[Excerpt: The defendants - which include Dow Chemical and the Monsanto Corporation - also argue that the US government is responsible for how the chemical was used, not the manufacturers.....they maintain that US courts cannot punish corporations for carrying out the orders of a president exercising his powers as commander in chief.]
http://212.58.240.132/1/hi/world/americas/4305287.stm Last Updated: Monday, 28 February, 2005, 22:46 GMT Agent Orange lawsuit opens in US A court in New York is hearing a lawsuit brought by Vietnamese plaintiffs over the use of Agent Orange by the US during the Vietnam war. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation from the US firms that manufactured the chemical for the military in the 1960s. The alleged victims say the defoliant - which contains toxic dioxins - is responsible for health problems affecting millions of Vietnamese. However the chemical companies say no such link has been proved. The defendants - which include Dow Chemical and the Monsanto Corporation - also argue that the US government is responsible for how the chemical was used, not the manufacturers. They maintain that US courts cannot punish corporations for carrying out the orders of a president exercising his powers as commander in chief. Birth defects The US justice department has urged the federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit. In a brief filed last month, it said opening the courts to cases brought by former enemies would be a dangerous threat to presidential powers to wage war. Between 1962 and 1971, large quantities of Agent Orange were sprayed across parts of Vietnam to deprive communist North Vietnamese forces of forest cover. In 1984, several chemical companies paid $180m (�93m) to settle a lawsuit with US war veterans, who said that their health had been affected by exposure to the substance. Agent Orange was named after the colour of its container. The active ingredient was a strain of dioxin that stripped the jungle bare. In time, some contend, the dioxin spread to the food chain causing a proliferation of birth defects. Some babies were born without eyes or arms, or were missing internal body parts. A group representing alleged Vietnamese victims says three million people were exposed to the chemical during the war, and at least one million suffer serious health problems today. enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
