Metal of Dishonor-Depleted Uranium: How the Pentagon Radiates Soldiers & Civilians with Du Weapons

by John Catalinotto and Helen Caldicott

The drastic health and environmental consequences of a new generation of radioactive weapons, Depleted Uranium (DU), currently being used in U.S.-waged wars are discussed in these essays. This new... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965691608
• ISBN13: 9780965691604
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: International Action Center
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

others are reaping what Bush-Cheney have sown

I appreciate that there are apologists for the US military's use of depleted uranium, just as there were for the use of the atomic bomb and phosphorus bombs on the civilian populations of Japan and Germany. This time our soldiers are also being injured as a result of the use of this form of ammo, just as troops were the casualties of their own mustard gas when the wind would shift after a barrage. But only someone who safely sits at home and has never witnessed war first hand can be so purposely ignorant and unfeeling about the horrors inflicted both on soldiers and on innocent civilians, including babies still in their mothers' wombs. The half-life of U238 (DU is 99% U238) is 4.5 billion years! Uranium byproducts(such as Thorium (Th232)) have even longer half-lives, making uranium an element that gets more radioactive during its own decay process. US Army field manuals (copies of which are easily obtained) indicate that those who handle DU contaminated vehicles or DU injured individuals must wear gas masks and protective radiological suits. Around 9,640 tanks shells and 850,000 aircraft 30mm rounds were used during the first Gulf war. This translates to nearly 650,000 pounds of actual DU deposited on Iraqi soil! That's a lot of nuclear waste! And far more ammo has been used over the past 6 years with the current invasion and occupation of Iraq. And when the projectile cuts through the armor, the DU penetrator and parts of the tank get so hot that it literally vaporizes and 18-70% of the DU usually oxidizes depending upon the type of impact. Direct impact yields 99% oxidization. A Uranium oxide (which consists of insoluble UO2 and soluble UO3) aerosol forms, where 50-96% of the particles are less than 10 microns and hence can be inhaled easily. So it is hardly a surprise when tons of radioactive vapor is released into the air and contaminates the sand over hundreds of square miles that there has been a health impact for the inhabitants which include US soldiers stationed in Iraq for repeated 6-10 month tours of duty. While these dry facts can be easily ignored by the war mongers, it is harder to ignore the thousands of pictures of badly deformed babies that have been born in Iraq over the past 5 years. No one with a heart or a conscience would consider this anything but barbaric and truly war crimes of historic proportions. We are talking about the destruction of a country's people for countless generations just to make it possible for US oil companies to get no-bid contracts at the point of US guns.

Deirdre

This book is avaliable on www.leftbooks.com

Excellent expose of U.S. government use of depleted uranium

Metal of Dishonor is mandatory reading for anyone interested in learning the truth about the lengths the government will go to dominate the world. This is part of the so-called New World Order, under which the gap between rich and poor has spread even wider.Iraq was just one victim of this global aggression cloaked in phony platitudes about preserving democracy and human rights.U.S. troops, as always, are just cannon fodder. The people or Iraq, who were also victimized by the use of depleted uranium are viewed as being less than human in order to justify attacking them.Reminds you of how racism was used to justify the trade in African people who were enslaved.

required reading for people searching for the facts

Another excellent book by Clark. Ask yourself if the our government has ever lied to us or ever kept the facts from us...and you'll see why metal of dishonor isnt promoted by our political intelligensia, its a book for people who have consciousness, not some so called patriots whose tribalistic nationalism refuses to acknowledge that the US committed crimes against humanity in the Middle East and beyond.

Excellent book

I've just begun reading it but I'm already finding it very important both for its content and for its reference material. I interlibrary-loaned the book, which took...three or four months to obtain. The copy I have is a never before read copy from Manhattanville College in New York. I only hope that I don't remain the only reader.