Birth defects 'have risen since US Falluja operation'
By John Simpson
BBC World Affairs Editor
A BBC investigation in Iraq has confirmed a disturbingly high number of birth defects among children in the town of Falluja.
Six years ago, in 2004, there were fierce battles as US forces subdued two uprisings in the town.
Now, one hospital doctor told the BBC that they see two or three cases of birth defects each day.
The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area.
It says it always takes public health concerns about any population now living in a combat theatre "very seriously".
"No studies to date have indicated environmental issues resulting in specific health issues," said US Military Health System Communications Director Michael Kilpatrick.
"Unexploded ordinance, including improvised explosive devises, are a recognised hazard," he added.
But local people blame the weapons used by the US troops during the fighting.
It was hard to find doctors at the brand-new, US-funded hospital in Falluja who were prepared to talk about the problem.
'Savage epidemic'
I was told they were scared to speak because the Iraqi government did not want to create trouble for the Americans.
Map locator
The official line is that Falluja has only two or three cases of birth defects a year more than normal.
But, in the children's ward, I spoke to a paediatrician who told me he saw as many as two or three cases a day, mainly cardiac defects.
That would mean that this medium-sized town has some 1,000 cases of birth defects a year.
Every doctor, and every parent I spoke to there, believed the problem was the highly sophisticated weapons the US troops used against Falluja six years ago.
The rubble from the damaged buildings was bulldozed into the river - and people in Falluja have got their drinking water from there ever since.
I went to a house where all three young children were suffering from paralysis or brain damage.
A man who heard I was there brought his daughter to show me - she had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, and suffered from several serious diseases.
Falluja is in the grip of a savage epidemic, and the victims are the weakest and most vulnerable of all.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8548707.stm
Full Version: Birth defects 'have risen since US Falluja operation'
A lot more birth defects caused the Agent orange in Vietnam in civilian people
QUOTE (Aristotle @ Mar 4 2010, 02:34 AM) 
Birth defects 'have risen since US Falluja operation'
By John Simpson
BBC World Affairs Editor
A BBC investigation in Iraq has confirmed a disturbingly high number of birth defects among children in the town of Falluja.
Six years ago, in 2004, there were fierce battles as US forces subdued two uprisings in the town.
Now, one hospital doctor told the BBC that they see two or three cases of birth defects each day.
The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area.
It says it always takes public health concerns about any population now living in a combat theatre "very seriously".
"No studies to date have indicated environmental issues resulting in specific health issues," said US Military Health System Communications Director Michael Kilpatrick.
"Unexploded ordinance, including improvised explosive devises, are a recognised hazard," he added.
But local people blame the weapons used by the US troops during the fighting.
It was hard to find doctors at the brand-new, US-funded hospital in Falluja who were prepared to talk about the problem.
'Savage epidemic'
I was told they were scared to speak because the Iraqi government did not want to create trouble for the Americans.
Map locator
The official line is that Falluja has only two or three cases of birth defects a year more than normal.
But, in the children's ward, I spoke to a paediatrician who told me he saw as many as two or three cases a day, mainly cardiac defects.
That would mean that this medium-sized town has some 1,000 cases of birth defects a year.
Every doctor, and every parent I spoke to there, believed the problem was the highly sophisticated weapons the US troops used against Falluja six years ago.
The rubble from the damaged buildings was bulldozed into the river - and people in Falluja have got their drinking water from there ever since.
I went to a house where all three young children were suffering from paralysis or brain damage.
A man who heard I was there brought his daughter to show me - she had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, and suffered from several serious diseases.
Falluja is in the grip of a savage epidemic, and the victims are the weakest and most vulnerable of all.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8548707.stm
By John Simpson
BBC World Affairs Editor
A BBC investigation in Iraq has confirmed a disturbingly high number of birth defects among children in the town of Falluja.
Six years ago, in 2004, there were fierce battles as US forces subdued two uprisings in the town.
Now, one hospital doctor told the BBC that they see two or three cases of birth defects each day.
The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area.
It says it always takes public health concerns about any population now living in a combat theatre "very seriously".
"No studies to date have indicated environmental issues resulting in specific health issues," said US Military Health System Communications Director Michael Kilpatrick.
"Unexploded ordinance, including improvised explosive devises, are a recognised hazard," he added.
But local people blame the weapons used by the US troops during the fighting.
It was hard to find doctors at the brand-new, US-funded hospital in Falluja who were prepared to talk about the problem.
'Savage epidemic'
I was told they were scared to speak because the Iraqi government did not want to create trouble for the Americans.
Map locator
The official line is that Falluja has only two or three cases of birth defects a year more than normal.
But, in the children's ward, I spoke to a paediatrician who told me he saw as many as two or three cases a day, mainly cardiac defects.
That would mean that this medium-sized town has some 1,000 cases of birth defects a year.
Every doctor, and every parent I spoke to there, believed the problem was the highly sophisticated weapons the US troops used against Falluja six years ago.
The rubble from the damaged buildings was bulldozed into the river - and people in Falluja have got their drinking water from there ever since.
I went to a house where all three young children were suffering from paralysis or brain damage.
A man who heard I was there brought his daughter to show me - she had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, and suffered from several serious diseases.
Falluja is in the grip of a savage epidemic, and the victims are the weakest and most vulnerable of all.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8548707.stm
Read "The Strongest Tribe" for a better view of the situations in towns like Falluja.
Please pray for the victims.
Another reason not to trust whitey.
Because every white person in the world - US or not, young babies or old cripples, for the Falluja operation or against - are responsible or even actively involved in the US Falluja operation. Brilliant reasoning. No wait, it's not.
I wonder what "sophisticated" weapon did they used. I remember reading an article in 2007 (below) and someone accused the U.S of using thermonuclear weapon, so I was wondering if they have any connection.
http://www.uruknet.info/index.php?p=31997
QUOTE
April 8, 2007
The former commander of Iraq's Republican Guard has accused the US of using non-conventional weapons in its war against the Middle East country.
Saifeddin Fulayh Hassan Taha al-Rawi told Al Jazeera that US forces used neutron and phosphorus bombs during their assault on Baghdad airport before the April 9 capture of the Iraqi capital.
Al-Rawi is one of the most wanted associates of Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi leader, still on the run.
"The enemy used neutron and phosphorus weapons against Baghdad airport... there were bodies burnt to their bones," he said.
The bombs annihilated soldiers but left the buildings and infrastructure at the airport intact, he added.
A neutron bomb is a thermonuclear weapon that produces minimal blast and heat but releases large amounts of lethal radiation that can penetrate armour and is especially destructive to human tissue.
About 2,000 elite Republican Guard troops "fought until they were martyred", according to al-Rawi.
He said the Iraqi military command was surprised by the speed of the US land offensive, expecting air bombardment to last much longer.
"We had not expected the enemy to launch its land offensive from the very first or second day.
We expected the air raids to last at least a month," he said.
"The land offensive came at the same time as the air offensive. That was a situation we did not expect," he told Al Jazeera.
Al-Rawi, who carries a $1m US bounty on his head, was also the jack of clubs on the deck of cards of 55 most wanted Iraqis distributed by the Pentagon before the invasion in 2003.
Source: Al Jazeera
The former commander of Iraq's Republican Guard has accused the US of using non-conventional weapons in its war against the Middle East country.
Saifeddin Fulayh Hassan Taha al-Rawi told Al Jazeera that US forces used neutron and phosphorus bombs during their assault on Baghdad airport before the April 9 capture of the Iraqi capital.
Al-Rawi is one of the most wanted associates of Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi leader, still on the run.
"The enemy used neutron and phosphorus weapons against Baghdad airport... there were bodies burnt to their bones," he said.
The bombs annihilated soldiers but left the buildings and infrastructure at the airport intact, he added.
A neutron bomb is a thermonuclear weapon that produces minimal blast and heat but releases large amounts of lethal radiation that can penetrate armour and is especially destructive to human tissue.
About 2,000 elite Republican Guard troops "fought until they were martyred", according to al-Rawi.
He said the Iraqi military command was surprised by the speed of the US land offensive, expecting air bombardment to last much longer.
"We had not expected the enemy to launch its land offensive from the very first or second day.
We expected the air raids to last at least a month," he said.
"The land offensive came at the same time as the air offensive. That was a situation we did not expect," he told Al Jazeera.
Al-Rawi, who carries a $1m US bounty on his head, was also the jack of clubs on the deck of cards of 55 most wanted Iraqis distributed by the Pentagon before the invasion in 2003.
Source: Al Jazeera
http://www.uruknet.info/index.php?p=31997
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.