This post by Siun at Firedoglake links to a number of articles about toxic fallout from U.S. attacks in Iraq, and by our Israeli chums in Gaza. As the Guardian reports in this heartbreaking image gallery (also, here), the incidence of birth defects and early life cancers has skyrocketed in Fallujah, Basra, Baghdad and Al – Najaf, all areas that fell under heavy bombardment by the U.S.
It’s one thing to hope, however vainly, that the U.S. government sees the light and pulls its military back from its murderous assaults against Iraq and Afghanistan, quite another to think we will ever do anything about the long-term environmental consequences.
The Guardian report is careful to note that it’s too early to draw definite conclusions about what caused this 15-fold rise in many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers. Depleted uranium? White phosphorus? Well, maybe. And it will ever be so. The procedure is clear. Deny and obfuscate until it’s too late to do anything about it.