Soldier stacking depleted uranium bullets
Major Doug Rokke interviewed by Dennis Bernstein
While ECOTECTURE mostly reports on topics to do with improving the environment by designing better human systems, leaving environmental conservation to others, we occasionally come across a conservation topic that is under reported and far too significant to be ignored. We felt compelled to present this radio interview on the use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions in Iraq and elsewhere to our readers. After all, it is hard to create a sustainable environment in a radioactive waste zone.
The interview with DU expert US Army Major Doug Rokke was conducted by Dennis Bernstein, the producer of the program Flash Points on KPFA (Pacifica) radio in Berkeley, California, and broadcast on April 17, 2003. I heard it while driving my car, and was so upset that I had to pull over. I had heard of DU munitions, of course, but I thought they were used occasionally to attack tanks and had no idea of how widespread, deadly and permanent their damage was. ECOTECTURE obtained the tapes of the interview and republishes it with Mr. Bernstein’s permission.
Depleted uranium bullets
In a follow up interview to be published soon in ECOTECTURE, Major Rokke told Bernstein, “I do believe you’re the first station to break this extremely world-critical story.” ECOTECTURE is the first Journal to publish it, but we hope it will not be the last. We encourage our readers to copy and disseminate this material for any non-commercial use that will help expose the health effects of DU before any more people are exposed to it.
According to Rokke, “…uranium munitions have been fired extensively, not only in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but they were fired extensively throughout the Balkans, first in ’94, ’95 and ’96, and then again in 1999. They were fired extensively in Vieques, Puerto Rico, which is American territory which is American citizens, and also in Okinawa in Japan and Terashima Island, and many other places. What we can state and what we do know is that the deliberate and willful denial of medical care has been ongoing. In a report issued by the Department of Defense by individuals that I know and I’ve reported directly to just several weeks ago, they stated they’ve given medical care to 90 individuals that were exposed to uranium contamination during the Gulf War I. I’m one of those. I’m sick. And they haven’t done anything for me nor many of the others. I want to repeat, I had over 120 known friendly-fire casualties that survived DU impact. I had another several, 250-350 individuals with known exposures to uranium munitions. In a directive, in a report that was given to the Presidential Oversight Board in 1998, the Department of Defense formally acknowledged that there were 424 individuals absolute known uranium exposures and that at that at time they had only notified 120. As of several weeks ago, they’re acknowledging medical care for only 90 individuals, and they’re not even accomplishing that.”
Read full article here or download [pdf]
To really understand the importance and dangers of this DEPLETED URANIUM i have included the following links for you to read and truly understand the full scope of this article. We as a society need to understand what the use of this Depleted Uranium means to “The human race”.
http://www.ccnr.org/bertell_book.html
http://www.infowars.com/who-can-forgive-the-crime-of-using-the-depleted-uranium-against-iraqis
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Depleted_Uranium
www.iacenter.org/depleted/du.htm
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets
