Health Problems as a Result of Depleted Uranium Usage in the Iraq War

       

Two U.S. soldiers in Iraq

         
         The Iraq War began on March 20th, 2003 and officially ended in 2011 (Encyclopedia Britannica). After the U.S war ended in Iraq, researchers noticed a rapid increase of birth defects in Iraq. In a Daily Mail article titled “Did U.S Chemical Weapons Start Plague of Baby Defects?”, it is stated that “The number of heart defects among newborn babies [in Iraq] is said to be 13 times higher than the rate in Europe.” (Daily Mail [London]). According to the statistic, birth defect rates in Iraq are much greater now, with heart defects being a major issue. Researchers have been linking the usage of depleted uranium during the invasion of Iraq with the health problems of local Iraqis. However, some argue that the radioactive material is not harmful, but it can still be proven that the use of depleted uranium weapons in the Iraq War caused an increase in birth defects and health problems.

An M1 Abrams firing a tank round

Depleted Uranium Weapons

         The United States military invaded multiple cities during the Iraq war, and used depleted uranium weapons, during the invasion of those cities. Depleted uranium is a radioactive material that is used in tank rounds and armor by the United States military (U.S Department of Veterans Affairs). The reason why depleted uranium is used in tank rounds is because it penetrates tank armor well, due to it’s density (Daily Mail [London]). Even though depleted uranium weapons were effective for the United States military, it had unforeseen consequences for the health of both veterans and civilians involved in the Iraq War.

Depleted uranium

         
         Depleted uranium rounds are dangerous because of its radioactive properties.  After a depleted uranium tank round hits a hard surface, it shatters and turns into powder (Daily Mail [London]). This powder is toxic, and stays in the atmosphere for a remarkably long time. If the powder enters the body through the bloodstream, it can emit cancer-causing radiation (Daily Mail [London]). There are multiple ways one can come into contact with depleted uranium powder. The United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs suggests that veterans could have come into contact with depleted uranium, by being “On, in or near vehicles hit with friendly fire; entering or near burning vehicles, near fire involving … [depleted uranium] munitions; or salvaging damaged vehicles” (U.S Department of Veterans Affairs). Local civilians can also come into contact with depleted uranium in the same way, but they are more exposed to it since they live in Iraq.

U.S. soldiers walking past a burning vehicle (Reuters)

Evidence of Depleted Uranium’s Impact on Health

         Skeptics of depleted uranium’s toxicity argue that the material does not cause any adverse effects on human health, despite the evidence that suggests otherwise. Ron Smith, a “director of International relations and Security Studies in the University of [Waikato]”, argues that the toxicity and radioactivity of depleted uranium is not significant enough to cause any serious health effects (New Zealand International Review). He first points out that the low radioactivity of depleted uranium will most likely not have any impact on human health since “The very low radioactivity of depleted uranium . . . suggests that discernible health effects are unlikely” (Smith). Ron Smith goes on to say that depleted uranium will not affect soldiers or civilians because “There is no reliable evidence of radiological or toxicological harm to . . . [them] from the use of depleted uranium”. Ron Smith is hardline with his skepticism on the dangers of the radioactive material.

         
         Despite Ron Smith’s claims, he ignores the evidence about the dangers of depleted uranium. The severe health effects of depleted uranium are observable. Ron Smith argues that depleted uranium most likely will not cause any harmful health effects. However, a lab study on rats showed that implanted depleted uranium fragments in their bodies caused the rats to develop “soft tissue sarcomas that can be detected . . . in the muscles of rats” (Environmental Health Perspectives). In other words, the radioactive fragments gave the rats muscle cancer. This study is evidence that depleted uranium can cause cancer in mammals. Humans, who come into contact with depleted uranium, could also be at risk of suffering from muscle cancer. This is also an issue for veterans because “some of . . . [them who were struck with depleted uranium fragments] had elevated concentrations of uranium in [their] urine 7 years after . . . getting wounded” (Environmental Health Perspectives). The risk of veteran’s health being negatively impacted by depleted uranium is also a concern for the United States military.

         

"Hospitals in Iraq are also noticing the effects of depleted uranium on infants"

         The harmful aspects of depleted uranium is an issue that hospitals in Iraq and the U.S military take very seriously. The United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs states on their website that “[depleted uranium] is a potential health hazard if it enters the body. The United States military understands the threat that depleted uranium poses on human health. As a result, the military provides medical treatment to veterans effected by depleted uranium. Since the United States government is taking serious precautions towards depleted uranium, the concerns over depleted uranium must have a certain amount of legitimacy to them. Hospitals in Iraq are also noticing the effects of depleted uranium on infants. Malik Hamdan, a researcher in Iraq, reported that “‘Fallujah doctors were swamped by a [large] number of heart defects and other problems [that affects newborns]’” (Daily Mail [London]). Fallujah’s hospitals noticed this dramatic spike in birth defects after the Iraq war had been fought. There hasn’t been any research that shows a direct correlation between depleted uranium and it’s impact on birth defects in Iraq. However, the large amount of depleted uranium weapons deployed in the Iraq War, and the increased rate of birth defects in Iraq, reveals that the two issues most likely correspond with one another.

         Depleted uranium weapons were used extensively throughout the Iraq War. As a result, Iraq is now plagued with birth defects and different kinds of health problems. As more studies observe the toxicity and dangers of depleted uranium, more evidence can be used to link the health problems in Iraq with the radioactive material. After reviewing the research on depleted uranium, it is clear that the use of depleted uranium weapons in the Iraq War caused lots of health problems for both Iraqi civilians and U.S military veterans.

- Sam A. Stace

(This essay was originally created on February 28th, 2017. This blog post is a modified version of that essay.)
Instagram: @Ancrap.CrackerJap https://www.instagram.com/ancrap.crackerjap/
Special thanks to: https://www.instagram.com/piratesprogress/ for inspiring me to post this essay


Citations:

"Iraq War." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 15 Dec. 2011. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.

"Did U.S. Chemical Weapons Start Plague of Baby Defects?" Daily Mail [London] 5 Mar. 2010: n. pag. Questia School. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

"Public Health." Depleted Uranium - Public Health. US Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. 

Hahn, Fletcher F. Guilmette, Raymond A. Hoover, and Mark D. "Implanted Depleted Uranium Fragments Cause Soft Tissue Sarcomas in the Muscles of Rats. (Articles).” Environmental Health Perspectives (2002): n. pag. Questia School. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

Smith, Ron. "Depleted Uranium and Human Health: Ron Smith Debunks Sensationalist Claims about the Adverse Effects of Depleted   Uranium." New Zealand International Review 30.5 (2005): n. pag. Questia School. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

ARE MINIMUM WAGE LAWS A GOOD THING?

14th Century Plague Doctor

Minimum wage is the least amount of money a company is required to pay it’s employees. The idea of minimum wage can be traced back all the way to the 14th century. Towards the middle of the century, the black plague started to decline after 1350. After this decline, workers began to seek jobs again, but this time they demanded triple wages of their pre-plague salaries. To control the high demands, King Edward III created the “Ordinance of Laborers”. This allowed the government to create a maximum rate of how much money workers could demand. The result of these laws, birthed what we now know as “minimum wage”.

Millions of lives were affected by the Great Depression

Minimum Wage in the United States was introduced much later, in the 90’s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act), which in turn introduced the first federal minimum wage laws in the United States. The president stated that: “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country”. Roosevelt approved the NIRA, in hopes to combat the great depression, in which it did. However, the great depression could of easily been dealt with by abolishing the federal reserve, and creating a true free market economy.

Should businesses really be required to pay employees $15 an hour just for flipping burgers or making pizza?

Some claim that minimum wage is a human right, however this is the opposite of what is true. Forcing a business to pay it’s workers a certain amount is tyranny, and it contradicts free-market capitalist values. Minimum wage should not be enforced. Instead businesses should set up their own standards of appropriate wages, and be able to voluntarily balance out salaries, according to the average living wage of their communities. Minimum wage policies should be discarded, because it is an infringement on the human right to private property.

Jail time for those who refuse to pay minimum wage

Minimum wage laws are also very violent. If a company does not pay the minimum wage requirements, the institution will be fined by the government (At least in the U.S.). If the managers of the company refuse to be fined, they may face jail time. If the managers refuse arrest, then they will be forcibly handcuffed or even shot. Therefore minimum wage laws also abuse the right to a free life and the right to economic opportunity. Minimum wage is not a right, it is a violent set of policies used by incompetent workers to steal money from businesses.

Minimum wage is not as glorious as it sounds. If a company is required to pay their workers more, then they will either have to maintain a lower amount of workers per establishment, or the company will have to raise the prices of their services/products if they decide to keep the same amount of workers. What McDonalds has done in response to minimum wage laws, is that they have started implementing more machines to replace their workers. In my opinion, I think that robots will inevitably end up replacing human employees in the far future.

There are multiple countries that do not have minimum wage laws. One successful example is Switzerland. This country has rejected minimum wage laws, and yet their economy is very strong and stable. With it’s limited amount of government control, a market economy, no wage laws and stable politics, this country is an ideal place to live.

How liberals view minimum wage

In conclusion, minimum wage is a utopian view of how the economy should work. However, as most people know, utopias don’t exist. The best economic system, based on history, current real-world evidence and libertarian values, the free-market is the greatest and most successful economy for all individuals, no matter how rich or poor. 

- Sam A. Stace
Instagram: @Ancap.Israel https://www.instagram.com/ancap.israel/
Credits to: Freedombeforefeelings for the topic suggestion.
Go follow: https://www.instagram.com/freedombeforefeelings/

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2013-09-05/how-the-black-death-spawned-the-minimum-wage

http://slw.povertyalliance.org/about/nmwdifference

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/

http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/minimum-wage-quotes/

http://beforeitsnews.com/libertarian/2012/04/debunking-myths-of-the-great-depression-2035891.html

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-1000302843

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/may/30/employers-repay-minium-wage-hmrc

http://www.valuesandcapitalism.com/what-actually-happens-when-you-raise-the-minimum-wage/
http://www.forbes.com/places/switzerland/

WHO WILL BUILD THE ROADS?

"We all posses the ability to empathize, connect and feel compassion for one another"

This year, is the year of 2016. Up until this point, we as human beings have accomplished great things, and yet- we still continue to do some of the same terrible actions that our ancestors have already done in the past. Technology is greater than ever, the essentials of living are provided to us, and most people are content with their lives. However, we should imagine, what we could achieve if we didn’t have an attachment to the barbaric ways of our primal human aggression. Instead, together we can start exploring the more tender sides of our human nature. We all posses the ability to empathize, connect and feel compassion for one another (well maybe except the majority of politicians). By utilizing our good intentions, we can become more united and stronger as citizens of this earth. As of right now however, war, theft, slavery, murder, rape and fraud are still very relevant. Nevertheless, to achieve a peaceful society where government’s role is minimal-to-none, is possible. It just requires a paradigm shift to occur on a grand scale. Hopefully, before the end of the 21st century, we can achieve peace and true freedom.

Here lies a majestic, government-paved road

Humanity’s belief in government and the use of non-defensive violence, is a very dangerous ideology. In my opinion, this belief is guilty of creating the largest on-going genocide in history: Democide. R.J. Rummel defined the term as: “the murder of any person or people by their government, including genocide, politicide and mass murder” (University of Hawaii). This political scientist, estimated that 262 million victims died due to democide. Government has time and time again been proven to be a very dangerous concept. As more private businesses replace government-funded ones, people will begin to realize that our reliance on the establishment, has been unnecessary and absolutely pointless this whole entire time. The free market will inevitably end up replacing any form of government-controlled economy.

Even though a lot of people realize how terrible authority and violence can be, they still retain a special type of arrogant pessimism. “I don’t want to die for my freedom” says the cowardly statist. Whenever i hear that i wonder, what makes people think that their life is so valuable over the lives of seven billion. “In a stateless society, people would be killing each other left and right!” says the doubtful statist. This wouldn’t happen if private police departments and detectives existed, alongside a well-armed and educated populous. My favorite statist rebuttal is: “Without government, who would build the roads?” (Second favorite being: “If you don’t like it here, go live in Somalia!"). The roads argument has recently become more of a meme, rather than a real argument. This is due to it’s ridiculousness, and the lack of incentive the debating statist has, to question their own beliefs. Nonetheless, i think this question should be answered. Who will build the roads? Well the answer to that is: The free-market will!

The free-market enables people to be successful

In a capitalist, free-market system, businesses compete with each other to create a greater profit. They accomplish this by using the incentive of money, to design and sell better products than their competitors. The same goes for the services that government currently provides us today. Welfare, public transit, social security, roads, water and protection services, can all be privatized and provided by businesses. The companies that perform the best, will be funded voluntary by and through the people. Bad businesses will be stopped via consumer power, and lack of funding. Corporations that abuse human rights in a stateless society, will have to pay compensations to their victims, and face the consequences, according to it’s community’s justice system. 

Without the pillars, the roof will fall

All in all, i think debunking statist’s arguments is a essential part of political evolution. The more and more we ponder about how we, as independent human beings, can function in a stateless society, the closer we get to actually achieving such a system. Eventually, through agorism, education and an armed populous, the establishment will inevitably crumble. We the people are the tax-paying pillars, to the abusive roof of our governments. Once all of us as a collective realize our true potential, only then will we be able to break past the establishment and achieve peaceful anarchy.

-Sam A. Stace

Instagram: @Ancap.Israel https://www.instagram.com/ancap.israel/

Credits to: Ty Thorn for submitting the question, "Who will build the roads?"

Citation: Rummel, R.J. "Freedom, Democide, War." Freedom, Democide, War: Home Page. University of Hawaii, n.d. Web. 04 Aug. 2016.