Cluster Weapons and Agent Orange

Despite calls on the U.S. governments, lawsuits against the 35 U.S. Chemical companies headed by Monsanto and Dow Chemicals, they refuse to accept responsibility or to pay any compensation to the victims and their families.

(LONDON) - In a few weeks on August 1st The international ban on Cluster weapons will come into being. While the ban is to be welcomed, for many it will have come too late, they have been either killed or injured.

For millions, and it will be millions in many countries, It will still be too late as there are millions of these vile weapons still in the soil waiting for the innocent person to become its victim, waiting for the innocent child seeing the brightly coloured ball on the ground who will pick it and either lose its life, limb etc.

Let me give an example of one country Vietnam, in which these weapons, thirty-five years after the war ended are still claiming their victims. With the amount of bombs, shells and clusters weapons dropped on the country during the War it has been estimated to take over 300 years to remove the unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the soil of Vietnam. Since the war ended 2,774 have been killed, 3,986 injured from cluster weapons alone.

But the UXO is not the only legacy left to the people of Vietnam. On 10th August the country and its friends around the world will commemorate the 49th anniversary of the use by the U.S. of the chemical Agent Orange, another weapon that has caused untold misery to the people. Not only did Agent Orange (AO) destroy vast areas of the magnificent forests of the country, the animal life within them, but also crops and poisoned the rivers and lakes.

AO – of which 80 million litres were sprayed over areas of South Vietnam - was itself contaminated by Dioxin the world’s most dangerous poison, found its way into the food chain. As a result thousands of babies died in the wombs of their mothers, many thousands more were born with severe deformities and illnesses.

One in twenty of the population of Vietnam is affected by the use of AO. It has travelled into the third generation, how many more generations are, as yet, unknown.

The convention that has banned the use of Cluster Weapons from 1st August also states that those who used them are responsible for removing them from the soil of the country.

When, on 10th August we remember the victims of Agent Orange, we renew our call for those responsible to clean up the contaminated areas of Vietnam and to pay compensation to the victims and their families.

Len Aldis. Secretary
Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society
Flat 2, 26 Tomlins Grove
London E3 4NX
Tel & Fax: 0208 980 7146
Mobile: 0779 657 1017
Website: lenaldis.co.uk
Skype: Len.Aldis

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Carolyn July 19, 2010 7:09 pm (Pacific time)

Yes Tim I certainly agree with you about many incidents in America's past and the present, have been absolutely repugnant. As you know we do have laws that will take people into account and prosecute when possible, many countries do not. I have many WWII veterans in my family, and several are still living and have told me of many transgressions they witnessed, but as they explain it was a different time and that war often creates unbelieveable stress that causes people to act in ways they normally would not. I believe "revenge" was a big motivator for these veterans. My older brothers who served in Vietnam in the infantry have said similar behaviors were also present in their war experiences. An older sister who was an RN in Vietnam is still incredibly full of anger on what she witnessed, which was seeing many civilians including children who were butchered by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. I assume man's inhumanity goes back long before recorded history, and it is still with us. We do have a process in our country that does allow for us to correct past wrongs, though it may take too long for some. As far as the invasion in Iraq or Afghanistan, it was the full congress that allowed for that invasion and I imagine in the distant future historians will provide a more objective analysis. It's just too political and too emotional and causes intense disagreements at this time. But it was a long process, with I believe 17 UN resolutions/sanctions that began in the mid 1990's before Bush was elected and certainly long before the 9/11 attack. With a recent huge renewal of funding for Israel's military machine I'm afraid things in that part of the world will worsen.

Tim King: Carolyn, you are a bright and intelligent person with a sense of what is going on. There were terrible things in Vietnam like My Lai and Son Thang but the bottom line is that anything Americans or Aussies did paled in comparison to the Communist tactics, no doubt. I have been studying the post war years and finding all kinds of interesting information about the alliances that existed then, and the China-Vietnam War that followed the defeat of Pol Pot. Funny how our enemies in that war turned around and fought for what was right and decent, which was the elimination of Pol Pot's regime, not that it ever fully evacuated Cambodia. Good talking to you here, and keep that glass half full; it is hard for me to do it these days but the hope and faith that I draw from other people, like you in this case, is fuel for future travels. Best to you.

Carolyn July 19, 2010 9:52 am (Pacific time)

Daniel Johnson America was not, nor have we ever been a war criminal nation. It may be pointless to try to establish which World War Two Axis "aggressor", Germany or Japan, was the more brutal to the peoples it victimised. The Germans killed six million Jews and 20 million Russians [i.e. Soviet citizens]; the Japanese slaughtered as many as 30 million Filipinos, Malays, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Indonesians and Burmese, at least 23 million of them ethnic Chinese. Both nations looted the countries they conquered on a monumental scale, though Japan plundered more, over a longer period, than the Nazis. Both conquerors enslaved millions and exploited them as forced laborers—and, in the case of the Japanese, as [forced] prostitutes for front-line troops. If you were a Nazi prisoner of war from Britain, America, Australia, New Zealand or Canada (but not Russia) you faced a 4% chance of not surviving the war; [by comparison] the death rate for Allied POWs held by the Japanese was nearly 30%. Historian Mitsuyoshi Himeta reports that a "Three Alls Policy" (Sankō Sakusen) was implemented in China from 1942 to 1945 and was in itself responsible for the deaths of "more than 2.7 million" Chinese civilians. This scorched earth strategy, sanctioned by Hirohito himself, directed Japanese forces to "Kill All, Burn All, and Loot All." Additionally, captured allied service personnel were massacred in various incidents, including : Laha massacre ,Banka Island massacre , Parit Sulong , Palawan massacre , SS Tjisalak massacre perpetrated by Japanese submarine I-8 , Wake Island massacre-see Battle of Wake Island , Bataan Death March ,Manila Massacre , and countless more. To "NOT" bring defeat to Japan as soon as possible I believe would have been a war crime. Of course there have been even larger slaughters than those mentioned above. It is believed Stalin may have killed upwards of 60 million, and Mao in China, even more (of their own citizens!). Those numbers make the more recent Cambodian killing fields look minor. America, both historically and today, has ultimately provided a focus to bring peace, regardless of what are detractors attempt to foolishly imply. Yes we have domestic problems, and getting healthcare to those who do not have it is a primary concern, but we are always in the process of problem solving, and that situation is being pursued. Our economy and getting private sector jobs must take priority at this time for obvious reasons, but people are not dying enmasse, we still have an excellent healthcare infrastructure that is bringing in more people everyday, but we must have more revenue from private sectors jobs coming in to maintain and improve all of our domestic needs. The current power structure in DC has been failing us, and that is what elections are for. For some more graphic accounts on the Japanese brutalities: http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/after/jap/w2ja-wcmcc.html Also you may want to research their current nationalistic movements and their goals for non-Japanese.

Editor: Dear Carolyn, this is Tim King with Salem-News.com; I strongly appreciate your perspective and I understand that people feel a natural desire to advocate for their country, and it is perfect normal and probably even healthy to concentrate on the more positive aspects of history, no doubt about it. But I have to say that the United States absolutely has a very very clear history as a criminal nation and if you really want me to, I will go down a whole list of things that you very likly are not familiar with or aware of. Things like the national order given to mow down and murder WWI Veterans who were protesting on the lawn of the White House during the depression; things like forcing France to implement military segregation policies toward blacks as part of the deal for entering WWI and saving Europe from German aggression. There are many things and they are, sadly, more important than the 'positive' aspects of our hisory. That is self-celebration and not in keeping with good humanity in my opinion. I can tell you about how it feels to watch Blackwater contractors beat old Iraqi men and force them to endure horrible pain; the Marines put me on an Army helicopter in Fallujah when I was covering the war a couple of sumers ago, packed with 'detainees' and proceeded to abuse them right in front of me, and believe me I did record it with my TV camera. After landing, I was forced to record over the tape. Why? Because I had just recorded one more illegal act of the U.S. at war. And the problem there is the animosity that abuse builds in the world I had a colonel sitting next to me on that bird that night in Iraq give the long, forlorn look that didn't hide his disgust. I'm just saying that recognizing the negative allows us to avoid repeating the same bad behavior, and we as a nation hide our misdeeds and wave our flags while presidents start wars because it sounds like a good idea at the tie. The U.S. had no right to invade Iraq. The United States is guilty of many illegal acts in history and some, like Iraq, are of worldwide proportions.

Carolyn July 18, 2010 6:39 pm (Pacific time)

Daniel Johnson your offer to sell me some ocean front property in Arizona is very tempting. Which ocean is it? By the way I do stand by my earlier statement that helping others has historically been something Americans have been doing around the world for generations. Have you even gone overseas yourself, and provided assistance to those in need? I realize my earlier post may be grist for some, but it is my opinion based on the historical record. I had two older brothers who served in Vietnam and an older sister who was an RN there. All three still suffer from that experience. I think it's fine that Americans go there to help, as they do all over the world, but my older siblings focus their energy helping our veterans and their families. Once again, it was the U.S. government that contracted the agent orange product based on military strategy that the North Vietnamese invaders created by their imperialistic invasion of a soverign country.

Carolyn: That Americans help others overseas is largely true; it's the fellow Americans that go wanting. Just one obvious example:tens of millions of Americans without health care and tens of millions who are opposed to legislation to provide it. DJ

Mike July 18, 2010 2:50 pm (Pacific time)

We didn't used to have that issue. Nor do we now. We simply just make the good counterbalance with all the bad.

Nate July 18, 2010 2:18 pm (Pacific time)

It's biased news articles like this that forced the U.S. politicians to ignore their military commanders. They consulted scientists and used unproven wonder weapons and eventually pulled our military out of the country before the war was over. Where is the mention of the Montagnards, intellectuals and artists of South Vietnam who were murdered in a way that would remind most people of Hitler or Stalin. If newspeople weren't so biased most of you anti-U.S. military people wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing how many innocent deaths resulted from the lack of U.S. military protection.

Daniel Johnson July 18, 2010 10:56 am (Pacific time)

Carolyn: You write: "helping those in need has always been a moral imperative for Americans". If you actually believe this, I have some beachfront property in Arizona that is going cheap. Get it while it's available.

Carolyn July 18, 2010 10:02 am (Pacific time)

Considering that the United States was the purchaser of Agent Orange, then they (we) are reponsible for the injuries to our veterans, and the Vietnamese government is responsible for their own citizens. Afterall, North Vietnam was the agressor, killing thousands of innocent civilians and committed an untold number of war crimes against our military personnel and their own people. History is clear on that matter. We have no legal responsibility to help the Vietnamese, but helping those in need has always been a moral imperative for Americans, so I expect we will have many people who will be helping them now and in the future. Just the same, this was war, and the North were violent invaders, not freedom fighters as many characterize them, but brutal war criminals. We went there via SEATO, though LBJ sped up the process by manipulating info.

Anonymous July 17, 2010 8:39 am (Pacific time)

WDGRAY it is not about the pay that you have been shortchanged on, it is the pure joy of having the opprotunity to serve America, and that is far more enriching than money. Buck up, you're a hero and many of us are proud of you.

Ralph E. Stone July 17, 2010 7:15 am (Pacific time)

While visiting Vietnam in 2006, an Agent Orange Conference was going on. The U.S. military dumped 80 million litres of agent orange/dioxins in Vietnam. At least 2.1 million were victims of the toxins while another 4.8 million were indirectly effected. We saw photos of some of the victims in the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. The dioxins effect those sprayed, and has caused birth defects in their children. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced in 2003 that the link to chronic lymphocytic leukemia to Agent Orange exposed Vietnam veterans is so strong that benefits would automatically be given to any new diagnoses of it. There are as many as 1,000 new patients for chronic lymphocytic leukemia alone expected amongst Vietnam veterans. Dow, Monsanto, Diamond Shamrock Corporation, Hercules Inc., Uniroyal inc., T-H Agricultural and Nutrition Company, and Thompson Chemical Corporation all produced Agent Orange for military use.

wdgray July 16, 2010 6:51 pm (Pacific time)

As a 1964 U.S. Army length of service military retiree I was BETRAYED along with 432,000 cohort on future retired pay as they simply changed the way retired pay would be paid in the future. This enormous pay discrimination I've endured for over 46 years. So what else is new about America? wdgray@shawneelink.net

Veteran F.W.D. July 16, 2010 10:55 am (Pacific time)

These company's are not responsable for providing what there goverment ask them for, everything was approved and sanctioned by your, our, goverment and they are ultimatly responsable for all of the products of war. Period, Good Luck!

Mick July 16, 2010 1:41 am (Pacific time)

Laos is the most bombed country per capita on earth - more than 270 million cluster submunitions were dropped onto it during the Vietnam War http://www.maginternational.org/laos-stats

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Cluster Weapons and Agent Orange

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