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GULF WAR SYNDROME
BIRTH DEFECTS IN IRAQ
EXTREME BIRTH DEFORMITIES FROM DEPLETED
URANIUM AMMUNITION
"Unborn children of the region [are]
being asked to pay the highest price, the
integrity of their DNA."
- Ross B. Mirkarimi, The Arms Control
Research Centre, from his report: ‘The
Environmental and Human Health Impacts of
the Gulf Region with Special Reference to
Iraq.’ May 1992
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I have recently received large numbers of
photographs of horrendous birth deformities
that are being experienced in Iraq. I have
not, quite frankly, ever seen anything like
them. I urge you to copy this page / these
pictures and circulate them as widely as
possible.
In an act of stark cruelty, the US dominated
Sanctions Committee refuses to permit Iraq
to import the clean-up equipment that they
desperately need to decontaminate their
country of the Depleted Uranium ammunition
that the US fired at them. Approximately 315
tons of DU dust was left by the use of this ammunition. The
Sanctions Committee also
refuses to allow the mass importation of
anti-cancer treatments, which contain trace
amounts of radio-isotopes, on the grounds
that these constitute '...nuclear
materials..'
The majority of the pictures were supplied
to me by a source who prefers to remain
anonymous at the current time. I was unable
to acquire either original negatives, or
prints from negatives. They arrived in the
form of colour A4 copies. I scanned them
into Photoshop and attempted to clean and
sharpen them as best I could. There has not,
and I repeat not, been any digital
alteration other than the cleaning and
sharpening process. No text documentation
arrived with the pictures, so I have
described them as accurately as I can. It is
my understanding that the photographs were
taken from 1998 onwards. I would be grateful
to anyone who could potentially supply me
with further information about these types
of deformities; medical terms for them, etc.
Additional pictures were taken by Dr.
Siegwart Horst-Gunther, President of the
International Yellow Cross. Most appeared in
his 1996 book "URANIUM PROJECTILES -
SEVERELY MAIMED SOLDIERS, DEFORMED BABIES,
DYING CHILDREN" (Published by AHRIMAN -
Verlag, ISBN: 3-89484-805-7). The book is a
documentary record of DU ammunition
after-effects, and they were taken between
1993 and 1995. Dr. Gunther also supplied me
with additional photographs from his
unpublished collection, some of which
feature the birth deformities being
experienced by Western Gulf war veterans'
children. I have asked Dr. Gunther's
permission for his pictures to be treated as
'Public Domain' and copyright free. He has
agreed and you may reproduce them as you see
fit.
Both the Pentagon and the British Ministry
of Defense officially deny that there is any
significant danger from exposure to DU
ammunition. And whilst it is conceivable
that the US led attacks on Iraq's nuclear
power stations could be a contributory
factor, most researchers point to DU as the
most likely source of both deformities and
cancers. The rising number of cases in Iraq,
particularly in the South where the greatest
concentration of DU was fired, is simply
staggering. Iraqi physicians have never
encountered anything like it, and have made
the perfectly reasonable point that similar
increases in cancer and deformities were
experienced in Japan after the two US atomic
bomb attacks. Cancer has increased between 7
and 10 fold; deformities between 4 and 6
fold.
Yet the US was well aware of the potential
effects on civilians and military personnel
of the chemical toxicity and radiological
properties of DU ammunition long before the
Gulf war began, as the following excerpts of
a US Army document categorically state:
"Aerosol DU (Depleted Uranium)
exposures to soldiers on the battlefield
could be significant with potential
radiological and toxicological effects.
[...] Under combat conditions, the most
exposed individuals are probably ground
troops that re-enter a battlefield following
the exchange of armour-piercing munitions.
[...] We are simply highlighting the
potential for levels of DU exposure to
military personnel during combat that would
be unacceptable during peacetime operations.
[...DU is..]... a low level alpha radiation
emitter which is linked to cancer when
exposures are internal, [and] chemical
toxicity causing kidney damage. [...] Short
term effects of high doses can result in
death, while long term effects of low doses
have been linked to cancer. [...] Our
conclusion regarding the health and
environmental acceptability of DU
penetrators assume both controlled use and
the presence of excellent health physics
management practices. Combat conditions will
lead to the uncontrolled release of DU.
[...] The conditions of the battlefield, and
the long term health risks to natives and
combat veterans may become issues in the
acceptability of the continued use of DU
kinetic penetrators for military
applications."
- Excerpts from the July 1990 Science and
Applications International Corporation
report: ' Kinetic Energy Penetrator
Environment and Health Considerations', as
included in Appendix D - US Army Armaments,
Munitions and Chemical Command report:
'Kinetic Energy Penetrator Long Term
Strategy Study, July 1990'
The US was also well aware of the long-term
dangers of DU contamination, and played it
down, as the following memo and document
make clear:
"There has been and continues to be a
concern regarding the impact of DU on the
environment. Therefore, if no-one makes a
case for the effectiveness of DU on the
battlefield, DU rounds may become
politically unacceptable and thus be deleted
from the arsenal. I believe we should keep
this sensitive issue in mind when action
reports are written."
- Lt. Col. M.V. Ziehmn, Los Alamos National
Laboratory memorandum, March 1st 1991
"Soldiers may be incidentally exposed
to DU from dust and smoke on the
battlefield. The Army Surgeon General has
determined that it is unlikely that these
soldiers will receive a significant internal
DU exposure. Medical follow-up is not
warranted for soldiers who experience
incidental exposure from dust or smoke.
[...] Since DU weapons are openly available
on the world arms market, DU weapons will be
used in future conflicts. The number of DU
patients on future battlefields probably
will be significantly higher because other
countries will use systems containing DU.
[...] DU is a low-level radioactive waste,
and, therefore, must be disposed of in a
licensed repository. [...] No international
law, treaty, regulation, or custom requires
the United States to remediate the Persian
Gulf war battlefields."
- Report by the US Army Environmental Policy
Institute: 'Health and Consequences of
Depleted Uranium use in the US army', June
1995
DU ammunition is now possessed by more than
12 countries, and was used during the NATO
led bombing of the former Yugoslavia.
Western forces stationed in the region have
recently been advised not to drink the local
water or eat locally produced food. Yet the
British MoD continues to deny any potential
risks, stating: "We have not seen any
peer-reviewed epidemiological research data
to support these claims [that DU is
dangerous.] [...] There are no plans to
remove DU-based ammunition from
service." (Source: Two letters to me
from Simon Wren, Overseas Secretariat,
Ministry of Defense, Whitehall, London -
20th May 1999, and 22nd March 2000)
On a more personal level, I have heard
stories of visitors to Iraq who spoke with
mid-wives there. These mid-wives are
purported to have said they no longer look
forward to births as.... "We don't know
what's going to come out."
The pictures, which are extremely
disturbing, show exactly what does.
Child with almost total deformity of the
face; no recognizable features at all, and
what appears to be one eye situated in the
middle of the forehead
Child with hydrocephalus.
Extreme hydrocephalus; deformity of face,
body and ear. The line running down the
right hand side of the head would appear to
show that potentially two heads were
forming.
Deformity of ear; possible deformation of
lower body.
Born without eyes: I can offer no
explanation as to the translucent quality of
the skin other than it is possibly a result
of flash photography at close range.
Huge hole in child's back, which is, I
believe, an extreme form of Spina Bifida.
Possibly taken shortly after birth, this
picture appears to show ambiguous genitalia,
sometimes referred to as 'Non-Viable
Children'.
This child is completely covered in a white substance
of unknown properties. Obvious
deformation of face and eyes. Flash
photography at close range obscures detail.
Two children with similar deformities of the
face. Dr. Gunther refers to this
condition as 'Zyklopie.'
Child with unknown white substance covering
almost the whole body.
Front view of same child. Severe deformities
of mouth and eyes. The welts appear to
indicate open wounds, or unformed skin
tissue.
Severe body deformity, with head formed at
90 degree angle to upper torso.
Severe hydrocephalus; again, almost as
though two heads were being formed.
Flash at close range obscures detail, but
this appears to show malformation of the
mouth and one eye missing, with the eye
socket deformed.
It isn't clear what has happened to this
child, and I have no explanation for the
dark nature and condition of the skin.
Lack of focus obscures detail, but missing
eyes are clearly visible, as is deformity of
the mouth.
This picture would appear to show another
'Non Viable' child, possible male, with
penis and scrotum merged.
Horrendous deformity of entire body and
head. Note lack of eyes and malformation of
the hands and feet.
Child with unknown deformity of the mouth,
possibly a large tumor grown during fetal stage.
Malformation of hands, with almost total
merging of all digits.
Severe malformation of face. Dr.
Gunther refers to this condition as
'Zyklopie.'
Severe deformity of arms. This child was
born to a US Gulf veteran.
Iraqi child with extreme hydrocephalus, and
defects of cerebral nerves.
Child with previously unknown renal disease,
first diagnosed in Iraq by Dr. Gunther. The
speculation is that the child had played
with DU ammunition casings.
Iraqi child with extreme hydrocephalus, and
defects of cerebral nerves.
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