Gulf War Syndrome
is real
Soldiers are dying from radiation
poisoning
By Jonathon Carr-Brown and Martin Meissonnier
Paris, France, Sept. 3— New evidence that Gulf War
Syndrome exists and was caused by radiation poisoning was revealed
today by a former American army colonel who was at the center
of his government’s attempts to diagnose the illness.
Dr. Asaf Durakovic told a conference of eminent nuclear scientists
in Paris that “tens of thousands” of British and American soldiers
are dying from radiation from depleted uranium (DU) shells fired
during the Gulf war.
The findings undermined the British and American governments’
claims that Gulf War Syndrome does not exist and intensify pressure
from veterans on both sides of the Atlantic for compensation.
Durakovic, who is professor of nuclear medicine at Georgetown
University, Washington, and the former head of nuclear medicine
at the US Army’s veterans’ affairs medical facility in Delaware,
told the conference that he and his team of American and Canadian
scientists have discovered life-threateningly high levels of
DU in Gulf veterans 10 years after the desert war.
His findings, which have been verified by four independent
experts, are embarrassing for the Ministry of Defense (MoD)
and the US Department of Defense, which have consistently refused
to test Gulf War veterans for DU.
Durakovic told the European Association of Nuclear Medicine
that tests on 17 veterans have shown DU in the urine and bones
of 70% of them.
Depleted uranium does not occur naturally. It is the by-product
of the industrial processing of waste from nuclear reactors
and is better known as weapons-grade uranium. It is used to
strengthen the tips of shells to ensure that they pierce armor.
Durakovic, who left America because he was told his life was
in danger if he continued his research, has concluded that troops
inhaled the tiny uranium particles after American and British
forces fired more than 700,000 DU shells during the conflict.
The finding begins to explain for the first time why medical
orderlies and mechanics are the principal victims of Gulf War
Syndrome.
British Army engineers who removed tanks hit by DU shells from
the battlefield and medical personnel who cut off the clothes
of Iraqi casualties in field hospitals have been disproportionately
affected.
Once inside the body, DU causes a slow death from cancers,
irreversible kidney damage or wastage from immune deficiency
disorders.
In the UK, where more than 400 veterans are estimated to have
died from Gulf War Syndrome, at least 50 of those victims came
from Reme (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) units.
Others, such as Ray Bristow, 42, of Hull, who was a theater
technician for 32 Field Hospital, are now wheelchair-bound.
Tests carried out by Durakovic on Bristow showed that, nine
years after leaving the Gulf, he had more than 100 times the
safe limit of DU in his body.
Durakovic said: “I doubt whether the MoD or Pentagon will have
the audacity to challenge these results. I can’t say this is
the solitary cause of Gulf War Syndrome, but we now have clear
evidence that it is a leading factor in the majority of victims.
“I hope the US and UK governments finally realize that, by
continuing to use this ammunition, they are effectively poisoning
their own soldiers.”
An MoD spokesman said it would study any new evidence: “Our
aim is to get the best care for British veterans and our views
are based on the best evidence around.”
Source: Times Newspapers Ltd.
ALF liberates 116 animals from labs
Wellington, Colorado, Sept. 1— Under the cover of a
new moon, members of the underground Animal Liberation Front
raided a toxicology laboratory in Wellington, in northeastern
Colorado, and rescued over one hundred animals from toxicology
testing.
A communiqué from the Animal Liberation Front received by
the ALF Press Office claimed responsibility for the early morning
raid on Aug. 28 at Genesis Laboratories. The ALF say they liberated
116 animals, including Bobwhites and ducks, all of which were
live-trapped from the wild and forced into cages for toxicology
testing.
“No animal should be used to test the toxicity of any kind
of human product,” stated ALF spokesperson David Barbarash.
“Be it for drugs, food, cosmetics, or any consumer product,
there is simply no moral or ethical justification for torturing
wild animals in toxicology experiments.”
The ALF stated in the communiqué, “Genesis Laboratories performs
wasteful, redundant and cruel toxicology experiments on hundreds
of wild animals annually. Under the guise of “science,” vivisectors
at Genesis live-trap animals in the Colorado wilderness, confine
them to small cages such as those we found inside the lab, and
poison or otherwise torture these innocent creatures to death.
The animals are now out of this torture chamber.”
The communiqué also details how the activists were intending
to free all the animals, including more birds, prairie dogs,
squirrels, ferrets, and rodents, but were forced to abandon
the raid after inadvertently tripping an alarm. All 116 rescued
animals have been released back into the wild.
The ALF is an underground movement dedicated to liberating
animals from all places of abuse and torture, and destroying
animal abusers’ property.
Source: ALF: www.animalliberation.net
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