9/11. Rokke said, "I trained a lot of those first health responders. They're dead now."

Rokke, over the years, together with colleagues, has issued report after report describing what, in essence, are the inevitable consequences of modern warfare as it is carried out. A lingering toxic landscape that kills over time.

When Rokke was in the Gulf a decade ago, one of his fears was confirmed: the masks worn to protect against DU don't work. They can't filter out the smallest and deadliest particles of uranium. "We could taste the stuff [uranium]," he said. Rokke states that the Pentagon is completely aware of the dangers to US solders and combatants, and just doesn't care.

I asked him why DU is used in projectile shells and missiles. He told me it was because uranium is so dense the weight of impact on a target causes a lot more damage. And, he said, these shells are not merely coated or tipped with uranium, as some Pentagon people have stated. They are packed with it. Rokke likened the situation to having uranium rods in your backyard. He went on to explain that the PB pills US soldiers have been taking, as protection against nerve gas, are themselves nerve agents. If taken immediately before a nerve-gas attack---and then followed up with two other medicines---the soldier might get protection from nerve gas. But the PB pills are being swallowed long in advance of any possible contact with nerve gas. In essence, soldiers are getting "nerve gas" attacks FROM THE POISON PILLS.

Rokke mentioned a number of sites around the world---Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia, and places in the US---where DU is a major problem right now. By this point in our conversation, Rokke was piecing together an emerging picture of modern war as both murder and suicide. He predicted the consequences of the Iraq war are going to be worse than Gulf War 1. Worse, in terms of damage and death to US troops and the Iraqi people.

I hung up the phone stunned. I can only ask that you get this information out to as many people as possible. To give the widest possible benefit of the doubt to mainstream news reporters, THEY JUST DON'T KNOW. They have no idea what they are supporting when they allow the picture of this war to be painted as a careful and controlled campaign. All those maps and arrows and targets---they need to be enveloped in a cloud of MULTIPLE POISONS. Then we would have some concept of what is really going on---and what is going to happen when it's over.

Rokke mentioned that, between Gulf War 1 and the start of Gulf 2, the Iraqis tried to build new water treatment facilities in Basra. To clean up their horrible, illness-causing contaminated water. Each time they tried, he said, those emerging facilities were destroyed...

What is happening in the Gulf is not merely the result of ignorance. It is not only depraved indifference. It is a plan to depopulate and destroy. US soldiers will be sacrificed, in huge numbers, to forward the larger goal; the depopulation and debilitation of Iraq. Yet, the news networks still display that graphic: OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. And DOD spokesmen keep saying the protection of the Iraqi oil fields is being done to preserve "the future wealth of the Iraqi people." That sick joke takes on a new and very ominous meaning.

If 260,000 US vets now on disability from Gulf 1 can be hidden from the stupefied American people, what else can be hidden, here and in Iraq, in the coming months and years? How many cases of cancer? How many birth defects? How many kidney and liver failures? How many immune-system destructions? How many American families who support their children now doing time in the Gulf will later watch those sons and daughters waste away, while the Pentagon claims it's all post-traumatic stress? How far do all the toxic clouds drift? How many cases of illness are being misdiagnosed as the result of germs?

We are in a time of madness. I can't fault prayer or the distractions of television or even the desperate accoutrements of so-called patriotism. But somehow we have to live beyond cliches and summon up the outrage equal to the destruction. Equal to the moment. The wretched hairless generals are striding through the Pentagon thinking they are on a course of victory, thinking whatever they have to think to avoid the truth that is chasing them like a snake.

Let the cardboard floors of lies give way and collapse. Let the voices of the intelligent pro-war advocates incorporate this news. Let them, finally, arrive at a further shore of conscience that compels them to take a stand. They are viewing old images, they are seeing a fantasy of war, they are imagining situations that no longer exist.

War is now different. It is a sword you always fall on.

WAKE UP. WAKE UP.

Sites relating to the effects of taking nerve agent antidotes and being in contact with Depleted Uranium...
http://www.mindfully.org/Health/Gulf-Children-Defects.htm
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9712/08/briefs/gulf.war.birth.defect/
http://www.chronicillnet.org/online/children.html
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/news/na_med_16jun.htm
http://www.af.mil/news/Jun1997/n19970605_970669.html

posted 09-07-2003 11:09 AM            

Horrifying US Secret-Weapon Unleashed In Baghdad

By Bill Dash

From: http://www.100megsfree4.com/farshores/sc04bd.htm

- BILL DASH EXCLUSIVE -

HORRIFYING US SECRET-WEAPON UNLEASHED IN BAGHDAD

Posted Aug 24.03

A nightmarish US super weapon reportedly was employed by American ground forces during chaotic street fighting in Baghdad. The secret tank-mounted weapon was witnessed in all its frightening power by Majid al-Ghazali, a seasoned Iraqi infantryman who described the device and its gruesome effects as unlike anything he had ever encountered in his lengthy military service. The disturbing revelation is yet another piece of cinematic evidence brought back from postwar Iraq by intrepid filmmaker Patrick Dillon.

In the film, al-Ghazali, whose english is less than fluent, describes the weapon as reminiscent of a flame thrower, only immensely more powerful. It is unclear what principle the weapon is based on. Searching for a description, al-Ghazali said it appeared to be shooting concentrated lightning bolts rather than just ordinary flames. Drawing on his many years as a professional engineer, al-Ghazali speculates that radiation of some kind probably figures into the weapon's hideous capabilities. Like all men in Saddam's Iraq, al-Ghazali was compelled to serve in the Iraqi equivalent of the Army National Guard and fought in three wars over the past thirty-odd years. Via email, he told me he has seen virtually every type of conventional weapon employed in battle, and is well acquainted with their effects on people and machines, but nothing in his extensive combat experience prepared him for the shock of what he saw in Baghdad on April 12th.

On that date, al-Ghazali and his family sheltered in their house as a fierce street battle erupted in his neighborhood. In the midst of the fighting, he noticed that the Americans had called up an oddly configured tank. Then to his amazement the tank suddenly let loose a blinding stream of what seemed like fire and lightning, engulfing a large passenger bus and three automobiles. Within seconds the bus had become semi-molten, sagging "like a wet rag" as he put it. He said the bus rapidly melted under this withering blast, shrinking until it was a twisted blob about the dimensions of a VW bug. As if that were not bizarre enough, al-Ghazali explicitly describes seeing numerous human bodies shriveled to the size of newborn babies. By the time local street fighting ended that day, he estimates between 500 and 600 soldiers and civilians had been cooked alive as a result of the mysterious tank-mounted device.

posted 09-07-2003 03:02 PM            

September 7, 2003

Revelations About Gulf War II Mystery Illness

The American Gulf War Veterans Association (AGWVA), an independent Gulf War Veterans' support organization, has long searched for answers to explain why nearly half of the 697,000 Gulf War I Veterans are now ill and why over 200,000 of those servicemen/women have requested disability, but have received no adequate diagnosis or treatment, from either the Department of Defense (DOD), or Veterans' Affairs. Though there have been over 125 studies done by the government at the cost of over $300,000,000 to the taxpayer, we still have no answers as to what caused so many of our soldiers to become ill. Meanwhile, the suffering veterans are receiving little, if any, medical treatment for this illness. It seems that whenever veterans become ill, the term "mystery illness" seems to be the first and often the only diagnosis that is ever made. Veterans are then left to fend for themselves, sick and unable to work, with little hope of a normal life again.

The AGWVA is now again asking questions, this time, about the newest "mystery illness" to hit the military. After being pressured by a few independent news reporters who have not permitted this "mystery" to continue unabated, The DOD recently has been forced to announce the "mystery" deaths of Gulf War II soldiers and that at least 100 other men and women have become ill. Again, however, there were no adequate answers, but, only that the "mystery illness" diagnosis had reared its ugly head again. According to a family member of one of the military victims, the DOD recently, has changed its label of the illness and is now calling it "pneumonia" in sharp contrast to what a physician on the scene reported. Due to continuing pressure for sound answers, the DOD was again forced to send an investigative team to Iraq; however, the convenient, repeated lack of diagnosis unfortunately translates into lack of treatment and lack of compensation for the veteran. The jury is still out, however, if the DOD will be forthcoming with the truth this time.

Contrary to the "pneumonia" and "mystery illness" labels, enlightening information surfaced today on "THE POWER HOUR" radio show (www.thepowerhour.com) in an interview with Mark Neusche, father of Josh Neusche, one of the GW II troops to lose his life from the "mystery illness" while serving in Iraq. The father stated that his 20-year-old healthy son, a former track star and non-smoker, had written home on June 26th explaining that he would be going on a 30-hour "hauling" mission, but that he could not disclose what they would be hauling. The son had stated that he had been to the Palace of Saddam Hussein, and it was later learned that he was "hauling" at the Baghdad Airport.

Marsha Paxson also appeared on the show, as she is the journalist who broke the U.S. story for the Lake Sun Leader (www.lakesunleader.com). Although the "facts" behind this story are continually changing, Ms. Paxson is one of the few journalists who is remaining true to the facts of the original story. Ms. Paxson revealed in her articles that the father reported that his son was not the only ill soldier. Neusche stated that while his son was in a coma at Landstuhl Hospital, the father overheard the nurses say that they were expecting numerous sick troops to be brought in all at one time. In fact, the father actually witnessed approximately 55 other troops being received by the hospital after they were transported by a military ambulance (bus). According to the father, the transported troops were exhibiting varying degrees of the illness. Some walked, some were in wheelchairs and others were on respirators. In the commotion, a doctor reported to the father that his son was suffering from a "toxin." No mention of pneumonia was made, nor was it ever reported in the medical record.

Paxton and the AGWVA now question the diagnosis, the actual number of troops that were reported ill, and the date when the DOD first became aware of this incident.

One of the most surprising statements to come from The Power Hour interview conducted on "The Genesis Network" was that while the son, Josh Neusche, was a healthy young soldier on June 26, 2003, when he reported that he was going to serve on the secret hauling mission, by July 1, 2003, he was in a coma, and on that day was suddenly classified by the military as medically retired from the Army without Josh or his family's consent. Josh did not die until July 12, 2003. Among other problems that this new classification created was that the DOD was no longer obligated to assist the family in getting to Germany to be with their son as he lay in a coma. Because the DOD would not provide even so much as plane or taxi fare for the Neusche family, all 650 members of the 203rd Engineer Battalion each contributed $10.00 to make the family's final visit possible.

The AGWVA is demanding answers in a timely fashion and according to spokesperson Joyce Riley, "We cannot tolerate another whitewashing of a tragedy against our veterans. It has happened too many times before with our failure to safeguard our troops, adequately diagnose and effectively treat the victims of Agent Orange spraying, Project Shad shipboard-experimentation, and Gulf War Illness I. This time someone has to be held accountable." Ms. Riley closed by saying, "Speaking out for our past and present sick veterans is the best way for Americans to support our troops!"

The interview with Mark Neusche and Marsha Paxson can be heard at: www.thepowerhour.com click on the "GWII mystery illness interview." For more information on Gulf War illnesses, go to www.gulfwarvets.com. For more information on Project Shad, go to www.projectshad.org.

posted 09-08-2003 09:59 AM            

A Lecture By Captain Joyce Riley

Transcript by Leading Edge Research Group

Gulf War Syndrome

Biological Warfare Conducted on U.S. Military Members, andCorporate Bio-Genocide Levied on the Planetary Population

A Lecture By Captain Joyce Riley

Transcript by Leading Edge Research Group, P.O. Box 7530, Yelm, Washington 98597

Introduction

(Applause) Thank you so very much. I am Joyce Riley, and I am here because I love my God and I love my country, and I love my fellow man. We are going to hear a story tonight that unfortunately is the saddest story, not only of the 20th century, but of America's history. You are going to hear about the destruction of the United States military. I am sorry to have to bring you this story. I wish it wasn't true. I wish that I could protect you from what you are going to hear tonight, because it has taken me a year to investigate this story. During that time, I went through the worst depression you can imagine. I finally came to the conclusion one day that - yes, our country had provided the biologicals to Saddam Hussein that were used on our troops. Our troops are sick and they are dying.

My story started in 1991, when I decided to go back to the Air Force Reserve. I had been stationed in the late 1970's in New York State, and I had been involved as a flight nurse in the Air Force. I got out and was living my life, but then I heard that there was a war and that many of our men were going to die if they didn't have adequate care, and that they needed trained flight nurses. So, I decided to back into the service of my country. I went back to Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio and I volunteered to go to Saudi Arabia. As it was, I didn't go to Saudi Arabia because the cease-fire came, so I served active duty missions on a C-130 aircraft for about six months. After that, I returned back to Houston to my job, where I was a heart, lung, kidney and liver transplant nurse in Houston, Texas. I became very ill and I could get no answers. I didn't know why I was sick. No one would talk with me about it. No one would help me with it, and I had to find out the answers myself, alone.

The Problem

So, I began the investigation myself to answer the question of why I was sick. I didn't even go to the Persian Gulf. They call it the Persian Gulf disease and the Persian Gulf Registry. They do that for a reason, because then they can exclude all of us who are sick who didn't go to the Persian Gulf. Well, I didn't go and I was still sick, and I wanted to know why. The only thing I had in common with those who did go is that I had received the immunizations and that I had a lot of contact with Gulf War veterans who were returning back to the states, and with other members of our unit. Little did we know at the time that the biologicals that were used were impregnated in the equipment they had, such as tents and duffle bags. It was being spread to all of us and we didn't even know it. We were being told a lie. America, I am sorry to tell you that we have been told one of the biggest lies this country has ever perpetrated upon us. They are telling us there is no Gulf War disease. They are telling us biologicals were not used. They are not even telling you that between 10,000 to 12,000 Gulf war vets have already died.

I began my investigation and I went into depression the day I realized we had been lied to. I had been involved with President Bush and with the White House, because I had been involved in organ transplantation. I wrote a letter and called the White House and invited him to come to Houston with Dr. Cooley to sign an organ donor card. He and Barbara did accept the invitation, and I met with them, and they signed an organ donor card. President Bush told me at the time that "I appreciate what you are doing. If this had been available years ago, perhaps my daughter Robin might not have died." He told me that. Well, little did I know that during that same time they were making the poisons that were going to eventually kill us. At the end of the program, I am going to play an open letter I wrote to President Bush. He lives in Houston, as do all of the players in what you are about to hear tonight. They all reside in Houston.

I do believe that the Lord gave me this story to tell, because a nurse from Houston, Texas just doesn't "come across" this information -- that biological warfare has been perpetrated on the American people. I knew when I heard the story that I had to move on it. I had to let Americans know. I would not be quiet, because, you see, I knew that the government was actively covering it up.

What I am going to show you tonight is not opinion. It is not conjecture. It is proof. I am going to show you documentation on the overhead projector -- the evidence to support what I am saying to you.

The basic fact is that biological agents were used on our troops. Chemical agents were used on our troops. Germ warfare was used on our troops -- using biologicals that were made in the United States of America. It was made in Houston, Texas and Boca Raton, Florida. It was passed through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and through companies such as American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) in Maryland. It was passed to Saddam Hussein -- sold to Saddam Hussein, as late as 1989. Just prior to the war. The American government was involved in the provision of biological warfare (components) to Saddam Hussein. They knew exactly what they were doing. Our troops did not know what to expect, nor were they protected. We later found out that we had no adequate biological/chemical detection capability. The lies are going on and on. I released the story on my radio show on May 4, 1995 with Drs. Garth and Nancy Nicholson. We had security in the studio because I had made the mistake of sending out some news releases in advance. I was afraid that we would be stopped from doing the program. We had someone there to argue a temporary restraining order, if necessary. But, we didn't need it. Drs. Garth and Nancy Nicholson named names, places and times. The sad part is that it is real. When I heard them naming names and places, I thought "oh, my word. I'm going to have ten lawyers on my door tomorrow."

No one showed up. No one has come to me and said, "you shouldn't be saying this". The reason being that they don't want to fight me in court. They know its true. So, what I am going to show you tonight is absolute evidence of the saddest story in American history.

A Letter

I am going to start with a letter written to me from a young man in Wichita, Kansas. It begins, "please forgive me for not writing sooner. I have been out of town on the job. My only hope is to reach other vets and the public to let them know it is true and many of us are dying from this illness. I will not give up until we are recognized and taken care of by our government, who continues to blackball us on this endless journey." That is one Gulf War veteran who understands, and I have received so many phone calls it has been impossible to return them.

At our unit at Kelly Air Force base, we were very spirited, with a mission to fulfill. We were going to take care of that mission. Well, unfortunately, it was not the way it was. Let's go back in time and look at a little history. I am going to show you a lot of information that is incredibly important. You must understand that America has been doing this for a long period of time. It has been experimenting on both civilians and military members.

1970 Vaccine "Safety" Tests at the University of Maryland

(Slide Shown) This is a 1970 article that appeared in a newspaper in Maryland (reads article): "Research volunteers. Volunteers needed for 30 day in-patient vaccine safety tests. Very pleasant environment. Pay $20 per day. Call the University of Maryland." One lady did call that number and was involved in those tests. She is very ill today. They experimented on her. That was not the first time that experimentation was done.

(Slide Shown) This is another article that appeared: "University of Maryland may have tested drugs for the CIA." How many of you are familiar with MKULTRA. It involved the experimental use of LSD on the public without their knowledge. I'll read a little more of this article. "The Central Intelligence Agency has notified the University of Maryland that the school may have been involved in so-called mind-bending tests and drug experiments sponsored by the agency between 1953 and 1964. The University is about one of eighty institutions that conducted experiments under a program code-named MKULTRA." It goes on to identify where the tests were done, and states that they are now going to protect all the researchers involved with the program. They want to provide the researchers with confidentiality. However, those that were experimented upon do not even know they were involved in a test. "Critics disclose that human subjects did not know what they were getting either before or after the tests, and both the Army and the institutions involved said they did not follow up on the personnel." Now, I want you to notice here that the people involved in this were 44 colleges, 15 research foundations or chemical companies, 12 hospitals and three prisons. Now, we are going to go into prisons in just a few minutes as far as how it was tested on the prisoners.

1970 Appropriation of Money to Create Human Immune Deficiency Virus

(Slide Shown) Another document that I want you to remember as long as you live is this. This document appeared on my fax machine. I believe it to be the origin of the appropriation of the money to make the AIDS virus [Editor note: See Matrix III Volume One]. This is the appropriations hearing for 1970 for the Department of Defense. It is House Bill 15090. I want you to see that the Department of Defense appropriated $10 million in 1970 to make a synthetic biological agent. Ask yourself why the Department of Defense needs this kind of agent. There are two things about the field of biological agents I would like to mention. One is the possibility of technological surprise. It says that "we believe that within a period of five to ten years, it would be possible to produce a synthetic biological agent that does not naturally exist and for which no natural immunity could have been acquired." What does that sound like to you? It goes on down here to say, "within the next five to ten years, it would probably be possible to make a new ineffective microorganism which could be different in certain important aspects from any known disease-causing organism. Most importantly, it might be damaging to the immunological and therapeutic processes upon which we depend to maintain our relative freedom from infectious disease." Basically this says it will destroy the immune system. This was appropriated in 1970. In 1975 the first recorded "AIDS" related death occurred. Perfect timing. It goes on to say, "a research program to explore feasibility could be completed in approximately five years at a cost of $10 million." Now, look at this part down here, which says, "it is a highly controversial issue and there are many who believe such research should not be undertaken, lest it lead to yet another method of mass killing of large populations." That is in your government documentation. Now, getting involved with killing of large numbers of people is not what a government is for. I want you to get this document. Get this House Bill.

What the Government and Media Say About Gulf War Syndrome

What is the U.S. Government saying about the Gulf War? This is an 1996 article from Time Magazine that says, "No Gas Used Against the Troops." What is the government propaganda saying? They are saying that "there is no scientific or medical evidence that chemical or biological weapons were deployed at any level against us." That is an absolute lie. I will show you proof that they knew that chemical and biological agents were used. After my radio show, an article came out in the Houston Chronicle which said, "Gulf War Syndrome Doesn't Exist". Now, here we have a documented number of Gulf War veterans that have already died, and they come out and say there is no Gulf War illness. There is something really wrong. Now, you didn't hear much about the Gulf War illness for about four years, until the Nicholsons went forward with this information. Here is another article from the Washington Times , "Pentagon Says There Is No Gulf War Disease." That article also came out shortly after we went on the air. The Los Angeles Times, "Government Study of Veterans Finds No Evidence of Gulf War Disease."

Now, let's look at the documentation from the Persian Gulf Veterans Coordinating Board, which is nothing but cover-up information. They are not telling the veterans the truth. They told us that they contacted every one of us to see if we were sick. No one contacted us. I have not heard of any person being contacted. But, look at this. A million men and women went to the Gulf. That's a large number of people. Why do we need to go over there in the first place? What were we doing over there? I am not sure.

What Was Really Behind the Gulf War: Malthusian Population Reduction

[Editor Note: The reason for the Gulf War, upon analysis, was threefold. It was to infect the U.S. military and subsequently the U.S. and world population, and secondly to reacquire Kuwait oil fields, which are owned by a well-known family in London, and thirdly to test weaponry on Iraq, to whom factions sold weapons to be used against our own troops. Part of the cover-up involved with Gulf War syndrome is also meant to conceal the fact that President Bush and other members of his administration held stock in some of the biotech companies that produced the biological weapons used against U.S. troops and shipped to Iraq. Another part of the cover-up involves conventional arms, specifically a company known as U.S. Arms, who sold Iraq conventional weapons to be used against U.S. troops. Former Secretary of Agriculture Ron Brown, who was in the aircraft that was blown up in Bosnia, was on the board of Directors of U.S. Arms. Four individuals on the plane were to testify in an upcoming hearing. Traces of thermite, denoting explosives, were found on the bodies. Thirty-seven people were murdered. President Clinton recently claimed Executive Privilege as a reason for not disclosing certain documents to Congress relating to arms shipments to Iraq. Do you understand, yet? Other reasons for securing the area involved control of vital earth grid points in Southern Iraq. Interestingly, there are also large underground facilities in the Middle East, some of them of rather ancient, and alien, origin, which still today contain high-tech equipment].

50% of Gulf War Veterans Are No Longer in the Service -

More Than 10,000 Are Dead

A million Gulf War vets went, and a million of them have the potential of being sick. I will tell you a little bit why later. By their own admission, some 697,000 active duty service members and some 180,000 national guard went to the Gulf. What they say now is that 489,000 of them have since separated from the military. Now, ask yourself why in an all-volunteer force, after a war, would 50% of the individuals involved get out of the military? It is not a statistic that even makes sense. One out every two have gotten out of the military since Desert Storm? I wonder why. Possibly because they had to, because they were sick and were forced out.

This is another figure that scares me. To date, the VA reports that more than 489,400 Gulf War veterans have received medical care in VA facilities. One out of every two. Ask yourself why. You don't go to the VA unless you have no where else to go.

Here is another item that was faxed to me from the VA. You see here that by their own admission they say that 5,729 Gulf War veterans have died since the war. We know the figure is now between 10,000 to 12,000.

Clinton-appointed Chairman of Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense Lie in 1994 About Presence of Chemical and Biological Weapons in the Gulf

This is an item that came out from Chief of Staff Shalikashvilli and Secretary William Perry. This letter came out May 24, 1994. It says, "There have been reports in the press of the possibility that some of you were exposed to biological weapons agents. There is no information, classified or unclassified, that indicates that chemical or biological weapons were used in the Persian Gulf. There have also been reports that some veterans believe there are restrictions on what they can say about potential exposures. Anybody attached to CBW units needs to know that they are free to speak now. You should not feel constrained to discuss these issues." The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense say there were no chemical or biological weapons used. In fact, there is plenty of evidence. It has already been presented on the floor of the Senate, and I am going to show it to you. [ Editor Note: Here she is referring to the Reigle Report. We might also remind you that the father of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was in the Nazi SS ].

Active Duty Military Intimidated Into Silence

I was approached at one point in time by someone who lead me to Drs. Garth and Nancy Nicholson, who are heroes in my mind. They are both Ph.D. scientists at the M.D.Anderson Cancer Center. Their daughter was in the 101st Airborne that did deep insertions into Iraq. Many of the 101st Airborne have called me and many of them are sick. The 82nd Airborne is sick. Men and women at Fort Hood, Texas are sick. Camp Pendleton. Camp LeJeune. Fort Riley is really sick right now. These people are not allowed to talk about this in the military. They are not allowed to tell people about the Gulf War Illness. They are not allowed to admit to it. I have even visited Gulf War vets at Brook Army Medical Hospital, and they are not even allowed to talk about it. I took some Gulf War information over there and the patients had to hide it so the doctors would not see it. So, the Nicholson's daughter came back from Iraq sick. She gave the disease to the family - to Garth and Nancy, who live in Houston, and also to the family cat. The cat died. Before the cat died, they tested all of their blood. They found that they were positive for something called Mycoplasma Incognitas, which is the chief biological agent we find to be responsible for a lot of the illness of the veterans.

Mycoplasma Incognitas

I will explain this to you by saying that Mycoplasma Incognitas is between the size of a bacteria and a virus. It travels through a population, and as long as your immune system is all right it will not affect you. But, according to the Nicholson's, who are both Ph.D. cellular biologists, they found that the scientists who were involved in this horrible plot inserted 40% of the HIV envelope gene into the Mycoplasma. What this means is that it doesn't give you HIV, but it gives you the symptoms. So, they found this and realized that they had a germ warfare agent on their hands. It is the first biological agent identified. There have been others.

U.S. Government Refuses to Dispense Known Treatment to Affected People

The Nicholson's went to the laboratory to discover how to treat this. They found that an antibiotic called Doxycycline was the most effective. The United States military will not allow military members under their control to have Doxycycline or VA hospitals to dispense Doxycycline. They are simply not allowed to have it. I got a call from a Special Forces commander who had been retired for one year. He said:

"I have had it. I came home. I served my country. I got my blood sent to Dr. Nicholson for free testing and got my prescription for Doxycycline. I went to have it filled and not only did that take away my military ID card, but they would not allow me to have the Doxycycline to save my life."

You see, the disease is contagious, and now the wives and children are getting it. It is going to affect you in the general population. That is why it is so important to understand how serious this is. It is not just the United States. It is a worldwide program. There were 28 countries that served with the United States in Iraq. All 28 countries now report that their men and women are also sick. But Drs. Garth and Nancy Nicholson revealed that a Houston company was involved in the manufacture of a biological weapon that was sold to Iraq and was used on American soldiers in the Gulf War. Since we came out with the names of these companies, there have been lawsuits filed against those corporations.

Symptoms of the Syndrome

These are the symptoms of the syndrome. You may look at this and it may not seem very significant to you, so if you look at aching joints and go to your doctor and say "I have aching joints" or you say "I have chronic fatigue ", or you say "I don't have the memory I used to", they will not say anything. When I am talking about memory loss, I am talking about the kind where you have to wear a beeper so your family can find you. One young man told me, "I can only remember today. I can't remember what happened yesterday." He was 27 years old. We are talking about a problem known as night sweats. Any Gulf War veteran who has the Mycoplasma knows about night sweats. You have to change your linens twice a night. The muscle spasms get so bad that you can't stand it and people scream in pain. There is also loss of eyesight, breathing problems, and chest pains because the Mycoplasma settles in the atrium of the heart. All of these are problems that become worse.

The problem is that the government is telling the people of the United States "there is no Gulf War Illness". The doctors in this country think there is no Gulf War Illness. So, when people come in and complain about the symptoms , they are turned aside and told that the problem is psychological in nature.

Deformed Children Caused by U.S. Corporate Genocide

Now, you are not being told about the babies that are being born deformed. There is a Gulf War Baby Foundation formed to register babies who have contracted the syndrome. There are so many that are being born deformed. You are not being told about this. Dan Rather doesn't tell you about it, does he? No. And so, you think that if it isn't on the nightly news it must not be true, right? If a tree falls in the forest and Dan Rather doesn't cover it, does it still make a noise? Think about it.

Gulf War babies are severely deformed. In fact, according to Nation Magazine, "studies have shown that 67% of babies born to Gulf War veterans are deformed. What have they done to our future generations? What have they done to their DNA?

There was an article that appeared in Life Magazine in November 1995 featuring a man in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Brag, North Carolina. This young man has a child with no arms and no legs. I know of a nurse in San Antonio who knows of 50 children like this.

When our soldiers risked their lives in the Gulf, they never imagined that their children would face these consequences or that their country would turn its back on them. You are hearing what perhaps 1% of the country knows today. It will take your help to get this story out. There is no way these parents can afford to take care of these children. (Shows pictures of children).

The Reigle Reports and Congressional Knowledge About the Problem Covered Up

This is something that the government is trying to keep you from knowing about. The Reigle report is evidence that biological and chemical weapons were used on our troops. It was presented to the United States Senate, but it has been withheld from you. They don't want you to see it. A news release went out that Senator Reigle from Michigan was a brave man for doing this. He is no longer in the Senate. He had to pay for the report to be done. The Feb 1994 news release said, "Reigle Uncovers U.S. Shipment of Biological Warfare Materials to Iraq Prior to Gulf War". The release went on to say, "there is evidence of transmission to family members. I am deeply troubled that the United States permitted the sale of deadly biological agents to a country with a known biological warfare program." There is no blood ban stopping Gulf War veterans from donating blood to the general blood supply that the general population uses. Reigle also sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Perry on Feb 9, 1994 and talked about the exposure of Gulf War veterans and the transmission of the disease to spouses and children. He found out that we had been exporting these biological substances through ATCC. This information is known to every Senator that was in office in 1994. Why aren't they doing something about it. Why weren't you told about it? Reigle also said to Secretary Perry, "without proper treatment and testing, their condition will worsen. They cannot wait. Many are now destitute, with their savings spent on medical care not provided by the government.

According to Senator Reigle, "the Department of Defense refuses to acknowledge any part of the problem. Their blanket denials are not credible. To my mind, there is no more serious crime than an official military cover-up of facts that could prevent more effective diagnosis and treatment of sick U.S. veterans. It is an astonishing example that the Defense Department is going to deny reality."

The Veterans Administration is not treating Gulf War veterans, but only monitoring their blood to see how well the biological warfare agents worked. They are not treating the Gulf War veterans.

(Here she details the bacteriological substance shipped. See attachment from the Reigle Report at the end of this transcript).

Proof of Chemical Weapon Use from the Schwartzkoff NBC Log

(Slide Shown) Here is how we know the biologicals were used. What I am showing you was once a classified document. It is part of the Chemical-Biological log that belonged to General Norman Schwartzkoff in CENTCOM. He was responsible for central command. The NBC log is sort of a roadmap of the war and what transpired. You can see here that it says, "Colonel Dunn has confirmed that the soldiers of the 3rd AD have blisters, characteristic of mustard chemical agent, on upper and lower arms." Remember the official statement? "No Biological or Chemical Weapons Used". The log continues, "ARCENT advised that casualty happened on afternoon of 28 Feb, a reddening of the skin and small blisters." I want you to know that I talked to several of the MEDIVAC flight nurses who accompanied the troops out of the theater of operations, and they told me that many of the men had no skin on them, that their skin was falling off. Evidence of a chemical burn. So, this is known information. Some of the autopsies done at Dover, Delaware found that some of the deaths were due to chemical poisoning.

Schwartzkoff's NBC log continues, "Msgt Blue called. Subject: Commanders Guidance for Disposition of captured chemical and biological munitions." They had captured them and they knew they existed. Continuing, "field destruction is OK, but bulk destruction may have international implications." I have a number of these pages that were released under a FOIA request, and there are about 100 pages that were released to the Gulf War Veterans of Georgia. My hat is off to all the Gulf War Veterans that have been trying to take this message to the public for the last four years.

(Slide Shown) Anybody who was in Desert Storm knows what these are. The little "PB" pills which are a pre-treatment pill for a nerve agent. In other words, if you were going to be affected by a nerve agent such as Soman, you would take this pill in advance and it was supposed to help you. However, you should never take this unless you actually are affected, because it builds up in the body and it creates many problems.

International Media Comes to the U.S. to Investigate

(Slide Shown) This is an article that came out of the Sunday Times in London. The BBC has been over here investigating this quite heavily because they have so many people in England that are sick from all of this. The Italian equivalent to "60 Minutes" has been over here filming on the subject, because the Italian soldiers are sick also. It's country after country.

U.S. Companies Sold Iraq New Genocidal Anthrax Toxin

This is why I am scared about what is going on with the biological warfare. It hasn't stopped, because Saddam Hussein still has these things. Reading the Sunday Times article, we see that "Russia has developed a powerful new poison with no antidote that could be used in biological weapons. It is a variation of the anthrax toxin that causes death within days. It has been genetically engineered to make it resistant to antibiotics. The toxin is so powerful that a tiny amount that would fit on a pinhead would theoretically kill 500,000 people." Can you imagine what that would do to the WATER SUPPLY? Saddam Hussein had thousands of pounds of this substance that was given to him by United States companies. PLANETNEWS broadcast...

Gulf War Syndrome - Part 2

Veteran Medical Files Destroyed or Missing

Guess what happened to our veterans medical files? They are destroyed. There was actually an attorney who was sent to prison for destroying veterans medical files. Many of the medical files of Gulf War veterans are missing. No only are they missing, but now the proof that they received the vaccinations is now missing.

Gulf War Participants Force-Injected With Experimental Vaccines

Let's talk about how we were affected on the biological side. The first way was with the immunizations. We were given 10 or 11 immunizations prior to going to the gulf. We don't know everything we got. Some of us got sick afterwards. The Anthrax vaccinations were given over in the Gulf, in the theater of operations, and you were forced to submit to it. If you didn't take it, you were court-martialed. People were put into a room like this, the doors were locked, and they had security guards with side arm who stood by while people were forced to take this injection. Why? Why would they do this to people? The Anthrax "vaccine" had not been approved and was experimental. The injection for Botulism was also dangerous. All of these things in combination created a problem.

The Soviet Doctrine: The Biological Cocktail

But, the real problem that we believe to be the main transmission agent was via the SCUD-B and FROG missiles. You see, the SCUD missiles that Hussein used on us had biological and chemical agents in them. When the Patriots shot them down, it rained biological and chemical agents down on the troops. In terms of biological warfare, they used what is called the SOVIET DOCTRINE, in which 18-20 biological agents were mixed together in the tanks of the SCUD missiles. Because the batch contained so many biological agents, it effectively confuses the diagnosis and the treatment process. Now, ask yourself this.

Media Projects Responsibility on Iraq for U.S. Crimes

What is the press coming out and saying? If you read the media, which I hope you don't, you will see an article in the Kansas City Star on October 14th that said, "Iraq Sanctioned", in which they claimed "Iraq lied to us about having and using biological weapons." You know as well as I do that they have satellites in the sky that enable them to see what you are having for dinner. You know they knew what Hussein had, because they sold it to them. Absolutely.

This is what I want you to be watching for, because this is going to be the cover story. They are going to have to deal with the Gulf War illness because so many people have it now. In fact, I will tell you now that because we know that over 10,000 have already died, and we believe 500,000 of our Gulf War veterans to be sick, Dr. Nicholson told me that 20% of the people around the theater of operations (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, etc.) are now sick. It is coming to a place near you , believe me. The chronic fatigue syndrome. I got a call from a doctor the other day who told me that he has 15 patients with CFS, and they don't know anyone who went to the Gulf War. It's transmissible through sex and through kissing, because it is now found in the dental floss test, where you can see evidence of the mycoplasma. It is communicable and it is going to be growing.

A doctor called me the other day, and he said, "I don't know what's going on. I volunteered to take care of these Gulf War veterans because the VA wouldn't take care of them, and now I'm sick with the same problem. Can you help me understand why I'm sick?" I said, "don't you know its a communicable disease?" He had no idea, because the official position of the U.S. Government is that "there is no Gulf War illness."

Peter Kawaja has been talking about the fact that "GF" was used during the war. Nobody ever mentioned "GF" or even heard of it, except Peter Kawaja, and he kept saying "GF was used." Well, the substance called "GF" is made by the U.S. Department of the Army. The government made it. I have evidence in the government logs of "GF" having been used during the war, but no one ever addressed "GF" until a U.S. News and World Report article came out on September 11, 1995. In this, they have the UN inspector going over to Iraq and inspecting the SCUDS and voicing the "sudden realization" that "Oh, they had all this nasty stuff over there after all that the Iraqis didn't tell us about". Well, I have evidence in a Pentagon report that shows that we knew about it more than 30 days before the war started. The U.S. government knew it was in the SCUDS, because the U.S. companies sold it to Iraq in the first place. It's interesting that in this story the UN inspector is trying to cover himself by saying what he did. The fact that "GF" is mentioned in Schwartzkoff's NBC log also proves the military knew it was there.

The True Origin of The "New" Emerging Biological Diseases is the Biological Cocktail Thrust on the Planet By U.S. Companies, Disguised in the Media as "Mysterious New Diseases" from "Nowhere" In Order to Cover Up Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide

An article came out in Scientific American in October 1995 that was very fascinating reading. They have to deal with the results of this biological warfare, because too many people are getting sick and too many people are dying. How are they going to deal with it? The title of the article in Scientific American was, "Dangers from new viral plagues." Have you been seeing anything in the newspaper about Dengue fever in South America, or about these "strange" viral hemorragic diseases that are "suddenly attacking us" from "nowhere "? Guess what. They came out of the Gulf War! And, they are now calling it "emerging viruses". Hemorragic fever viruses are among the most dangerous biological agents known. The Ebola virus. You didn't hear about that before the Gulf War, did you?

The article in the Scientific American wants you to believe that all of a sudden we are going to be having all these incredible viruses, all over the world , appearing for no reason at all. Many biologists are saying that they never heard of any of these things before. How many of you ever heard of the Hantavirus before the Gulf War? Remember the Hantavirus in New Mexico, caused by "mouse droppings"? I guess we didn't have mouse droppings before the Gulf War, right? We didn't hear about Ebola before the Gulf War. We didn't hear so much about Chronic Fatigue before the Gulf War. A lot of these things we never had a problem with before the Gulf War. A lot of them were used during that time and supplied by United States companies.

Now, the media tells you "why" we are "going to have this incredible problem." Scientific American tells us, "the primary cause of most cases of hemorragic fever is ecological disruption resulting from human activity." In other words, we cut down too many trees in the rain forest and those bugs are going to get us. That's what they are trying to get you to believe, that it is because of cutting down too many trees in the rain forest. Well, they are calling them hemorragic fever viruses now. I've never heard of hemorragic fever viruses. I've been a nurse for 25 years and I have never heard about them. But, now some of the Gulf War illnesses contain hemorragic fever viruses. Some Gulf War veterans have called me and have said that they are bleeding from every part of their body. It is similar to the Ebola virus, but it takes two years to kill them - slowly. How many of you have seen the movie Outbreak? That is your homework.

Were the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave Deaths Really Something Else?

Why am I concerned about this? I was having lunch with Peter Kawaja, and I noticed this article in USA Today, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Remember when there was that period of incredible heatwaves in Chicago and all these people were dying? Well, look here in this article, where it shows lines of refrigerated trucks brought in to store bodies. Since when did we have so many bodies that we had to put them in trucks? This is the part that concerns me: The bodies were stored in nine donated refrigerated trucks that were to be destroyed after use. Now, if we went and destroyed every hospital and funeral home after a body was in there, we wouldn't have much left, would we? Why would they want to destroy the trucks? Were they contaminated? Was there a disease? I don't know. All I know is that when you read material in the newspaper, check it out very carefully. Ask questions! Don't assume they are telling you the whole story.

U.S. Ships Enough Biological Agents To Iraq to Kill the Entire Planet

(Slide Shown) Now, this was faxed to me by people in Britain. Remember that we said that this new Anthrax toxin could kill 500,000 people with an amount on the head of a pin? United States companies shipped Saddam Hussein 1,500 gallons of Anthrax. It had already been loaded into bombs and missile warheads in Baghdad. Out of 39 tons of biological warfare agents imported by Iraq from the United States, each ton could have produced ten tons of biological warfare material. How much does he need, anyway?

The Post Gulf-War Emergence of Flesh-Eating Bacteria

Over 50,000 U.S. and British troops have suffered symptoms, ranging from broken down immune systems to wasting flesh. How many of you have heard of flesh-eating bacteria? Didn't hear about it before the Gulf War, did you? Wonder why? It's part of it. Some of the Gulf War babies are born with flesh-eating bacteria already hard at work.

U.S. Government Increases Budget to Bury Veterans But Denies Them Money for Assistance

(Slide Shown) This is an article from a British newspaper. It says, "the U.S. Defense Department has increased its budget for burial of Gulf War veterans." They haven't announced this too widely in the United States, have they? That's what they are doing. They are denying the problem exists, denying that biological weapons were used, and increasing the capability to bury people. How can we treat people like this?

The Attempt to Bring George Bush to a War Crimes Tribunal Thwarted by U.S. "Justice" Department in 1993

Did you know that George Bush was almost brought up before a Grand Jury? He was subpoenaed in an illegal export case that involved shipment of biological agents to Saddam Hussein. You didn't know about that, did you? He was. In 1993 the "Justice Department" said, "he doesn't have to do it." George Bush was brought up before a war crimes tribunal. You didn't know about that either, right? Get the book by Ramsey Clark.

Emergence of Post-Gulf War Biological Problems Coincides With Massive National Injection Programs

So, what are we doing in America? We are inoculating everybody. Why? Why is the government so big on inoculating everybody. Every newspaper in the country had a front page color picture of inoculation. They are trying to justify it. Why? In Houston, you can drive down a certain street where they have nurses lined up along the street. You put your arm out the window of the car and they inject you. Why? America, we have to stop holding out our arms to anybody that comes along and says, "We're from the government. We are going to help you. You need this shot". Why do I need this shot? I got too many shots during the Gulf War and I paid dearly for it. I will never do that again. Know your rights.

U.S. Troops Inoculated Before Going to Bosnia Are Coming Down With the Same Symptoms

(Slide Shown) Why does this picture appear in the paper? They are inoculating all the troops going to Bosnia. I am just now starting to get reports from the troops in Bosnia that some of them now have the characteristic rash, which is a cardinal clinical sign of the Gulf War Illness. Its the only sign you can see at this early stage, until they start losing weight, their hair, and start aging.

Many people come to me when they discover that they have this rash. It's a sign of biological and chemical warfare. WE ARE DOING IT TO OUR TROOPS IN BOSNIA.

U.S. Troops Inoculated Before Going to Somalia Are Coming Down With the Same Symptoms

The U.S. troops that are coming back from Somalia are coming back sick, too, with all the same symptoms and problems as the Persian Gulf veterans.

Bush and Clinton "Justice Departments" Refuse to Prosecute Bioweapon Supply Companies Under the Trading With the Enemy Act

Now, I want to show you this. It appeared in Media Bypass recently. It was January 1996. In this issue, Sarah McClendon, who was a wire service person in Washington, has kind of seen the light. She is in her 80's now, but she follows every story. I want you to see what she has written, because she was a "government person" beforehand. And now, I will tell you, that she has truly "changed sides."

She writes, "Proof is building up stronger than ever that big U.S. corporations [Editor Note: The U.S. Government is also a corporation] made the weapons that Saddam Hussein used to kill American soldiers in the Persian Gulf War. These corporations also provided the chemical and biological weapons that the Iraqis used to make thousands of surviving soldiers ill. Both the Bush and Clinton Administration Justice Departments agreed not to prosecute for TRADING WITH THE ENEMY."

[Editor Note: Now, this is an interesting coincidence, because it is exactly what Prescott Bush and the Rockefellers did before and during World War II, when they materially and financially supported the buildup and creation of Nazi Germany, and later Communist Russia, to create extreme forms of National Socialism and International Socialism, in order to anger the planetary population, who would stamp these forms of socialism out and make way for International Corporate Capitalism, which is Global Socialism, or otherwise known as the New World Order. Any good student of history will find the prosecutions levied for Trading With the Enemy on U.S. companies during this period in history. Don't believe any of this? Do your homework! The same people have been at it behind the scenes for the last 60 years doing the same thing. When you then see Operation Paperclip and Project 63 in action for 30 years . . . . . well, welcome to the covert 4th Reich in disguise. All the research is in Matrix III Volume Two, of what they are doing, how they are doing it and why. Read it and understand. Everything is there.]

You have heard about the Trading With the Enemy Act? Guess who has really been trading with the enemy? Now they are being openly accused of it. The Media Bypass article continues: "The buildup of Iraq's weapons was paid for by U.S. taxpayers, and this business was conducted for years before the Persian Gulf War, and after it started. Such trading with the enemy is tantamount to TREASON. Since when did treason become a civil case? Federal Judge Schub of Atlanta, before whom the case came during the Bush era, said in a phone call to Attorney General Janet Reno, that "anyone who believes there was not grounds for prosecution, has to believe in never-never land."

[Editor note: The Bush era has not ended. How quaint that Judge Schub should call Janet Reno, who herself is guilty of election fraud in Florida, and is a firm believer in never-never land -- without a means of self defense against tyranny, of course. Furthermore, Janet Reno cannot legally hold the position of Attorney General, because she is an agent of a foreign power and works for Interpol, which has been historically connected with rejects from Nazi Germany. Well, another human example of never clone alone, at the very least. It reminds me of the situation in Congress a few years ago when one upset Congressmen referred to others as "Reptilian Bastards"]

By the way, these items for the SCUD missiles that were given to Saddam Hussei n were made in Connecticut and in Pittsburgh. The Media Bypass article continues, "Because Iraq defaulted on payment for the biological agents received from U.S. companies, American taxpayers ended up stuck with the bill for weapons that were later used against coalition forces." Part of the reason it was covered up is that President Bush's father was involved with Brown Brothers Harriman Bank, which was involved with the transactions.

How was this cover-up of the manufacture of weapons for Iraq arranged in the United States? Bush arranged for 70% of the policy-makers in the Department of Justice to remain in their jobs when Clinton was elected. The official stance from the Justice Department is, "we cannot talk about this, because the independent prosecutor has said, through the courts, that no one is to discuss this investigation officially, until it is finished." Now, there is someone who is really giving out official information, but it doesn't come out in the media -- only in Media Bypass.

Media Mistakenly Releases Truth About Doxycycline Then Issues Cover-up Stories

(Slide Shown) Ok, this just came out the other day. I was in Connecticut doing a radio show on the Gulf War issue, and I was taking a break for a commercial, when all of a sudden CBS radio comes over the main feed and says, "the Gulf War illness is found to be helped by the antibiotic Doxycycline." I couldn't believe it. We pushed the federal government to admitting this.

[Editor Note: I thought you might find it interesting that CBS has had long time connections to the Central Intelligence Agency]

I called CBS news and they faxed me the news release. I thought, "now they'll be able to get Doxycycline from the military." Guess what happens the next day. Good old Associated Press, the cover-up news agency, comes out with "Report Urges More Attention to Psychological Problems". Here we are, back again, to saying that all the symptoms are psychological. And so they had another cover-up news release that came out just this past week to cover-up the one that came out that told the truth. That's what's happening.

United States Military To Expand Presence In the Persian Gulf After Clinton Executive Order

Here is another article which recently came out. It says, "U.S. to Expand Presence as Persian Gulf Deterrent." On January 7th, another press release said, "The United States will expand on its already massive military presence in the Persian Gulf ". How many of you knew we still had massive military presence in the Persian Gulf? We thought the war was over. They are sending troops over there every three months, and those biological agents are still bound to the silica in the sand, and those troops are getting ill and calling me. I just got a copy of the executive order that Clinton just passed to bring in more reservists into active service. Why are they doing that, I wonder. Through the use of Executive Orders, they are signing away all our rights. This is what concerns me. Look at this. Executive Order 10011 allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare functions. Is that what we are going to do now, with this incredible problem we've got?

The Convention on Biological Diversity: Nature Worship A State Religion

(Slide Shown) This is the Convention on Biological Diversity. I just got a copy of this, and I don't know how many of you have seen this. I think that you would be interested in knowing what it calls for. Guess what they want to do? Objective: To make nature worship a state religion. To make man equal to all other species. Now, when you start getting really involved, the way I am now, there are a lot of people that don't want you to do it. I got this letter from the Department of the Navy, which is the closest station to where I am, and they said, "Dear Captain Riley, Our desire is to medically evaluate you, as soon as possible." You'll have to catch me, and I don't think you're going to.

Sexually Transmitted Cancer

Peter Kawaja has been talking about this. Guess what. This just came out on 10/10/95. There is such a thing as sexually transmitted cancer. Isn't it strange that all these things we've been talking about are now coming out? Let me tell you about Peter Kawaja. He operated under a government code name. The reason he did this is that he found out that biological agents were being made in the United States, and he was aware of the fact that it was essentially treason, and that it was wrong, and he went to the CIA, FBI and U.S. Customs and told them that this was going on.

Product Ingredient Technology and Dr. Barbouti

He told them that "they are making biological agents in Boca Raton, Florida, and that they are being used for germ warfare." The government then said to him to let them know everything he found out, and they wanted to stay on top of it. Peter was a security systems person that was hired to do security contracts. In doing so, he was able to see what was happening at this plant, called P.I.T, the Product Ingredient Technology plant. This plant was a project of Dr. Barbouti, who is from Houston. His son still lives in Houston. Dr. Barbouti had been involved in the (illegal) sales of arms to Iraq, had originally built the biological warfare plant in Libya, had come to the United States and had cloned the Libyan plant in Boca Raton, Florida. They said they were making a cherry flavoring there. That was the cover story. Well, he got a letter after he signed the contract to do the security arrangement. In the letter, PIT stated that "we forgot to tell you that we need a cyanide detection system."

Now, if Saddam Hussein had wanted to kill our soldiers, he would have just outright killed them with mustard or cyanide, right? That wasn't the plan. The plan was to give them a long-term illness that they would bring back to their families. What better way to give a country a disease than to give it to the military, who move all over the country. This was an experiment in biological warfare. Well, this cyanide that was to be made in Boca Raton was for Prussian Blue , which is a hydrogen cyanide derivative, and the purpose for its manufacture was that it was placed in the SCUD rockets with the biochemical substances. When the missile blew up, the Prussian Blue would deteriorate the materials of which the gas masks were made , especially the filters. So, even if they did put their protective gear on, it wouldn't work. All the time, they thought the chemical suits were protecting them. Again, this Prussian Blue was made by a company in the United States.

The Bush Administration Response to Discovery

When Peter Kawaja continued to get this information and found out about all of this, he then did something the government did not expect him to do. He wire tapped all the telephones at the PIT plant. He wire tapped all the phones at the corporate living quarters of the International Headquarters of IBI International (Ishan Barbouti International). When he wiretapped all of these phones, he heard Congressmen, officials in the Bush administration, high-level world officials, and he found out that he had been had -- that this was a joint venture with the United States government. Now, they realized that he had tapped the phone lines, and they served him with a "War Powers Act Subpoena" -- the first one ever issued since World War II. It takes an Executive Order from the President to issue this. They came to his business with armed guards and took all his recordings, documents -- everything. This is significant. He was not served with the affidavit of the search warrant to go along with it, all of this evidence remains at the Department of Justice and it is being held under "national security" until "the investigation" is "complete."

What the British Press Knew in 1991 That Americans Did Not

However, look what came out of the British press. On January 17, 1991. Let me show you how much information the British press had. Look at this, "Boca Plant begins trail to Washington." You see, what Peter Kawaja did is that he sent a FedEx letter to the NSA telling them terrorists were in the United States making biological weapons, and he wanted President Bush to know. That is when they came and took his documents. Here are more British headlines, "Congress Probes Linking Gates to Arms Deal" and "Barbouti Acted in Accord with U.S. Plan Toward Iraq" and "Gates and Secord Linked to Iraqi Pipeline". Down here, in the Financial Times of London, July 3, 1991, there is an article "U.S. Cyanide Shipped to Iraq Despite Warnings to CIA", and "Iraqi's Florida Plant Tied to Poison Gas: Export of Chemical Feared". Ishan Barbouti, by the way, died one week before the war began. He is buried under eight feet of cement, "for religious purposes", in London.

The Federal Lawsuit Against the Perpetrators

(Slide Shown) This is a lawsuit that Peter Kawaja has filed in the Southern District Court of Florida. He is charging war crimes against the Bush administration. He has filed a lawsuit against 100 federal agents. I will show you part of what he has done. He has accused them of war crimes, concealment, conspiracy, corruption, aiding and abetting, fraud, obstruction of justice, tampering with a witness, and more. You see, he was called three times to be a witness for a Federal Grand Jury against Barbouti. There is a lot that we can't go into because of time. He is doing this Pro Se, by the way. It has been in the system for two years now, and he has kept it there. He is saying that they attempted to conceal U.S. Government dealings with terrorists and terrorist nations -- the same terrorists the Bush administration had publicly declared war against. Under item "I" in this lawsuit, it reads, "to conceal from the American public, and from American forces, and their families, who were knowingly placed in harms way, that the same terrorist nations the Bush administration had declared war against, had acquired new weapons of mass destruction from the United States , which American forces could not defend against." This information is in the court system, and Peter needs support. We are aware of this case, and we are going to be watching this case. By the way, when he filed this lawsuit against the U.S. Government, they didn't come back and deny anything. They simply said "we deserve immunity, because we are the United States Government."

(Slide Shown) This is part of the deposition of one of the agents involved. It says here, "I can assure you that if drums of cyanide left our plant, Dr. Barbouti had his reasons, either to be used against American troops or terrorist acts against the United States at home." It is amazing to see this in a deposition.

The Clinton Cover-up and the Psychotropic Drugging of Poisoned Veterans

So, Peter Kawaja sent all the information to President Clinton on September 4, 1994. Clinton then started a "Presidential Advisory Task Force". I don't know if you have heard anything about this or not, but it is a whitewash and cover-up. It is incredible that they are making the American people think that they are really looking into the Gulf War illness. They called me the other day, and asked me, "can you tell us what you think is causing the Gulf War illness?" I said, it doesn't make any difference what I think. Twelve thousand troops are already dead, and you need to be finding out what's doing it. We all know what is doing it - biological and chemical warfare. They said, "well, we can't pinpoint exactly what virus or bacteria is causing the problem, so we can't treat it." I said, you say you don't know what causes cancer, but you treat that!" It is amazing that they are taking this stance, dragging their feet, and trying to make the Gulf War vets feel that it is "their fault." You have 23 year-old Marines that are being told it is "all in your head" and being placed on Prozac and other psychotropic drugs. They have been sedated. I had one young man call me, and he was practically drooling, and he said, quot;please don't stop doing what you are doing". I said, what I need is to have the Gulf War veterans behind me. He said, "I'm so sedated, I couldn't get angry if I wanted to." That's the problem. They have either given them the psychotropic drugs, or they have bought them off with a 10% disability, $89 per month, which makes them feel like they are getting something they deserve.

America has been lied to, and it is going to stop. We have to get to the mainstream. I would encourage you to contact your Congressman and your newspapers. Do not let this stop. I want to see letters from your Senators either admitting or denying all of this. If they were in office in 1994, they have been exposed to the Reigle Report.

In closing, I want to say that we need your prayers, and the veterans need your prayers. I am only here as a messenger. I am just one person that is not going to be quiet about this. I am not going to let our Gulf War veterans die and suffer without American knowing what happened to them. Please do what you can to get the word out.

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Note: Gulf War Vets -- You may write to Captain Joyce Riley with your story or your request for assistance.