Support the truth: Depleted Uranium disclosed

author : Daisy Ouye topic : Iraq occupation

by Daisy Ouye

For me, 9/11, the death of Rachel Corrie, and the invasion of Iraq brought about an awakening. Up until then I knew little about Middle East history and culture. I realized I had a responsibility as an American to try to understand the circumstances surrounding and leading up to our nation's, and the world's current state. No small undertaking, to be sure.

I reflected back on the 1991 invasion of Iraq, which occurred a year after I graduated high school. People who were very close to me were deployed. They were deeply affected by the conditions there. Like many veterans, it was not something they could easily talk about. My friends also came home with physical illnesses. At the time ,I was just happy because they were back. I was not at all educated on why my loved ones were in Iraq or what really went on there. They were back, but they weren't the same.

I believed the US was there to protect the freedom of Kuwait. This is what Americans were told. It made us proud to believe it. I now know the invasion of Iraq in 1991 was to protect US interest in Saudi oil.

After 9/11, the Bush administration began a buildup to another invasion of Iraq. I, like many Americans, sought independent news sources, because corporate-controlled mainstream media was part of the web of profiteers who were lobbying strongly for an unjust invasion. Iraq is a country with no connection to the tragic events of 9/11.

Media like Democracy Now!, Free Speech Radio News, and Works In Progress became invaluable to my partner D and I. We read eye-opening books by people like Howard Zinn, Derrick Jensen and Arundhati Roy. We began attending community events to learn more on a grassroots level.

Being especially inspired by the dedication and courage of Olympia's own Rachel Corrie, we continued to learn as much as we could. While I was attending an Olympia -- Rafah Sister City Project event, Veterans For Peace offered a book by former Army Sgt. Dennis J. Kyne called Support The Truth.

Dennis' book gave me insight into the Gulf War of 1991. He was there, and he, too, came home sick. He was also diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome (gws), like one of my friends. Another friend of mine simply had "undiagnosed illnesses". Obviously they all had undiagnosed illnesses.

As I read Sgt. Kyne's book, symptoms and ailments kept matching up to the ones my friends suffered. Among them: joint and muscle pain, kidney pain, nausea, stomach problems, restrictive airway, headaches, neurological disorders, and uranium in semen. Other symptoms include gum problems, vision degradation, night vision loss, skin irritations, cancer, lymphoma, organ cancers and birth defects in offspring.

It was like all the lights turned on at once. It was radiation sickness. A photo on the back cover of the book, I now realized, looked eerily similar to a number of photos a friend had taken and brought back from Iraq.

He captured the images on what was known as the "Highway of Death." This wasn't seen in mainstream media because these were photos of bodies hit by nuclear flash. Bodies of retreating Iraqis killed by US nuclear missiles, known as depleted uranium.

A byproduct of uranium enrichment, depleted uranium (DU) has 60% the radiation of refined uranium. It is ground into microscopic particles and used in various US weaponry. Because it is radioactive, upon impact, nuclear flash vaporizes, melts, and destroys all life. The particles are released and remain airborne for 4.5 billion years and continue to emit dangerous alpha rays.

My friend, the soldier who took those pictures, had to have breathed depleted uranium particles into his lungs, ingested them, swallowed them. Now these tiny atomic bombs are inside of him.

I now know that DU is the definitive cause of Gulf War Syndrome, as determined by nuclear scientist and whistleblower, Loren Moret. But it had taken me so long to learn the truth. I also discovered that the US was, again, using DU in Iraq. D and I knew that we wanted to help raise awareness on this issue.

D composed a two-song cd about the current so-called "War On Terror" with specific information about DU. For the most part, we've traded cds for donations, directly with people we knew. During this process we got the opportunity to talk with many people about these munitions. I have become convinced that there are many in our community suffering their effects.

I've learned about local Gulf War Vets diagnosed with gws. One has developed lung cancer. One is currently hospitalized with chronic pain and breathing problems. I've learned from someone who just returned from Iraq that her doctor called her new lung condition "the Baghdad Crud." I've learned that people are concerned about illnesses they've seen in returning soldiers and possible transmission to offspring. I've learned that people don't know much about DU because it's a huge cover-up.

Sgt. Dennis Kyne was a powerful witness at the Citizens' Hearing on the Legality of US Actions in Iraq, held in Tacoma in January, in which a distinguished group of experts testified to the illegality of the current Iraq invasion. DU is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN and the European Union. Its use is illegal under all international law.

We must learn the lessons of this recent history. Could DU be the reason 11,000 Gulf War Vets have died and cancer has increased tenfold in Iraq since the Gulf War? The US used 320 tons of DU in the first invasion. US Strategic Command admits to using 2000 tons so far in the current invasion. Its use continues.

George W. Bush has finally agreed to an investigation of the effects of DU on US soldiers and their offspring. At the same time US military officials claim lack of proper prescreening makes it impossible to know if a soldier's conditions are preexisting. This gives one little faith in any sort of government investigation. The only solution is to ban all depleted uranium munitions.

By the government's own reasoning, DU cannot be proven safe. Evidence is overwhelming. We must support the truth.

For more information about Dennis Kyne, his book or cds go to DennisKyne.com.

D K Ouye's cd, Immortal/Solidarity -- Come Back Home, is available at Traditions Fair Trade, Dumpster Values and Rec the Place. For a free copy contact us at

dkouye@comcast.net .