Vietnam: a Victim of Chemical Weapons

Owing to the great harm to humans and the environment, most countries agree to add chemical weapons to the list of weapons of mass destruction...

Image from Operation Ranch Hand

(DA NANG Vietnam) - After nuclear weapons, chemical weapons are one of the most destructive weapons, causing mass destruction because chemicals (sometimes called military poisons) in this type of weapon have a common character - highly toxic, fast-acting to cause major losses to the enemy or direct hazard for many people, animals and plants in general.

There are many kinds of chemical weapons, classified in two ways. The first is in the way of harmful effects for humans and plants, such as asphyxiation chemical weapons, chemical weapons causing nerve damage, chemical weapons causing skin ulcers and chemical weapons destroying plants. The second is based on the subjects: chemical weapons destroying vitality and chemical weapons destroying plants.

Owing to the great harm to humans and the environment, most countries in the world agree to add chemical weapons in the list of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, chemical weapons and biological weapons.

These kinds of weapons are on the specifically prohibited list. For chemical weapons, the most important international legal document is the Chemical Weapons Convention, including the prohibition of development, prohibition of production, ban of store and use and provisions for the destruction of chemical weapons.

This convention is managed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an independent organization based in Hague, the Netherlands, with the participation of representatives of national members that have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.

As of June 2013, 189 countries are members of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Two countries - Israel and Myanmar - have signed but not yet ratified it and five countries - Angola, North Korea, Egypt, South Sudan and Syria - have not signed the convention.

Thus, most countries in the world have committed to "say no" to chemical weapons. However, between the "saying no" or signing the convention and the thorough implementation of it may have "exception" circumstances.

Chuck Palazzo is a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran, Interim Editor for Agent Orange, and works with Agent Orange Action Group http://aoag.org/ and Hoa Binh Chapter, Veterans For Peace http://vfp-vn.ning.com/ Chuck Palazzo has spent years since the war studying the impacts and effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant chemical sprayed by the U.S. govt. on the jungles of Vietnam. He says Dioxins have been re-discovered to cause all sorts of damage to humans. These include Heart Disease, Parkinsonism, Diabetes et cetera. Dioxins are already known to produce serious birth defects and a variety of cancers. The chemical is still sold in Third World Countries and is causing the same problems.

We at Salem-News.com welcome Chuck aboard and look forward to sharing more of his stories with our readers in the future.