I like to keep up on the news, and know what’s going on. But all the time I get completely surprised by what I don’t know and I feel like an idiot. And it’s easy to miss the minor things, I guessed. But the big things… I think I remember hearing about depleted uranium in relation to the story about creating a storage site inside Yucca mountain. Or maybe it was the “dirty bomb” scare. Both of those are frightening too. But those are just diversions.
I’ve heard about nuclear bomb testing in the desert and the Pacific. How U.S. soldiers stood in ditches in close proximity to bomb blasts. About atolls. I’ve heard of Agent Orange. Giving soldiers guns in Vietnam that consistently jam. How the Patriot missile system fails and creates friendly fire incidents. All bad. And it sticks in my memory, but not in the way it should. It’s too easy to forget things, and to believe it’s alright to forget, assume mistakes are made and later corrected, and that’s the way of things.
But…
The truth is (and I found all this out after just an hour of internet investigation, after hearing about it clearly for the first time) companies are creating ammunition made from depleted uranium. The U.S. military has been developing it since the early 70s, and using it in warfare since the first Gulf War in 1991. Over 20 countries are now using depleted uranium in everything from bombs dropped from planes to small munitions. Including Russia and Pakistan. Plutonium has also been found in with the depleted uranium, as well as other kinds of uranium that usually appear as part of a nuclear reaction. Almost half a million U.S. soldiers were exposed to depleted uranium on the battlefield of Iraq in 1991 and since the war ended, about 130,000 have received disability and 9,600 soldiers have died. Rare forms of cancer in younger victims are appearing in Iraq and other places in the U.S. where these weapons are manufactured. At one Basra children’s hospital, it has been reported that there have been 7 times more cancer cases appearing since 1991.
Other places affected (that I have found out about so far) include: Southern California including Los Angeles (where depleted uranium seems to have been used for commercial uses, which I’m still trying to find information on); testing in Nevada; the war in Kosovo (Italian soldiers are reporting after-effects); Puerto Rico (testing and bombing at Vieques); Kentucky (in conjunction with a nuclear facility); New River near Phoenix, where the Environmental Protection Agency originally said it was alright to burn a shed which was later found to be full of uranium rods that were supposed to be used to make weapons (as reported by the Arizona Republic). And as I said before, these weapons are being bought and sold all over the world. This uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

In other words, the U.S. is creating weapons from, and dropping weapons made from, radioactive toxic waste and dropping them all over the world, exposing our own soldiers and civilian populations to radioactive waste, and leaving said waste on the ground to remain dangerous until someone else removes it or 4.5 billion years pass by, whichever comes first.

If I had read it in a comic book, I would not have believed it.

I remember being told that Gulf War Syndrome was from Saddam Hussein using chemical weapons, which was of course later discredited and forgotten. I didn’t learn the real cause until yesterday. The Pentagon’s reports claim that depleted uranium weapons are not harmful but they admit the issue requires further study. U.S. soldiers are not officially told to stay away from areas hit by these weapons. Civilian populations certainly aren’t. The dust is harmful if inhaled or exposed to open wounds, and it has been reported to be found airborne and travel far distances even in places where these weapons are manufactured. Even more toxic when exploded, seeming to cause nuclear-type reactions. It kind of makes talk of Anthrax scares in the mail and “dirty bombs” in suitcases seem like ridiculous diversions created by the media. To cover up real stories that are quietly reported everywhere and ignored.
I watched a 2000 documentary called ‘Hidden Wars of Desert Storm’ which I found at my local video store. That’s how I first remember hearing about this. Also, www.ngwrc.com is a good site to find information about depleted uranium weapons. I’ll have to look for more sources and I’ll report what I find. I’m especially interested in secret mountain sites in the U.S. where these weapons are manufactured and stored.

In other less-but-still-frightening news (at least for a few of those who will read the following and understand the implications, hint hint): Saturday night I watched ‘Raising Arizona’ and drank Jack Daniels on the rocks. Woke up Sunday with a hangover – a pull over the car and puke on the asphalt gracefully in burning sun not a cloud in the sky weather – and tried to will myself to be able to handle an Easter lunch (made by a wonderful family) when I could barely keep down water. Then I had a tall glass of ice and iced tea. And I felt fine. And could eat fine. Even handle a margarita and chocolate cookies later. Iced tea, the hangover cure.