Why Depleted Uranium?
The United States and Britain use such ammunition because it is denser than lead, meaning it is highly effective in slicing through enemy armor. But when DU hits a hard target, it creates a small, radioactive fireball. Pulverized dust can enter the air, soil, and water. And it remains radioactive for billions of years. Iraqi doctors blame many childhood cancers and birth defects on the use of depleted uranium. “After the war we immediately saw malignancies and congenital abnormalities,” Eesa said. “We didn’t see it before. There [have been] no changes in Iraqi conditions except the war. Iraq was bombed by air with weapons containing DU. It is one of the major factors for development of malignancies.” Iraqi doctors report a fourfold increase in birth defects since the end of the Gulf War and a similar rise in childhood cancers. Doctors in former Yugoslavia, where the United States also used DU, have discovered similar problems.
