Weapon of Choice

(9 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Where are we getting our real news from in these past times, especially about the two long running occupation theaters we have our soldiers engaged in? I would suggest we’re getting a better look on these conflicts, and other real news, from local outlets and not the so called National Media Cable Outlets, which seem to give more talk, from so called experts and analyst, singular opinion, than real news reporting, with the occasional mini doc thrown in.

I did a post yesterday on Veterans and the problem of Homelessness within our community of brothers and sisters, all the video’s and links were from local outlets, or individuals.

Same a few days prior to that after the tragic incident at the stress clinic In-Country in Baghdad. These were also local outlet reports and investigations on the stress of War and Occupation and PTSD possibly playing a major roll in what happened.

Without this technology we’d be as we were before, if coming from local outlet news, of a national concern, wouldn’t be seen or known except by those in that viewing or reading area. With this now these reports can be passed forward for many more eyes to view and read and even do research on. But it’s still coming from the local, not the national, and in many cases than being than carried forward by the national media being reactive and not proactive.

There’s another piece of investigative journalism that just came forward. This on a subject concerning the military and veterans of another of our conflicts, that like many many many others, has been pushed out of site and out of mind so the country can ignore and not deal with!

KCTV5 Investigative Journalism:  Kansas City

Since 1991 the U.S. military has admitted to using depleted uranium in armor and ammunition on a large scale. But since then, a debate has raged about its long-term health effects on soldiers and their families.

Could one of the most effective military tools in their arsenal actually be harming soldiers?

Part One

Gulf War Syndrome, or whatever name one wants to label it with, has been virtually in the total dark as soldiers, and their families, suffer and some have died from. Virtually nothing has been said nor discussed about this, and yet one possible cause of some of the human poisoning and suffering, depleted uranium, is not only still in use, in two theaters of occupation, but has been developed even further for artillery etc. since Gulf War I.

Only 77 soldiers from Gulf War I and just four from Operation Iraqi Freedom are being tracked clinically. Jerry Wheat is one of them.

“I had a tumor removed in the 90s from my left arm that was in the bone, and DU stores in the bone,” said Wheat.

Wheat said he has endured a series of health problems.

Why isn’t there much more research going on, and should already have been, many of us know, we’ve seen this before!

Fahey criticizes the testing methods, characterizing the results as a case of “don’t look, don’t find.”

“So, they have structured their studies, in my opinion, to come out with conclusions that validate their spin, which is that DU is completely harmless,” said Fahey.

Fahey suggested that because DU continues to be a critical tactical advantage on the battlefield, the military has a vested interest in keeping it there.

Part Two

Jim Bunker, president of the National Gulf War Resource Center headquartered in Kansas City, Kan., said it was an honor to be among the thousands who served in the first Gulf War. But now he says, that same service has left him with unanswered questions about his health.

“I went into the service because it was a family tradition. It’s something I always wanted to do. My dad was in the service, my uncles were in the service, my grandpa was in the service,” said Bunker. “It was something that started over time — having a hard time breathing, muscle twitches and later on muscle cramps. And nauseousness.”

This last blockquote tells the story, a story many of us Vets already know full well, and made for not the vets benefit but for the countries so it can be pushed out of site!!

“It’s virtually the same script as the Agent Orange saga that happened where you had people exposed to Agent Orange returning home, reporting health problems, and the government denying that, first of all, that Agent Orange was dangerous at all, and then entering this debate of who was exposed and how much they were exposed to,” said Fahey.