DU, Dioxin, Deformities, Dimes and Deceit--Pt. 1

This article ran on page 5 of the April 2009 issue of Works in Progress, a free monthly newspaper in Olympia, WA.

DU, Dioxin, Deformities, Dimes and Deceit, Part I

by David W. Griffiths

Before 1991, when an Iraqi woman gave birth, the first question she was likely to ask her doctor was, “Is it a boy or a girl?” Now, after 18 years of war, both military and economic, after the poisoning of air, water and soil as well as of flesh, blood and genes, after the almost total destruction of Iraq’s medical infrastructure, now a new mother’s first question is more likely to be, “Is it normal?” Even more alarming, with increasing frequency, the answer is, “No”.

According to Tedd Weyman of the Uranium Medical Research Centre in Toronto, Ontario and Dr. Siegwart Horst Guenther, a German doctor who has worked in Iraq for over 40 years, over the last 18 years, since the U.S. first attacked Iraq, there has been a rapid increase in the number and severity of birth defects seen in Iraq’s remaining hospitals. Certain types of deformities, many never before seen in Iraq, have become almost common. Children are being born without eyes, without faces, without heads, with organs outside their bodies or missing entirely, with their spines partially or completely exposed or, again, missing entirely. Some, apparently lacking skin, are literally blobs of unrecognizable bloody tissue.

Dr. Guenther and Dr. Asaf Durakovic, a co-founder of the UMRC, say that the sharpest increase in the occurrence of these horrifying deformities has come within the last six years, since the “beginning” of the Iraq War. Geographically speaking, the areas with the highest rates of such deformities are also the areas with the heaviest exposure to depleted uranium. Depleted uranium, or DU, is a by-product of the nuclear weapons and nuclear energy industries. In short, it is nuclear waste. However, it is used to “enhance” both munitions and armor because of its extraordinarily high density. Because DU-enhanced rounds are not designed to produce a nuclear reaction, they are not technically “nuclear” weapons, but they do release radioactive fallout. DU has an estimated half-life of 4.5 billion years, roughly equivalent to the estimated age of the planet. As far as this writer knows, the government and military of the U.S. have yet to offer any explanation as to how “conventional” weapons with a radioactive half-life do not constitute “dirty” weapons, which are prohibited under international laws governing the conduct of warfare.

It has been argued by Leuren Moret, an internationally recognized expert on the effects of DU and environmental commissioner for the city of Berkeley, CA, that the U.S. has now conducted four illegal nuclear wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and twice in Iraq. Moret says that the Israeli army has also used DU against the people of Palestine. According to Moret and Dr. Durakovic, similar patterns of genetic mutations and congenital deformities have been observed in all of these countries. They have also been observed in children of American and British soldiers, according to medical investigators and those brave veterans willing to tell their stories, as well as in civilian populations in areas where DU weapons are produced, stored and tested, says Moret. Arguably, DU is one of the main identifiable causes of birth defects in the world today.

One might think that in the face of such a crisis, humanitarian interests would prevail, and that governmental, philanthropic, charitable and other institutions and entities would all want to come together to try to develop a solution, or at least determine the extent of the problem. Sadly, this does not appear to be the case. Many allegedly humanitarian institutions and organizations are under the control of, or in some way beholden to, the very same corporate interests on whose behalf or at whose behest these illegal wars are waged. Therefore, as the rates of disease and deformity are mounting in certain parts of the world, for those in certain other parts of the world whose stated mission is to fight and prevent such conditions, it’s “business as usual”.

Let’s look at one such “humanitarian” organization, the March of Dimes, and its response to the DU crisis. According their website, the MOD, originally founded in 1938 to fight polio, has been funding research and educational programs to “save babies from birth defects, premature birth and low birthweight” since 1958. This 50-year history makes them the oldest charitable organization in the country, if not the world, dedicated specifically to preventing birth defects and other birth complications. What does the oldest, richest, best-known defender of babies’ health have to say about the threat posed by depleted uranium? In a word, nothing. The word “uranium” doesn’t even appear on their website. “Radiation” only appears in the context of radiation therapy or fleeting mentions as a “common cause for concern”, but there is no information anywhere on the site about the types of birth defects or other health issues known to be associated with radiation exposure. Nor is there any information about common sources of radiation exposure, or how to avoid them. In fact, the MOD provides far more information about the risks associated with peanuts than about the genotoxic and teratogenic (causing birth defects) properties of depleted uranium, or of any radioactive material.

The complete avoidance of any mention of birth defects connected with radiation exposure raises certain questions, beginning of course with, “Why?” Could it be for the same reason that the MOD is also suspiciously silent on the subject of dioxin, another known genotoxic and teratogenic substance? On-site searches for “dioxin” and “Agent Orange” both produce exactly zero results. Ironically, leaving the quotes off of the term “Agent Orange” returns over 600 links, mostly to pages containing references to insurance agents or orange juice.

Why hasn’t the MOD called for a ban on the production and use of dioxin? Could it be for the same reason that almost 18 years of reports of birth defects possibly connected to DU haven’t prompted them to even study the issue? Could it be that when the MOD says, “All babies deserve to be born healthy”, that doesn’t necessarily include babies in parts of the world where the U.S. wages illegal wars? But what about the children of U.S. soldiers, who are being born with similar types of deformities and other health problems as children in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Yugoslavia? Why doesn’t the MOD use its considerable political and economic clout to encourage the U.S. government to tell the truth about DU and dioxin, or at least conduct honest investigations to determine what the truth is? Don’t all babies deserve to be born healthy? Don’t our soldiers, and their children, deserve better?

Apparently, the MOD would rather use its lobbying power (and your money) to push legislation such as the Mothers’ and Newborns’ Health Protection Act, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and the Birth Defects Prevention Act. Legislative efforts such as these, along with mandatory vaccinations and screening for certain conditions, have the effect of imposing unnecessary medical treatment upon every child born in this country; medicalizing and institutionalizing the birth process, and ultimately, every aspect of life; and eradicating our personal autonomy at the most fundamental level, especially for those of us with disabilities. All of this is being accomplished while generating unimaginable wealth for healthcare and insurance corporations, and increasing the political power of executives of those corporations who also serve in state and federal government.

Why does the MOD, which spends millions of dollars every year to study human genetics and learn about the causes of birth defects, have more to say about peanuts and orange juice than about dioxin and depleted uranium? More importantly, why does the MOD work so hard and spend so much money, donated to them in good faith, fighting perceived threats to the world they want to see, while ignoring real dangers and allowing so much suffering in the world that is?

Some possible answers to the questions raised here, along with a whole host of other questions about the MOD’s intentions, present themselves with more thorough investigation of the MOD’s history. We will explore that history, including the MOD’s connections to Nazi Germany, and to the American military/medical/industrial complex and the national security establishment, in Part II. In the meantime, the MOD’s annual fundraiser, the March for Babies, will be held on April 25^th. The Thurston County event will be at Olympia High School, 1302 North St SE, beginning at 8:30 am, with registration beginning at 7:30. This event is hosted by the South Sound chapter of the MOD. If you would like to sign up for the March, or contact this chapter for any reason, their phone number is (253) 752-9255.