US manufactured weapons Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) Most DU weapons manufactured in the United States show a distinct difference between conventional weapons and those that contain DU and other toxic elements such as Tungsten etc. The warhead clearly shows the Rod with a Sabot sitting just below the point. It must be clearly understood that despite any re classification that may have taken place by the US Government these truly are nuclear related weapons.
You can clearly see that the Israel's IMI is manufacturing weapons that are almost identical to the US weapons that are displayed in the left hand picture above.
I believe that the international community should be asking the question of Israel. What is the current status of your nuclear capability?Do you manufacture such weapons yourself and what do they contain? Did you use DU weapons in Lebanon (2006) and have you used DU weapons on Gaza and continue to do so? Once you have ascertained the answers to these questions it's then a matter of asking, where did you obtain these weapons - were they imported from the US or are they your own?
Israeli manufactured weapons
It is extremely hard when carrying out such research to find the answers yourself but if one has the ability to extend your search across a broad range of sources eventually you will find what you are looking for. As an example you first identify the potential suspect munitions, find out if such weapons were exported to various locations and then try to find the manufacturers own webpage to obtain more detailed specifications. In following this painful path of investigation and linking them to military web pages such as USAF or IDF etc you can come up with some very pleasing results.
The example below not only shows the visual appearance of DU weapons but they also kindly (in some cases) tell you in the technical specifications that the munitions contains those golden words "Depleted Uranium"
M829A1 APFSDS-T and the M829A3 APFSDS-T manufactured by ATK is the most advanced in the world. It is fully compatible with 120mm smooth bore weapons on M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and the Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks with L44 and L55 smooth bore cannons. Both contain Material of DU
M829A1 PHYSICAL DATA
Cartridge Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984mm
Cartridge Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.9 kg
Propellant Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . JA2 19 Perf
Propellant Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 kg
Projectile Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Armor Piercing
Projectile Length . . . . . . . . . . . . .780mm
Projectile Weight . . . . . . . . . .9.0 kg
Penetrator Length . . . . . . . . . . . . 780mm
Penetrator Diameter . . . . . . . . . . .22mm
Penetrator Weight . . . . . . . . . . ............... .4.6 kg
Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Depleted Uranium
M829A3 APFSDS-
M829A3MM829A3M MMPHYSICAL DATA
Cartridge Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982mm
Cartridge Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . .22.3 kg
Propellant Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RPD-380 Stick
Propellant Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.1 kg
Projectile Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Armor Piercing
Projectile Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.0 kg
Projectile Length . . . . . . . . . . . . .924mm
Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Depleted Uranium
Once you are armed with such information it's now a matter of finding out its application and usage, if it was exported and to whom and then having the ability to place independent experts in the contamination zone. Those experts will then inspect bomb craters or carryout surface inspections to try and find the telltale evidence of such things as the DU Rod/Sabot. They will also obtain air filters from ambulances (who repeatedly go into the target area), take samples of fragments, subsoil's etc and then return to the Laboratory to carry on intense tests both in their own facilities and also by sending some to other well respected institutions such as Harwell in the UK etc.
Previously we have identified all the many issues associated with DU such as what are these weapons? Where and when were they used? Has evidence been recovered and tested? What are the medical/health conditions of its victims both in the military and civilian populations? I will therefore now try to explain in great detail the resultant aftermath of DU weapons and it's on going contamination.
Children of Gaza play amidst the ruins of their city but is it safe to do so?
I feel that the evidence I have provided so far reveals beyond a shadow of doubt that DU weapons have been and still are being used in all areas of conflict. It is only a matter of time before the terrible consequences of its use emerge. We will again see the troops return home from Afghanistan to their respective homes in the US, UK and other NATO countries. We will see a rise in radiation related sicknesses as we did after the Balkans, Kuwait and Iraq wars.
I ask the question will Afghanistan succumb to the terrible consequences of DU.? Will all those troops and the civilian populations in all areas of conflict end up with conditions such as cancer of the Thyroid, cancer of the Lymph Glands, Leukaemia, diabetes or become sterile? Will this contamination pass down through their reproductive organs and create more still births or badly disfigured children and will those same children pass it on to their siblings? Generally speaking the answer is yes.
We as an international community must address all of these issues and continue to lobby our respective heads of government and politicians to finally take action and stop the manufacturing and use of Depleted Uranium. It is our duty of care to stop this evil act against mankind and where applicable bring those responsible to trial.
We are not just talking about thousands upon thousands of people but possibly millions and in that context the current war crimes investigations are purely a drop in the ocean!
Now lets look at the dangers of DU weaponry and its associated contamination both regionally and around the world: We are told by the many governments, especially those belonging to NATO (that use DU), that low level radiation is safe or as they tend to say "as safe as normal background radiation we encounter on a daily basis".
The National Academy of Sciences in their BEIR VII report, regarding low level radiation, stated that there "is no safe level of exposure". The report also finally admitted that very low levels of radiation are more harmful per unit of radiation than higher levels of exposure; also know as the suppralinear effect.
Leuren Moret is an international radiation specialist, with a B.S. degree in geology from University of California at Davis, a M.A. degree in Near Eastern studies from University of California at Berkeley and has done post-graduate work in the geosciences at UC-Davis.Leuren Moret has worked around the world on radiation issues, educating citizens, the media, members of parliaments and Congress and other official's .Leuren is an international expert on depleted uranium. She has worked in two U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories, and in 1991 she became a whistleblower at the Livermore lab. As she once quoted "Depleted Uranium is very, very, very nasty stuff"
Leuren stated that since 1991, the U.S. has released the radioactive atomicity equivalent of at least 400,000 Nagasaki bombs into the global atmosphere. That is 10 times the amount released during atmospheric testing which was the equivalent of 40,000 Hiroshima bombs. The U.S. has permanently contaminated the global atmosphere with radioactive pollution having a half-life of 2.5 billion years.
Depleted uranium (DU) weaponry meets the definition of weapon of mass destruction in two out of three categories under U.S. Federal Code Title 50 Chapter 40 Section 2302.
The US has illegally conducted four nuclear wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and two times in Iraq since 1991. Calling DU conventional weapons is entirely false when in fact they are nuclear weapons.
DU on the battlefield has three effects on living systems:
It is a heavy metal chemical poison, a radioactive poison and has a particulate effect due to the very tiny size of the particles that are 0.1 microns and smaller.
DU has a strong chemical affinity for phosphate structures concentrated in DNA
Terry Jemison at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs stated in August 2004 that over 518,000 Gulf-era veterans (14-year period) are now on medical disability, and that 7,039 were wounded on the battlefield in that same period. Over 500,000 U.S. veterans are homeless. In some studies of soldiers who had normal babies before the war, 67 percent of the post-war babies are born with severe birth defects - missing brains, eyes, organs, legs and arms, and blood diseases.
In order to provide more evidence as to the grave dangers of Depleted Uranium we have to turn to some other independent experts who have actively participated in on site testing and the submission of their findings.
Dr Rosalie Bertell, Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart, received her Ph. D. degree in Biometrics with minors in Biology and Biochemistry from the Catholic University of America, in 1966. Since that time she has worked as a biometrician and environmental epidemiologist. By choice, Dr. Bertell works for the victims or potential victims of industrial, technological and military pollution.
Among many projects she has headed, the most notable are: Director of the International Medical Commission Bhopal which investigated the aftermath of the Bhopal disaster in India, and organizer of the International Medical Commission Chernobyl to present testimony to the Permanent People's Tribunal. She assisted the people of the Philippines with problems stemming from toxic waste left by the U.S. Military on their abandoned Subic and Clark military bases. She has worked with the government of Ireland to hold Britain responsible for the radioactive pollution of the Irish Sea, and is assisting the Gulf War Veterans and the Iraqi citizens dealing with the illness called Gulf War Syndrome. She acted as Consultant to local, Provincial and Federal Governments, unions and citizen organizations.
As we have previously pointed out the current usage of the ICRP model is not only outdated but also unsuitable in the analysis of low level radiation. Dr Bertell listed the following: The Ministry appears to have depended heavily on the opinions of the ICRP, WHO (which usually quotes ICRP), CNSC (which depends totally on ICRP) and the ATSDR (which is partly independent).
One can only assume that if this is the case then all those currently responsible for producing reports in relation to DU contamination are providing totally inaccurate reports. When one reflects on the reports that came out of the Balkans, Iraq and Lebanon it is clear that serious evidence was not analysed correctly resulting in deeply flawed and inaccurate statements. It is painfully clear that this also extended into the UDEP and many other government and military agencies. Most of the above authorities state that although there may be some concerns in relation to the use of Depleted Uranium "the low level radiation is not considered harmful any more than normal background radiation.
Dr. Souad N. Al-Azzawi Assoc. Prof. / Mamoun Univ. for Science & Technology gave an overview on Depleted Uranium Contamination in Iraq.
He put the following into his report that revealed a distinct cover-up by the United States and the Pentagon. Revelation of information regarding what is called the Gulf War Syndrome among exposed American veterans helped Iraqi researchers and Medical Doctors to understand the nature of the effect of these weapons, and the means required to investigate further into this issue.
During 2003, military operations conducted in Iraq by the invading forces used additional rounds of DU in heavily populated areas such as Baghdad, Samawa and other provinces. It is only fair to conclude that the environment in Iraq and its population have been exposed continuously to DU weaponry or its contaminating remains, since 1991. Accordingly millions of Iraqi's have received higher doses of radioactivity than ordinary background levels. As a result a multi-fold increase of low level radiation exposure related diseases have been registered since 1995. An increase of children's leukaemia, congenital malformations, breast cancer etc...
The Doctor certainly hit the nail on the head when he stated the shift of leukaemia incidence rates towards younger children during the recent years, and its association with geographically distributed contaminated areas, offers strong evidence of the correlation between LLR exposure and resulted health damages. Through this paper, an overview of major scientific DU conclusions will be presented, drawn from investigations and research conducted since the year 1991 by Iraqi researchers and MDs. Schemes of these researches can be classified into three categories:
1. DU contamination detection and exploration programs.
2. DU effects on human body cells.
3. DU related epidemiological studies.
He further stated that the American and British occupation forces are totally responsible for:
1- Forbidding any release of statistics related to civilian casualties after the occupation [8].
2- Refusal to clean up contaminated areas [9].
3- Depriving international agencies and Iraqi researchers the right to conduct full (DU) related exploration programs by USA occupation forces [2] to prevent further damages is the best evidence that these forces are covering up their certain conclusive evidence of the harmful health impacts of DU.
Dr Chris Busby PhD is an expert based in the UK who has over a long period of time attempted to bring the hidden truth out into the open and with the help of his associate Dai Williams have and continue to play a major role in revealing the real issues that are behind Depleted Uranium and the effects of Low Level Radiation (LLR). He participated in the International DU Conference in Hamburg (2003) and wrote the following:
Why is there concern about the health effects of Depleted Uranium? Would there be equivalent argument about the health effects following the use of Tungsten in tank shells or lead in bullets? The answer is straightforward: everybody knows that Uranium is radioactive and everyone knows that radiation exposure leads to cancer, leukaemia and genetic damage. No one wants to be exposed to ionising radiation. So why is such a weapon being used, if this is the case?He went of to say the answer is tied to a much larger and more serious issue. This is the issue of the health consequences of exposure to low doses of radiation from nuclear pollution of the planet, a subject which I have studied for more than fourteen years. The reason that DU is employed is that the weapons are astoundingly successful and have revolutionised warfare.
Depleted Uranium at work and the after effects of contamination
Its use represents a route for the nuclear industry to rid itself of a waste product which would otherwise be expensive to dispose of. But the downside is that the material clearly represents a radiation hazard which is indiscriminate: battlefields are going to be contaminated and civilian populations are going to be exposed. There is an up-side and a down-side. The war will be won but the method will be illegal within contemporary accepted moral arguments. Human rights will be infringed by a randomly dispersed and thus indiscriminate radioactive weapon of mass destruction.
His brief also gave some technical aspects of the situation which I am putting in this report in order for those who wish to be educated can do so.
Let us try to fit the dispersion of Depleted Uranium into this perspective.
In terms of disintegrating atoms, radioactivity is measured in Bequerels. One Becquerel represents one disintegration per second. This is a reasonable way of quantifying amounts of radioactivity. The average Natural Uranium content of soil is about 10-20 Becquerel's per kilogram, including all the Uranium isotopes. Most people excrete as much as 0.1mBq (0.0001Bq) per litre of Urine as a result of absorption of natural Uranium in food they eat. Pure Depleted Uranium contains about 12,400,000Bq of U- 238 per kilogram and in Kosovo, some soil samples analysed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) contained 250,000Bq/kg (UNEP 2001, Annex). The 350 tonnes of DU used in the first Gulf War represents 4.3 TBq (4.3 x 1012 Bq) of Uranium alpha activity (13.0 x 1012 if the radioactive beta emitting daughter isotopes are included). If Dai Williams (2003) is correct that about 1700 tonnes was used in the latest war, then that represents 63 TBq of activity dispersed mainly into a populated area of perhaps 100km2 . This gives a mean density of deposition of radioactivity of 630,000Bq/m2.
Dr Bushby stated that the truth about the health effects of low level radiation has been covered up by the nuclear /military lobby in many ways for about 50 years. I wrote about this in Wings of Death (Busby 1995) and there I explained how different levels of control and bias had been employed to keep the public from realising that they were being systematically poisoned by radioactivity. I could continue with so much more interesting work carried out by this dedicated man but space does not allow.
Finally I would like to add some information from his associate Dai Williams who has spent much time out in the fields of battle taking samples and making such reports possible:
The first evidence that the IDF were using uranium was a picture from the Getty picture library that showed a uranium shell being carried by an Israeli soldier.
Shortly after the war stopped on 17th of August, a report in the Lebanese ‘Daily Star' newspaper drew attention to some radiation readings made by a Lebanese scientist in a bomb crater in Khiam in South Lebanon. The scientist, Dr Khobeisi, measured a gamma exposure reading of 700nSv/h in the crater and 300nSv/h at the edge; the background for the area was 30nSv/h. something was there: but what? Dai Williams, an independent researcher from Surrey, went to Lebanon on 17th of September on behalf of Green Audit to find out and bring back samples from the Khiam crater and other sites.
The soil samples were examined in Aberystwyth using a beta scintillation counter and also alpha registering CR39 plastic. It was clear that the Khiam sample was more radioactive than background soil samples from the area. Dai Williams also brought back a vehicle air filter from an ambulance. Two soil samples and the filter were sent to the Harwell labs in Oxfordshire. The results were astonishing. They confirmed the presence of a radioactive material, but the material was enriched Uranium with an isotopic ratio of 108. This was in the soil sample from Khiam and also in the ambulance filter. The Khiam soil sample also contained quite a lot of Uranium - about 180Bq/kg (normal soil in the area would have less than 20Bq/kg).
The question is why use enriched Uranium? It is a bit like shooting your enemy with diamonds. There were only two possible explanations. The first is that it is a smokescreen for a more widespread use of depleted Uranium; the final contamination when all gets mixed up after the war has a natural isotopic signature. The second idea is that this is some new type of weapon altogether, one that needs enriched Uranium to work. One Italian physicist has suggested a fusion bomb using deuterium and enriched uranium to produce neutrons which kill living systems but do not destroy property. Others have suggested a thermobaric device in which the uranium powder has to have particular burn properties, conferred by the radioactivity of the enrichment.
Whatever the explanation, the airbrush came rapidly out. The following week Steve Connor, the science writer for the Independent, wrote a small dismissive article in which Chris Busby was demoted from Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk to a Green Party Activist and the existence of Uranium in Lebanon was denied.
The war stopped because the UN peace keepers were to go in and police southern Lebanon. If there was Uranium there, then the UN troops would be rather unhappy about serving, since they had already been stung in Kosovo where Spanish, Italian and Portuguese troops had suffered leukaemia and lymphoma from DU exposures. Sensing a cover-up involving UNEP and Lebanese authorities, Dai Williams decided to go back and get more samples.
These were examined by Chris Busby in Aberystwyth and the ones with increased radiation signatures sent to Harwell. Results showed the presence of enriched Uranium in the water samples from two separate craters in Khiam and showed a significant amount of Uranium in one of the soil samples. At this point the analysis had to stop since everyone had run out of money.
To summarise I feel that we all have failed in allowing this evil act against the whole of mankind to continue after a period of some 20 years and still continues in the battlefields of Afghanistan and maybe now possibly Pakistan. We continued to see its usage in Lebanon and Gaza and now we wait for the resultant rise in cancer related illnesses. We have seen all the many authorities fail in their duty of care and their ability to see the bigger picture. We have clearly revealed that major cover-ups occurred on a massive scale and we owe it to those war vets and innocent civilians to stop the manufacturing of DU and at the same time ban the use of these weapons pending an inquiry. We see major INGO's debating the many issues and in general pussyfooting around. This has to stop now and someone has to thump the table and demand action. We have to give those that suffer their day in court and to bring to trial those that knowingly promoted its usage against innocent people and the Geneva Convention.
We have reached a stage that many high tech weaponry can be delivered automatically with little effort, especially in the development of the drones that can also carry missiles. War has now become a comparison to a computer game where the operator sits many miles away spying on residents below. With the flick of a button he can zoom in and almost read your newspaper. He can then mark you with a laser in readiness for the final act of dispatching the missile. With the latest missiles and bombs they can be launched from an aircraft, helicopter or drone many miles away from the location. With the assistance of such an operator or another airborne aircraft the missile or bomb is then released and guided onto the marked target.
Again I repeat - The only way this is going to stop is by the actions of ordinary simple people. You have to stop sitting on your hands and start lobbying or forming groups. We have all seen the effects that large crowds have on governments, especially as in the case of the Gaza conflict. We know that many UN members' states are against DU and we know that the same story is repeated across the EU. Gaza is a very small enclave with a densely populated city. Its people have suffered severely by this disproportional attack. The least the international community can do for them is make this the last example of weaponry abuse and bring the offenders to justice.
Peter Eyre - Middle East Consultant
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