Bush using Nukes in Iraq

The term "nuclear weapons" should probably be expanded. For any of the Bush youth reading, that's "NUKE-U-LAR". This category should also include depleted uranium ammunition, which has been used in the Iraq war, the war in Bosnia, as well as the original Persian Gulf war.

Depleted uranium is an extremely dense metal that penetrates armor better than the traditional tungsten ammunition used by most militaries. Depleted uranium, or DU, is a byproduct of the process of removing fissionable uranium, used in reactors and nuclear weapons, from naturally occurring uranium. DU remains radioactive for 4.5 billion years. It is extremely toxic, especially when it is used as tank ammo, because when it impacts, it creates a fine ceramic uranium dust.

This dust can be inhaled, or can leach into ground water, and has the potential to cause major health problems. Anybody ever hear of Gulf War Syndrome?? Is it coincidence that the rates of cancer among Iraqis have increased drastically since the first Gulf war? – In one area of southern Iraq (near the Kuwait border), in 1988, 34 people died of cancer; in 1998, 450 died of cancer; in 2001 there were 603 cancer deaths. Is it coincidence that birth defects spiked after the first Gulf war? - In 1989 there were 11 per 100,000 births; in 2001 there were 116 per 100,000 births. And more evidence continues to mount on the toxic affects of DU from both Gulf wars.

I’m certainly not the first person to bring up this subject. But it doesn’t get the “face time” it deserves in the corporate media. War is hell. I understand that. But the results of the wars that we have fought in this country are going to plague the people of Iraq for generations to come. We told them we were bringing them freedom. We neglected to mention that we were going to do it with nuclear weapons.