Agent Orange in Vietnam: Ignoring the Crimes Before Our Eyes
n Oct. 13, the New York Times ran a news story headlined, “Door Opens to Health Claims Tied to Agent Orange,”
which was sure to be good news to many American veterans of the
Indochina War. It reported that 38 years after the Pentagon ceased
spreading the deadly dioxin-laced herbicide/defoliant over much of
South Vietnam, it was acknowledging what veterans have long claimed: in
addition to 13 ailments already traced to exposure to the chemical, it
was also responsible for three more dread diseases—Parkinson’s,
ischemic hedart disease and hairy-cell leukemia.
which was sure to be good news to many American veterans of the
Indochina War. It reported that 38 years after the Pentagon ceased
spreading the deadly dioxin-laced herbicide/defoliant over much of
South Vietnam, it was acknowledging what veterans have long claimed: in
addition to 13 ailments already traced to exposure to the chemical, it
was also responsible for three more dread diseases—Parkinson’s,
ischemic hedart disease and hairy-cell leukemia.
Under a new policy adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs,
the VA will now start providing free care to any of the 2.1 million
Vietnam-era veterans who can show that they might have been hurt by
exposure to Agent Orange.
the VA will now start providing free care to any of the 2.1 million
Vietnam-era veterans who can show that they might have been hurt by
exposure to Agent Orange.
This is another belated step forward in the decades-long struggle by
Vietnam War veterans to get the Defense Department and the VA to
acknowledge the American government’s responsibility for poisoning them
and causing permanent damage to them and often to their children and
grandchildren. Dioxin, one of the most poisonous substances known to
man, is known to cause many serious systemic diseases, autoimmune
illnesses, cancers and birth defects. (It is also a warning about the
general Pentagon and government approach to other hazards caused by its
battlefield use of toxins—most significantly the increasingly common
use of depleted uranium projectiles in bombs, shells and bullets—an
approach which features lack of concern about health effects on troops
and civilians, denial of information to troops, and denial of care to
eventual victims.)
Vietnam War veterans to get the Defense Department and the VA to
acknowledge the American government’s responsibility for poisoning them
and causing permanent damage to them and often to their children and
grandchildren. Dioxin, one of the most poisonous substances known to
man, is known to cause many serious systemic diseases, autoimmune
illnesses, cancers and birth defects. (It is also a warning about the
general Pentagon and government approach to other hazards caused by its
battlefield use of toxins—most significantly the increasingly common
use of depleted uranium projectiles in bombs, shells and bullets—an
approach which features lack of concern about health effects on troops
and civilians, denial of information to troops, and denial of care to
eventual victims.)
Missing from the Times article, written by military affairs
reporter James Dao, which did include mention of the obstructionist
role the government has played through this whole sorry saga, was a
single mention of the far larger number of victims of Agent Orange in
Vietnam—the people on whose heads and lands the toxic chemical was
actually dropped, or of the adamant refusal by the US government to
accept any responsibility for what it did to them.
reporter James Dao, which did include mention of the obstructionist
role the government has played through this whole sorry saga, was a
single mention of the far larger number of victims of Agent Orange in
Vietnam—the people on whose heads and lands the toxic chemical was
actually dropped, or of the adamant refusal by the US government to
accept any responsibility for what it did to them.
According to the article, the VA estimates that there may be as many
as 200,000 US veterans who are suffering from Agent Orange-related
illnesses. But according to a court case brought on behalf of
Vietnamese victims, which was dismissed by a US Federal District Judge
who ruled that there was “no basis for the claims,” there are at least
three million Vietnamese, and possibly as many as 4.8 million, who are
suffering the same Agent Orange-related illnesses as American veterans
and their children.
as 200,000 US veterans who are suffering from Agent Orange-related
illnesses. But according to a court case brought on behalf of
Vietnamese victims, which was dismissed by a US Federal District Judge
who ruled that there was “no basis for the claims,” there are at least
three million Vietnamese, and possibly as many as 4.8 million, who are
suffering the same Agent Orange-related illnesses as American veterans
and their children.
It is estimated that as many as 800,000 Vietnamese in the country’s
south currently suffer from chronic health problems due to Agent Orange
exposure, either to themselves, or to a parent or grandparent. Most of
these victims, some of whom are retarded, and others of whom cannot
walk or have no use of their arms, need constant care.
south currently suffer from chronic health problems due to Agent Orange
exposure, either to themselves, or to a parent or grandparent. Most of
these victims, some of whom are retarded, and others of whom cannot
walk or have no use of their arms, need constant care.
Veterans for Peace, an organization whose membership includes a
large number of Vietnam War veterans, has issued a call for the US to
provide funds for health care, education, vocational education, chronic
care, home care and equipment to clean up hotspots of dioxin in
Vietnam—a call which Congress and the White House have consistently
ignored. Tests have found dioxin levels around the sites of the three
main former US bases in what was South Vietnam to be 300-400 times
recognized safe levels. The US dumped huge amounts of Agent Orange for
miles around those bases to kill off jungle cover that Vietnamese
fighters could use to approach the bases, but it was never cleaned up
when the US pulled out.
large number of Vietnam War veterans, has issued a call for the US to
provide funds for health care, education, vocational education, chronic
care, home care and equipment to clean up hotspots of dioxin in
Vietnam—a call which Congress and the White House have consistently
ignored. Tests have found dioxin levels around the sites of the three
main former US bases in what was South Vietnam to be 300-400 times
recognized safe levels. The US dumped huge amounts of Agent Orange for
miles around those bases to kill off jungle cover that Vietnamese
fighters could use to approach the bases, but it was never cleaned up
when the US pulled out.
One organization that includes a number of American veterans of the
way, including former military doctors or soldiers who later became
physicians, is the Vietnam Friendship Village Project USA Inc., which
raises funds to help establish communities in Vietnam to care for the
victims of Agent Orange.
way, including former military doctors or soldiers who later became
physicians, is the Vietnam Friendship Village Project USA Inc., which
raises funds to help establish communities in Vietnam to care for the
victims of Agent Orange.
It may seem a pathetic stab at principle given America’s use of two
nuclear weapons against civilian targets in Japan a few years later,
but back in World War II, in the midst of the most brutal
island-to-island fighting during the Pacific War, a US Judge Advocate
General in the Pentagon ruled that a military request for permission to
use herbicides against the Japanese on Pacific islands would be illegal
under the Hague Convention (forerunner of what are now called the
Geneva Conventions).
nuclear weapons against civilian targets in Japan a few years later,
but back in World War II, in the midst of the most brutal
island-to-island fighting during the Pacific War, a US Judge Advocate
General in the Pentagon ruled that a military request for permission to
use herbicides against the Japanese on Pacific islands would be illegal
under the Hague Convention (forerunner of what are now called the
Geneva Conventions).
He ruled that trying to destroy the crops of civilians on those
islands to deny food to the Japanese troops would be a war crime. The
US went ahead and used the herbicides anyway, arguing that even though
it was illegal, the US was free to go ahead, since the Japanese had
already broken the laws of war by using strychnine to kill military
guard dogs in Siberia. Under the rules of war, if one side breaks a
rule, the other side is no longer bound by it.
islands to deny food to the Japanese troops would be a war crime. The
US went ahead and used the herbicides anyway, arguing that even though
it was illegal, the US was free to go ahead, since the Japanese had
already broken the laws of war by using strychnine to kill military
guard dogs in Siberia. Under the rules of war, if one side breaks a
rule, the other side is no longer bound by it.
But the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese never used toxic materials
against US forces or against South Vietnamese forces. And the Pentagon
in the Vietnam War never even considered whether spraying a highly
toxic herbicide over 1.4 million acres—12 percent of the total land
area of Vietnam and almost 25 percent of the southern half of the
country—might be a war crime.
against US forces or against South Vietnamese forces. And the Pentagon
in the Vietnam War never even considered whether spraying a highly
toxic herbicide over 1.4 million acres—12 percent of the total land
area of Vietnam and almost 25 percent of the southern half of the
country—might be a war crime.
Moreover, the Pentagon knew, before it began its massive defoliation
campaign, about studies showing that Agent Orange was heavily laced
with deadly dioxin, but covered up those studies, some by the
chemical’s makers, Dow Chemical and Monsanto, and never even warned the
troops who handled the material daily, or who were sent out to fight in
areas that had been heavily sprayed.
campaign, about studies showing that Agent Orange was heavily laced
with deadly dioxin, but covered up those studies, some by the
chemical’s makers, Dow Chemical and Monsanto, and never even warned the
troops who handled the material daily, or who were sent out to fight in
areas that had been heavily sprayed.
The ongoing medical disaster in Vietnam caused by America’s criminal
use of Agent Orange to defoliate a nation would be a good place for
President Obama to start earning his just-awarded Nobel Peace Prize. He
could kick off his peace campaign by finally honoring President Richard
Nixon’s immediately broken promise to provide several billion dollars
in reconstruction aid to Vietnam at the conclusion of peace talks at
the end of the war. Not a dollar of such aid was ever given.
use of Agent Orange to defoliate a nation would be a good place for
President Obama to start earning his just-awarded Nobel Peace Prize. He
could kick off his peace campaign by finally honoring President Richard
Nixon’s immediately broken promise to provide several billion dollars
in reconstruction aid to Vietnam at the conclusion of peace talks at
the end of the war. Not a dollar of such aid was ever given.
Meanwhile, perhaps the New York Times could salvage a bit
of its journalistic reputation by having Dao or some other reporter
write a piece about the impact of America’s Agent Orange use on the
people of Vietnam.
of its journalistic reputation by having Dao or some other reporter
write a piece about the impact of America’s Agent Orange use on the
people of Vietnam.
Dave Lindorff is a Philadelphia-based journalist. He is author of Killing Time: An Investigation into the Death Penalty Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Common Courage Press, 2003) and The Case for Impeachment (St. Martin’s Press, 2006). His work is available at thiscantbehappening.net
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