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Fallujah birth defects blamed on US weapons
By Daniel Tencer
Thursday, March 4th, 2010 -- 1:26 pm
Iraqi doctors reportedly warn women not to have children; Doctors pressured not to 'embarrass the United States': claim
Birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah have soared in recent years, with doctors saying advanced US weaponry such as white phosphorous and depleted uranium shells may have caused a "massive, unprecedented number" of congenital health problems.
A BBC investigative report has found that the incidence of birth defects in Fallujah has reached a rate 13 times higher than that found in Europe. One doctor at a US-built hospital in the city says the number of birth defects has spiked from one or two per month prior to the Iraq war to two or three per day today.
"I am a doctor. I have to be scientific in my talk. I have nothing documented. But I can tell you that year by year, the number [is] increasing," Dr. Samira al-Ani told the BBC.
Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad, was the site of a brutal 2004 battle that was arguably the largest campaign of the Iraq war.
Story continues below...
The Pentagon admitted in 2005 that it had used white phosphorous munitions during the battle, as well as depleted uranium shells, which contain radioactive material.
BBC world affairs editor John Simpson said the Fallujah hospital's maternity ward is "absolutely packed" with babies suffering from congenital heart defects. He says he was shown a picture of a three-headed baby, and saw children suffering from paralysis and brain damage.
Researcher Malik Hamdan told the BBC he had seen footage of "babies born with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead."
Iraqi officials 'anxious not to embarrass the Americans'
Simpson admits he can point to no concrete evidence of a spike in birth defects -- principally because no study has ever been carried out on the situation in Fallujah.
And he reports that the Iraqi government is seeking to downplay the medical problems. Simpson says the Fallujah doctors who raised the alarm about birth defects were "well aware that what they said went against the government version, and we were told privately that the Iraqi authorities are anxious not to embarrass the Americans over the issue."
Simpson further reported that he had "heard many times" that women in Fallujah were being warned not to have children.
A report at the UK's Guardian last fall stated that the rise in birth defects "may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting," but, lacking further research, the increase is "unprecedented and at present unexplainable."
"We are seeing a very significant increase in central nervous system anomalies," hospital director Dr. Ayman Qais told the Guardian. "Before 2003 [the start of the war] I was seeing sporadic numbers of deformities in babies. Now the frequency of deformities has increased dramatically."
Fallujah is not the only place in Iraq where medical researchers are alarmed by high rates of childhood disease that they believe may be linked to the war.
US and Canadian researchers have found that leukemia in children has nearly tripled in the southern city of Basra over the past 15 years. Basra was the site of armed conflict even before the US invasion, and was a frequent site of violence during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988. But much of the increase in leukemia came in the three years after the 2003 US invasion, the researchers found.
"It's impossible to say without further study why (rates in Basra) are going up," researcher Tim Takaro said. "But this may be an unintended result of armed conflict."
http://rawstory.com/2010/03/birth-defects-blamed-weapons/
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This story is so full of "I have no documentation", "maybe", "There is no evidence" etc. that it is not a story at all.
The Raw Story, a blog spot soliciting donations, and the BBC are proud of this type of "reporting"?
Those Iraqis can really keep a secret!
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So what exactly is it that you are disputing -
That depleted uranium and phosphorus cause birth defects?
That the US used those weapons in Iraq?
Or...?
Do you also dispute the existence birth defects caused by those same weapons in wars BEFORE the invasion of Iraq, or do you believe that only the Iraqi children that are immune?
Oh, and btw, birth defects caused by DU aren't just showing up in Iraqis - they're showing up in the babies of US soldiers who have been exposed as well. It's the gift that just keeps on giving.
http://www.gulfwarvets.com/du.htm
BTW, if you google "fallujah birth defects", you'll find dozens of stories like this - and dozens of news orgs that have picked up the BBC story.
And you can look in medical and scientific journals to find out more about what du and phosphorous do to the human body.
But I guess if you can't dispute the message, you can always try to shoot all of the messengers.
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Perhaps they should let these toxins loose in Bree's neighborhood. Then, we would suddenly have lots of documentation. They thought Agent Orange would never hurt Americans either.
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true, is really true, there would be little hope of advance......
Orville Wright
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I dispute the whole story from the BBC and "the raw story". The malformed babies were supposedly so thick that you couldn't turn around in a maternity ward without seeing one...yet there exists no evidence of such.
I dispute any story that has no evidence to back up the claims it makes. I dispute any story that has as many "maybe"s in it. That is what I dispute, KestrelBrighteyes.
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To dispute the story in it's entirety is foolish. The idiot that wrote the story should get facts before doing it, but I bet these facts will come. These weapons WERE used and these weapons DO cause these things. There is no way to dispute that. The pigs that decided to use these types of weapons, should be accused of the crimes they are guilty of. I know you will go back to your proof statements and then when the proof is provided, blame it all on someone else. But you know what/ Your country must take responsibility for the wrongful war, waged on lies from the start. They invaded on the base that WMD were there. Your country KNEW this was a lie before the invasion, yet used the lie just the same. Why not own up to it, instead of giving yet again, more reasons to be hated?
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true, is really true, there would be little hope of advance......
Orville Wright
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Doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the US after the Iraq invasion.
The city witnessed fierce fighting in 2004 as US forces carried out a major offensive against insurgents.
Now, the level of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than in Europe.
The US military says it is not aware of any official reports showing an increase in birth defects in the area.
BBC world affairs editor John Simpson visited a new, US-funded hospital in Fallujah where paediatrician Samira al-Ani told him that she was seeing as many as two or three cases a day, mainly cardiac defects.
Professor Alastair Hay from Leeds University says the cause of the birth defects is still in doubt
Our correspondent also saw children in the city who were suffering from paralysis or brain damage - and a photograph of one baby who was born with three heads.
He adds that he heard many times that officials in Fallujah had warned women that they should not have children.
Doctors and parents believe the problem is the highly sophisticated weapons the US troops used in Fallujah six years ago.
British-based Iraqi researcher Malik Hamdan told the BBC's World Today programme that doctors in Fallujah were witnessing a "massive unprecedented number" of heart defects, and an increase in the number of nervous system defects.
She said that one doctor in the city had compared data about birth defects from before 2003 - when she saw about one case every two months - with the situation now, when, she saw cases every day.
Ms Hamdan said that based on data from January this year, the rate of congenital heart defects was 95 per 1,000 births - 13 times the rate found in Europe.
"I've seen footage of babies born with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead," she added.
A spokesman for the US military, Michael Kilpatrick, said it always took public health concerns "very seriously".
"No studies to date have indicated environmental issues resulting in specific health issues," he said.
"Unexploded ordinance, including improvised explosive devices, are a recognised hazard," he added.
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It is obvious that something big is causing birth defects. It stands to reason that American weapons using these poisons, did have something to do with this. Perhaps, the best way to go forward is to understand these problems are the result of ignorance and cruelty. Anyone with half a brain knew these weapons would have long term consequences. You all know the proof will come, if you doubt it, I would be surprised. What will be the outcome? I hope it is not the rest of the world paying the price.
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true, is really true, there would be little hope of advance......
Orville Wright
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| You say Improvised Explosive Devices may have contributed? As I understand it, these devices are generally made from artillery shells that were of Iraqi orgin. Is it possible some of these had remaining traces of nerve agent left over from the old Saddam days? I don't think his use of these agents in the Kurdish areas is in dispute, so isn't it a possibility that at least some of these problems are home grown issues?
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TheAnswerMan (3/7/2010)
You say Improvised Explosive Devices may have contributed? As I understand it, these devices are generally made from artillery shells that were of Iraqi orgin. Is it possible some of these had remaining traces of nerve agent left over from the old Saddam days? I don't think his use of these agents in the Kurdish areas is in dispute, so isn't it a possibility that at least some of these problems are home grown issues?
It is also possible that you will win the super ball lottery on the next draw, but I think your chances are better than the IED theory.
If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true, is really true, there would be little hope of advance......
Orville Wright
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bree (3/7/2010)
I dispute the whole story from the BBC and "the raw story". The malformed babies were supposedly so thick that you couldn't turn around in a maternity ward without seeing one...yet there exists no evidence of such.
I dispute any story that has no evidence to back up the claims it makes. I dispute any story that has as many "maybe"s in it. That is what I dispute, KestrelBrighteyes.
Wow..so how did the Iraqi babies become immune to the birth defects that ravage other children in other countries when their parents are exposed to these same chemicals? I'm sure the medical journals want to write that up!
And I can't IMAGINE why the doctors in a war zone of a country that has been occupied for several years by a country that is known to "disappear" its enemies (and whistleblowers), or to kidnap, torture, and sometimes murder them, would not be able to release an official study of the problem.
After all, we know how immediately the "agent orange" studies came to the forefront during VietNam.
*end snark*
Okay, so you don't believe the BBC or Rawstory. So which news outlets DO you believe? Because as I said, there are other stories from other news outlets that have been picked up by major media.
Or do you think they're all part of the conspiracy to make the US look bad for using weapons known to cause birth defects?
AnswerMan - Considering the timing of the explosion of birth defects in relation to the timing of the attack on Fallujah (and the weapons that were used in that attack), logic dictates that we are looking at a cause/effect scenario here.
However, if you can find some evidence that Hussein's left over munitions just happened to go off at the same time, with chemicals that are known to cause birth defects, please, post links to the sources of your findings.
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