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[casi] WSWS News: Thousands of US troops evacuated from Iraq for unexplained medical reasons



http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/sep2003/wia-s09.shtml

Thousands of US troops evacuated from Iraq for unexplained
medical reasons
By James Conachy
9 September 2003


Citing the US military Central Command as its source, the
Washington Post reported on September 2 that ¡§more than
6,000 service members¡¨ had been medically evacuated from
Iraq since the launch of the war. At the time, the number of
combat wounded stood at 1,124. A further 301 personnel had
been injured in non-combat incidents such as vehicle
accidents. The figure of ¡§more than 6,000¡¨ supplied to the
Post therefore implies that over 4,500 US troops have
required evacuation from Iraq for medical reasons other than
combat or non-combat injuries.

The Washington Post article did not include any further
information on what is a staggering admission by the
military. At no point in the last six months have the
American people been told that for every soldier who has
been killed in Iraq, at least another 15 have fallen so ill
that they had to be flown back to the United States. The
Post described the unexplained evacuations simply as the
¡§thousands who became physically or mentally ill¡¨.

The obvious questions that must be answered are: what were
they diagnosed with; what units are they from; what duties
were they were performing; what long-term effects have they
suffered; and what treatment are they receiving?

While large numbers of the evacuations may well be for
routine medical reasons, such a detailed breakdown is
essential. Apart from providing an insight into the true
impact of the war on the American troops, it may provide
evidence that supports the concerns among military personnel
and their families that service in Iraq is exposing them to
long-term and potentially fatal medical problems. In
particular, there are fears that soldiers have already died
or are falling ill due to their exposure to depleted uranium
(DU) or the anthrax vaccine they have been compelled to
take.

On July 31, the Army Surgeon General announced an investigat
ion into the deaths of two soldiers, Michael Tosta and Josh
Neusche, and the hospitalisation of another 100, diagnosed
with severe pneumonia. It has been established that inhaling
large concentrations of DU-contaminated particles damages
the lungs and kidneys and can cause respiratory illness.
There are also recorded medical suspicions that the US
military¡¦s anthrax vaccine can trigger pneumonia. In August
2002, three military doctors noted in the Cardiopulmonary
and Critical Care Journal that a case of pneumonia in a
healthy 39-year-old soldier ¡§may be due to the anthrax
vaccine¡¨.

The US Department of Defense has only made public one
progress report on the pneumonia investigation. On August 22
it announced that it was ¡§making significant progress¡¨ in
eliminating SARS and vaccines as a possible cause. It
revealed that 10 alleged pneumonia cases showed a higher
than normal number of the white blood cell eosinophils. It
also reported that none of the 19 most severe cases belonged
to the same units, that 13 had fallen ill in Iraq and that
the remaining six fell ill in Kuwait, Qatar, Uzbekistan, and
Djibouti. The Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner
was reportedly investigating the ¡§specific cause or causes
of death¡¨ of Tosta and Neusche.

Since July 31, however, another soldier, Zeferino Colunga,
has died allegedly from pneumonia while Sergeant Richard
Eaton has died from a pulmonary edema or fluid in the lungs.
Two other soldiers have been found dead in their beds for as
yet unexplained reasons.

Such is the distrust of the military that the families of
both Josh Neusche and Colunga have demanded access to their
loved ones¡¦ medical records, personal effects and blood and
tissue samples, so that independent medical opinions can be
sought on the cause of death. The families sent letters on
August 12 to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stating:
¡§We as a family are concerned that we are not being told
the truth.¡¨

Stephanie Tosta, the 22-year-old widow of Michael Tosta, has
publicly speculated the military is lying about the cause of
her husband¡¦s death. She told United Press International
last month: ¡§More and more I think it was the [anthrax]
shots. I think they [the Army] might be lying about this
stuff. I really feel like it. Nobody can tell me anything.
If it is the shots, then of course they are lying. We just
want to know what happened and we have a right to know. But
the Army is acting like they are trying to hide something,
and that just makes it harder.¡¨

The family of Rachael Lacy, a young soldier who died in
Kuwait on April 4 from a ¡§pneumonia-like illness¡¨ but
whose death is not included in the military investigation,
is also alleging her death was due to the anthrax vaccine.
Connecticut congressman Chris Shays, who chaired hearings
last year on the possible side-effects of the anthrax
vaccination program, is reportedly monitoring the
investigation into the death of Sergeant Richard Eaton.

The website of ¡§Bring Them Home Now¡¨¡Xan organisation of
military families demanding the immediate withdrawal of US
forces from the Middle East¡Xbluntly warns soldiers that the
only guaranteed way to limit the medical consequences from
exposure to DU is to ¡§get out of Iraq or Afghanistan¡¨.

The groups¡¦ statement of purpose declares: ¡§Not one more
troop killed in action. Not one more troop wounded in
action. Not one more troop psychologically damaged by the
act of terrifying, humiliating, injuring or killing innocent
people. Not one more troop spending one more day inhaling
depleted uranium. Not one more troop separated from spouse
and children. This is the only way to truly support these
troops, and the families who are just as much part of the
military as they are.¡¨ (http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/)

The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC), an advocacy
organisation for veterans of the first 1991 US war on Iraq,
is assisting the military families who believe they are
being lied to. Among the suspected causes of a range of
illnesses commonly referred to as ¡§Gulf War syndrome¡¨ are
DU exposure and complications triggered by vaccinations. By
1999, as many as 110,000 Gulf War veterans had reported
health problems that they believe are due to their service
in Iraq.

The sensitivity of the military hierarchy to the suspicions
among rank-and-file troops, families and veterans is
demonstrated by the reassurances on the official Army
medical website that neither DU nor the anthrax vaccine pose
a health risk.
(http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/default2.htm) The US
government also rejects any link between ¡§Gulf War
 syndrome¡¨, DU and vaccines. In 1998 however, the US
military did finally admit that at least 436,000 American
troops entered into areas during the first Gulf War that
were contaminated to some extent by DU radioactive dust.



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