Forwarded message: Date: Wed, 4 Sep 1996 23:03:07 GMT To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], Iraq Action Coalition <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], Michael Carrigan<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Ban Depleted Uranium- Pentagon's Latest Assault From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (DEIRDRE SINNOTT) International Action Center 39W. 14th St. Rm #206, NY,NY 10011 Ph: (212) 633-6646, Fx: (212) 633-2889 The International Action Center is organizing a campaign which will include international meetings, demonstrations, educational information, and the publication of a new book to expose the latest generation of Pentagon weaponry made from Depleted Uranium. This generation of weapons is causing tremendous environmental contamination and health problems. What follows is Former US Attorney General, Ramsey Clark's letter and a description of the proposed book and September 12th meeting at the UN Church Center at 6:30pm. Ramsey Clark September, 1996 Dear Friend, Have you heard of DU? Most people haven't. It stands for depleted uranium which may turn out to be one of the great dangers to our environment and health. The gulf war pioneered the use of this toxic, heavy metal, and radioactive poison. In five years time it has become a standard material for so-called conventional weapons which are deployed in bases throughout the U.S. and around the world. I have seen the impact of this new poison when I visited hospital wards for young children in Iraq. Amidst the overwhelming horrors of the bombings and the starvation caused by sanctions, the doctors at first did not notice the huge rise in the numbers of childhood cancers, such as leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, and lymphomas. There has also been a significant rise in the rate of congenital diseases and deformities in fetuses: an increase startlingly similar to the increase of these conditions among babies of Gulf War Vets. I have also met with veterans of the Gulf War whose health has been destroyed by a strange combination of afflictions. Today, more than 60,000 veterans suffer from Gulf War Syndrome - These numbers are expected to grow as the long term effects of contamination take their toll. A common denominator of these conditions in the U.S. and in Iraq is depleted uranium. DU is the radioactive by-product of the uranium enrichment process. Its ability to penetrate steel has made it a popular weapon. According to U.S. Army reports, when a DU shell explodes, up to 70% turns into aerosol. These radioactive, and highly toxic uranium particles travel in the wind and can be inhaled and ingested. The United States and Britain used so much DU in weapons during the Gulf War that 350 tons of residue permeate the ground and water, and will contaminate the entire region for generations. Information on this escalating contamination has been gathered by scientists, researchers, veterans and activists. Much of this material will be presented at the forum we are helping to coordinate at the UN Church Center on September 12. Many UN Non-Governmental Organizations will be in New York at that time for UN meetings. We hope that this forum will have an international impact and encourage groups around the world to take up this issue and begin a campaign for a BAN on the use of DU. We must widely publicize this information. We have to end the government cover-ups of the spreading poison. We need your help to produce and distribute a popularly written book that will expose this global contamination. Your support can make a difference. The book, The Pentagon's Magic Bullet, can have a powerful impact. But it will depend on our ability to distribute it to the major media, to veterans and grassroots networks and to schools and libraries. How widely we can reach out depends on you. Today the Pentagon is larger than the military machines of the rest of the world combined. The U.S. government is also the largest distributor of weapons to other countries. We have a responsibility to act. We must demand of our government that it immediately cease the spread of this toxic material. We must encourage others around the world to raise their voices and to alert their populations. Publication and distribution of The Pentagon's Magic Bullet can help do this. The damage to children today and to unborn generations caused by nuclear testing and by Agent Orange was exposed by grass roots movements. Determined opposition to the Pentagon's military adventures has had a powerful impact on the plans of the war makers. We must act now to confront this new danger of depleted uranium. Ramsey Clark P.S. I hope that you will carefully read the information in this mailing. Please remember that your generous support will make this project possible And if you live in the New York area I urge you to join me at the meeting at the UN Church Center. ****Help expose the Pentagon's latest generation of radioactive weapons Depleted Uranium (DU) is not a household word but it already may affect millions of households. The name DU gives the false impression that it is harmless and that the biological and environmental danger of enriched uranium has been eliminated. Nothing could be further from the truth. A new book, The Pentagon's Magic Bullet will explain how Depleted Uranium is a grave danger to health; why the Pentagon is using it and what we can do to ban its use. The Pentagon is depending on an uninformed public that does not understand the dangers of DU. The munitions industry sees DU as a cheap way to enhance shells and bullets, making them harder and more able to penetrate armor. The military is disregarding its own reports that DU poisons the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who handle it. DU contaminates battlefields, proving grounds, military bases. DU remains imbedded in soil and water long after its use where millions can come in contact with it. In order to build a movement to ban DU we have to make the facts widely known. The Pentagon's Magic Bullet will bring together for the first time, in a popularly written form, the many dangers inherent in the use of DU. But this book can only come out with your help. Your donation will pay the cost of publishing and distributing this important new work. This valuable resource must get into the hands of environmental and anti-war activists. The Pentagon's Magic Bullet should be available in schools, libraries, and be seen by the major media, commentators and journalists. The Pentagon's Magic Bullet will be a popularly written explanation of the dangers of increasing spread of Depleted Uranium. Scientists, veterans, doctors, researchers, environmental experts and political activists will all contribute to this book. BECOME A SPONSOR Many scientific and educational projects receive support from government and corporate sponsors. The Pentagon's Magic Bullet will not get a dime from the big trusts and foundations because it challenges the military-industrial complex. They won't sponsor this book, but YOU CAN! By sponsoring this book you will help alert and awaken a movement. You will be providing the basic information, the contacts and the resources to encourage others take up the challenge. Benefactors, sponsors and donors of $100 or more will be acknowledged in the book. All donors of $25 or more will receive a book. Your support will make this project possible. Please be generous. Donations written to Peoples Rights Fund / DU Education Project are tax deductable. Send to: Peoples Rights Fund/ DU Education Project, % International Action Center, 39 West 14th St, Suite #206, New York, NY 10011 Phone:(212) 633-6646