More than 600 US troops say they were exposed to chemical agents in Iraq

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

More than 600 US troops say they were exposed to chemical agents in Iraq
Associated Press

Thursday 6 November 2014 21.37 EST


Defence secretary orders a review into military records and the Pentagon will increase support for veterans who could be at risk

More than 600 US service members told military medical staff that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003, the New York Times has reported.

Pentagon officials said the department will now expand its outreach to veterans and establish a toll-free hotline for reporting potential exposures and seeking medical evaluation or care, the newspaper said.

Defence secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an internal review of military records after the Times reported in October that US troops encountered degraded chemical weapons from the 1980s that had been hidden or used in makeshift bombs.

The initial newspaper report disclosed that 17 service members had been injured by sarin or sulphur mustard agent, and several more came forward after the story appeared, the Times said Thursday.








Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/07/more-than-600-us-troops-exposed-chemical-agents-iraq

[mopinko]

1. talked to a vet while knocking doors.

barely holding it together. said he was in iraq one, and that his whole platoon was exposed during training. said all but 5 had committed suicide.
very pissed off at the country, and very pessimistic about the idea of voting.

one of the tougher conversations that i had.

we got no business making more vets while we are not taking care of the ones we have already.

[yuiyoshida]

10. This!

"we got no business making more vets while we are not taking care of the ones we have already."

[Darb]

2. Jeb Bush for President.

There were degraded ammo dumps all over Iraq. Some known for years to hold broken down chemical weapons. If soldiers were sent to these areas without proper gear, then I have no doubt that they might have been exposed to agents. Bad leaders sending troops where they were exposed.

These were not viable weapons, they were heavily degraded dumps.

This is all an attempt to clear George DrrrrrrrBush of instigating an illegal war, to clear the way for Jeb. He should be declaring any time now. Scream it loud enough and you know what happens, the idiots will believe it.

One of them lies and the rest swear to it.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

3. Nothing new, they do it all the time.

http://www.wanttoknow.info/humanguineapigs.

The USA is not the only country that did/does it, Germany, USSR, Japan, etc have done it to their people.
http://www.wonderslist.com/10-most-cruel-rulers-ever-in-history/

and more... http://www.crackedhistory.com/evil-people-history/


..and we wonder why we haven't had alien visitors.

[titaniumsalute]

4. I'm just glad they didnt get ebola NT

[glinda]

5. My father just died from WWII chem exposure last month.

Happens all of the time and should be a huge issue. It should piss off a lot of vets and families as long as they understand WHO is actually to blame for it all. The Dems should make that an issue!

[Ilsa]

6. An internet friend told me that her husband ended up

With testicular cancer after a brief tour in Iraq back in 2004, I think. Thing is, so did two other men in their group. Three out of a dozen? Three out of 20? I'm not sure what that statistic was. But they were healthy young men.

[peace13]

9. So sorry to hear this! : (

[UglyGreed]

7. I wonder if it was

the chemical weapons we gave Saddam to fight Iran? How long is the shelf life on that stuff, does it get better with age like a fine wine..... SMH

[bananas]

11. Sounds like it. nt

[peace13]

8. Do ya think?

We can start with the depleted uranium in OUR ammunition, take a stroll past the white phosphorus that we used in Fallujah and top that off with the dumps from our dealings with Saddam.

War is a dirty business. I feel sorry for our troops. As Rummy said,'troops are fungible'.