Heads roll at Veterans Administration
Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal blamed
by Bob Nichols
Project Censored Award Winner
Considering the tons of depleted uranium used by the U.S., the Iraq
war can truly be called a nuclear war.
Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged Monday that the reason
Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this
month was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions
in the Iraq War.
Writing in Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169, Arthur N.
Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New
York, stated, “The real reason for Mr. Principi’s departure was really
never given, however a special report published by eminent scientist
Leuren Moret naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the
‘Gulf War Syndrome’ has fed a growing scandal about the continued use
of uranium munitions by the US Military.”
Bernklau continued, “This malady (from uranium munitions), that
thousands of our military have suffered and died from, has finally
been identified as the cause of this sickness, eliminating the
guessing. The terrible truth is now being revealed.”
He added, “Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in GW1 (the first
Gulf War), of them, 11,000 are now dead! By the year 2000, there were
325,000 on Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of
‘Disabled Vets’ means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who
served have some form of permanent medical problems!” The disability
rate for the wars of the last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10
percent, in Viet Nam.
“The VA Secretary (Principi) was aware of this fact as far back as
2000,” wrote Bernklau. “He, and the Bush administration have been
hiding these facts, but now, thanks to Moret’s report, (it) ... is far
too big to hide or to cover up!”
“Terry Jamison, Public Affairs Specialist, Office of the Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Veterans
Affairs, at the VA Central Office, recently reported that ‘Gulf Era
Veterans’ now on medical disability, since 1991, number 518,739
Veterans,” said Berklau.
“The long-term effects have revealed that DU (uranium oxide) is a
virtual death sentence,” stated Berklau. “Marion Fulk, a nuclear
physical chemist, who retired from the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear
Weapons Lab, and was also involved with the Manhattan Project,
interprets the new and rapid malignancies in the soldiers (from the
2003 Iraq War) as ‘spectacular … and a matter of concern!’”
When asked if the main purpose of using DU was for “destroying things
and killing people,” Fulk was more specific: “I would say it is the
perfect weapon for killing lots of people!”
Principi could not be reached for comment prior to deadline.
References
1. Depleted uranium: “Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets: A
death sentence here and abroad” by Leuren Moret,
http://www.sfbayview.com/081804/Depleteduranium081804.shtml.
2. Veterans for Constitutional Law, 112 Jefferson Ave., Port Jefferson
NY 11777, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director, (516) 474-4261, fax
516-474-1968.
3. Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter. Email Gary Kohls,
gkohls@cpinternet.com, with “Subscribe” in the subject line.
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