By James Conachy
9 September 2003
Citing the US military Central Command as its source, the Washington Post
reported on September 2 that "more than 6,000 service members" had
been medically evacuated from Iraq since the launch of the war. At the time,
the number of combat wounded stood at 1,124. A further 301 personnel had been
injured in non-combat incidents such as vehicle accidents. The figure of
"more than 6,000" supplied to the Post therefore implies that over
4,500 US troops have required evacuation from Iraq for medical reasons other
than combat or non-combat injuries.
The Washington Post article did not include any further information on what is
a staggering admission by the military. At no point in the last six months
have the American people been told that for every soldier who has been killed
in Iraq, at least another 15 have fallen so ill that they had to
be flown back to the United States. The Post described the unexplained
evacuations simply as the "thousands who became physically or mentally
ill".
The obvious questions that must be answered are: what were they diagnosed
with; what units are they from; what duties were they were performing; what
long-term effects have they suffered; and what treatment are they receiving?
While large numbers of the evacuations may well be for routine medical
reasons, such a detailed breakdown is essential. Apart from providing an
insight into the true impact of the war on the American troops, it may provide
evidence that supports the concerns among military personnel and their
families that service in Iraq is exposing them to long-term and
potentially fatal medical problems. In particular, there are fears that
soldiers have already died or are falling ill due to their exposure to
depleted uranium (DU) or the anthrax vaccine they have been compelled to take.
On July 31, the Army Surgeon General announced an investigation into the
deaths of two soldiers, Michael Tosta and Josh Neusche, and the
hospitalisation of another 100, diagnosed with severe pneumonia. It has been
established that inhaling large concentrations of DU-contaminated particles
damages the lungs and kidneys and can cause respiratory illness. There are
also recorded medical suspicions that the US military's anthrax vaccine can
trigger pneumonia. In August 2002, three military doctors noted in the
Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care Journal that a case of pneumonia in a
healthy 39-year-old soldier "may be due to the anthrax vaccine".
The US Department of Defense has only made public one progress report on the
pneumonia investigation. On August 22 it announced that it was "making
significant progress" in eliminating SARS and vaccines as a possible
cause. It revealed that 10 alleged pneumonia cases showed a higher than normal
number of the white blood cell eosinophils. It also reported that none of the
19 most severe cases belonged to the same units, that 13 had fallen ill in
Iraq and that the remaining six fell ill in Kuwait, Qatar, Uzbekistan, and
Djibouti. The Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner was reportedly
investigating the "specific cause or causes of death" of Tosta and
Neusche.
Since July 31, however, another soldier, Zeferino Colunga, has died allegedly
from pneumonia while Sergeant Richard Eaton has died from a pulmonary edema or
fluid in the lungs. Two other soldiers have been found dead in their beds for
as yet unexplained reasons.
Such is the distrust of the military that the families of both Josh Neusche
and Colunga have demanded access to their loved ones' medical records,
personal effects and blood and tissue samples, so that independent medical
opinions can be sought on the cause of death. The families sent letters on
August 12 to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stating: "We as a
family are concerned that we are not being told the truth."
Stephanie Tosta, the 22-year-old widow of Michael Tosta, has publicly
speculated the military is lying about the cause of her husband's death. She
told United Press International last month: "More and more I think it was
the [anthrax] shots. I think they [the Army] might be lying about this stuff.
I really feel like it. Nobody can tell me anything. If it is the shots, then
of course they are lying. We just want to know what happened and we have a
right to know. But the Army is acting like they are trying to hide something,
and that just makes it harder."
The family of Rachael Lacy, a young soldier who died in Kuwait on April 4
from a "pneumonia-like illness" but whose death is not included in
the military investigation, is also alleging her death was due to the anthrax
vaccine. Connecticut congressman Chris Shays, who chaired hearings last year
on the possible side-effects of the anthrax vaccination program, is reportedly
monitoring the investigation into the death of Sergeant Richard Eaton.
The website of "Bring Them Home Now"-an organisation of military
families
demanding the immediate withdrawal of US forces from the Middle East-bluntly
warns soldiers that the only guaranteed way to limit the medical consequences
from exposure to DU is to "get out of Iraq or Afghanistan".
The groups' statement of purpose declares: "Not one more troop killed in
action. Not one more troop wounded in action. Not one more troop
psychologically damaged by the act of terrifying, humiliating, injuring or
killing innocent people. Not one more troop spending one more day inhaling
depleted uranium. Not one more troop separated from spouse and children. This
is the only way to truly support these troops, and the families who are just
as much part of the military as they are."
(
http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/)
The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC), an advocacy organisation for
veterans of the first 1991 US war on Iraq, is assisting the military families
who believe they are being lied to. Among the suspected causes of a range of
illnesses commonly referred to as "Gulf War syndrome" are DU
exposure and complications triggered by vaccinations. By 1999, as many as
110,000 Gulf War veterans had reported health problems that they believe are
due to their service in Iraq.
The sensitivity of the military hierarchy to the suspicions among
rank-and-file troops, families and veterans is demonstrated by the
reassurances on the official Army medical website that neither DU nor the
anthrax vaccine pose a health risk.
(
http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/default2.htm)
The US government also rejects any link between "Gulf War syndrome",
DU and vaccines. In 1998 however, the US military did finally admit that at
least 436,000 American troops entered into areas during the first Gulf War
that were contaminated
to some extent by DU radioactive dust.
