Since the Vietnam War ended and the effects of Agent Orange have become more apparent, many are beginning to look back at the effect it had on the people of Vietnam.
“I was born without legs and missing one hand,” said Tran Thi Hoan.
It is because of America’s chemical war against her people in the jungles of Vietnam that Tran is in this condition. She is a victim of Agent Orange, second generation.
“Lots of people are worse than me.”
Tran is one of many. Her story represents millions living in the shadows of a lasting legacy.
These children will never live a normal life; their deformities are physical signs of human decay. Although their parents were not even born until after the Vietnam War, 18 million gallons of the toxic herbicide, sprayed through the jungles of South Vietnam, is still penetrating the DNA of those born today.
“There are millions and millions of victims still alive and are suffering from illnesses and from cancers,” said Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, the Director General of Ngoc Tam Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Dr. Nguyen is Tran’s doctor and accompanied Tran to testify on Capitol Hill.
The US government has acknowledged a connection between Agent Orange and the health defects and ailments that continue to plague the lives of Vietnam War veterans for generations. But the US has refused to make the same link for the millions of Vietnamese War victims whose lives have been devastated as a result of Agent Orange.
This is why delegations are here in Washington following a report issued by lawmakers, scientists and doctors calling on the US government to own up to its Agent Orange legacy in Vietnam today.
RT is a Russian news organization.
Found by Andy.
Yep, wait till the nasty effect of DU (amongst other things), start cropping up from our latest adventures.
And I’m not talkin’ Dvorak Uncensored.
Own up to what legacy? At the time, they did not know that it would cause those kinds of effects. The argument that Dow intentionally created something that would cause defects requires *a lot* more evidence than one attorney’s circumstantial claim. Dow wasn’t just making an herbicide. It was making an herbicide to be used in war against the enemy. That’s completely different. Arguing that they should have followed industry standards for this type of product will require a lot more justification.
Btw, the same goes for depleted uranium. If it is banned by the international community and there overwhelming evidence to show that it is the cause, we’ll stop using it. That does not mean we’ll turn around and pay people reparations for using it.
Wars suck no matter how you look at it. This type of thing is one of many examples. I bet as people suffered from all the landmines we left in Vietnam as Agent Orange. We aren’t going to pay reparations for those either.
Haunting the USA huh?
Imagine then what it is doing in Vietnam?
Still hundreds of farmers per year blown up by land mines still there all over the countryside. USA one of about 3 countries refusing to outlaw their us.
GO USA!!!!!!!!!!
Whats going to “haunt” the USA is the number of amputees/lifetime disabled our active war zones is producing. In guerrilla tactics, always better to maim rather than kill the soldiers. Thats what will bleed the enemy and make them go home.
What the U.S. government has to say about this:
http://state.gov/p/eap/rls/rm/2010/07/144702.htm
From PBS regarding land mines:
“The Vietnam war ended over 25 years ago, but for many Vietnamese, the realities of the war still linger. In the years since the fall of Saigon, over 40,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance (explosives) left behind from that conflict.”
http://pbs.org/vietnampassage/perspectives/perspectives.landmines.html
Horrible to see this was caused by American war tactics. Makes one reflect and feel shameful.
It was wartime, so we can’t take any responsibility for our actions during that time, and the long term consequences that they may have after the war. Nope… we don’t care, and you certainly shouldn’t expect any help or compassion from us.
Nice philosophy.
Makes me wonder what the long term effects of crap like the foot long burger will do to future generations. Chock full of chemicals, preservatives, genetically engineered crops, pesticides, petroleum byproducts.
Oh right… it isn’t our responsibility, because we don’t know what harm it might do right now (although we actually do), so we should not worry, and certainly not take any responsibility for whatever choices we make when they affect future generations.
Conservative philosophy at it’s best: “It’s all about me. Me. Me Me. If it doesn’t benefit or hurt me directly, everyone else can just go fuck themselves.” WWJT?
Pedro has never looked better!
I agree Dallas, I can only joke about it because that’s how I deal with a tragedy (like Microsoft users). The vivid image from Vietnam was the young girl running down the middle of the road naked and burning from Agent Orange. How do we ever make amends?
#6–Awake==Michael Pollan was on Great Conversations and he revealed that scientists can trace CARBON back to its original source. I recall it was about 90% of the carbon in a soft drink was from CORN, and something like 75% for Beef as it is corn fed, and even wheat buns were high in Corn based Carbon given HFCS is added to bread for sweetness, color, tenderizing and preserving. We eat more corn than the Navajo’s who worshiped Corn as a god.
2. Special Ed==I think Agent Orange is more damaging to your own kiddies while Napalm is worse for you. (I also hate it when that happens.)
You’re just learning about this know?
#10 LDA (me)
“now” obviously (don’t post when you are tired).
Agent Orange my ass. That lady has neurofibromatosis which is a genetic abnormality.
#9 Bobbo.
A good documentary about the contents of corn in our diets is “King Corn”
http://sustainabletable.org/features/articles/kingcorn/
An interesting aside in the movie is the prevalence of high fructose corn syrup, and the chemical process used to create it (it is not refined, it is chemically created). Even the honey that you buy at the Walmart is probably made of HFCS, since bees are fed that stuff in order to multiply quickly and pollinate crops. The hive becomes unproductive after a couple of years of eating that stuff, where wild bee colonies last many years over many generations.
And we feed this crappola to our kids and wonder why “A.D.D.” is so prevalent, and diabetes in children is becoming an epidemic
They tell you that artificial hormones don’t travel into milk. Ever wonder why 10 year old girls have large breasts these days? It couldn’t be the bovine growth hormone affecting their mammary glands just as in cows…
Back to agent orange. Anyone that claims that we didn’t know or suspect that spraying a chemical that makes jungles into desserts is an idiot.
11 posts. Minus the last one, because it’s just a correction.
10 posts. Minus 2 from idiots who saw fit to crack jokes about the plight of millions of innocent victims of an ill-conceived war.
8 serious posts about this. In a blog where always the same group of armchair statesmen have plenty of opinion to share.
8 serious posts and some of them amount to “tough shit, war is hell, get over it.”
I guess that also applies to 9/11? It was Jihad, that’s a war too. And when will the Jewish shut up about the goddamn Holocaust? It was war, war is hell, get over it.
The one country that won’t let others have nukes won’t give up its own, and is the only one that has actually used them. Twice. On civilians. Civilians who could barely understand WHY the world was at war, gone up in flashing light just because. Thousands of lives that never, NEVER will be brought back and have a chance to experience or achieve anything again.
Why is America so hated? Why?
Thanks for listening. You may now go back to your endless liberals vs. conservatives bickering. You know, things that matter.
Assholes.
Agent Orange has been around for over 40 years. If you start paying attention, you will see may military veterans now start getting their disabilities benefits from Agent Orange damages and illnesses. Why? Because they are now coming of retirement age and will qualify for Social Security and Medicare benefits. The VA will only have to pay a small portion, with the lion’s share coming out of Medicare and Social Security.
Rather than all the claims adding to the cost of military benefits, it will fall under Medicare. This allows military people to continue to complain about the growing excesses of the government, but not the cost of military. Wise and slick political maneuvering.
So, what should we do about it?
We won the war in Europe and we established the Marshal Plan to help rebuild.
We won the war in the Pacific and we became close allies with Japan and gave them a fortune to rebuild.
We lost the war in Viet Nam and we are currently in the middle of a $29 billion aid package to help them recover.
What the fuck do people want from us? We made a lot of mistakes in Viet Nam and we’re damn well paying for them.
Gee Dr Mengele, I thought the thread was developing nicely that it was the VIETNAMESE who were paying the price? Not that money isn’t relevant, but you know there is even a picture to direct the attention of those who are conscious?
What to do?
How about STOP USING LAND MINES? Sign the fr*cken Treaty? If not stopping their use, then develop one’s that deactivate after one year? Actually DO SOMETHING rather than devalue our currency?
Same with Agent Orange. When you have to attack Mother Earth to get at people, maybe the smarter thing is to recognize you are in a war you can’t win?
Reality is not friendly to many people. Sad, because in every case, “it can be.”
For confused foreigners, Agent Orange was a weaponized chemical herbicide. In the early 1970’s it was widely used to deforest jungles in South East Asia during the Vietnam War by the US military. It comprised of a blend of concentrated commercial herbicides, solvents, cellular absorbents and an orange dye. Very soon is was implicated as a cause of terrible fetal abnormality, still births, child deformity and life term non-specific illnesses for all troops and non-combatant civilians that were exposed to it. The use by military combatants of chemical weapons on civilian populations in war is a crime, according to the Geneva Convention.
Don’t really care. War is shit and sometimes you do or use nasty things. Why? Because war is shit. If you don’t understand this, you should. Its not game. I would douse the whole damn country if it meant saving one American soldier. Did we know it would be that bad? Nope, and at the time shouldn’t have cared if we knew.
It sucks but we are paying a lot of money to help out the Vietnam vets and civilians affected. NO OTHER country helps out after battle like we do. Land mines? once again I’ll spread them like seeds if it saves American lives. If this makes you squeamish, just be quiet and stay a play station soldier.
clownee–its shit for brains attitudes like yours that start and keep avoidable wars going. You know what “people” without limits in fact really are don’t you?
Yes, I mean other than proud of it.
# 17 bobbo, “Gee Dr Mengele,” Wow! That’s low. I didn’t say anything even faintly reminiscent of Mengele promoted. I simply feel we’re already paying for our mistakes. I recently returned from Viet Nam and trust me, the $14 billion we’ve given them in the last four years is helping their politicians more than it’s helping the people.
As for landmines: I’m willing to bet I’ve seen more landmines and treated more victims than you. I had a good friend in Luanda who died working for HALO (a demining agency) and I knew several people who lost their lives and/or limbs doing the same work. Yet, I understand some of the reasons they are used. I also understand the technology exists for them to be deactivated at a distance or to deactivate spontaneously after a time. I think one or both of those technologies should be installed or we should stop using them.
# 18 sargasso_c said, “The use by military combatants of chemical weapons on civilian populations in war is a crime, according to the Geneva Convention.” Very true. However, Agent Orange was never used as an antipersonnel weapon. It was a defoliant. Keep your arguments on track.
[Comment deleted – Violation of Posting Guidelines. – ed.]
Animby–I apologize. I had a half thought I over applied my idea that was not fully realized until I read it.
“Still” ((ha, ha)), it is jarring for me whenever I see you come out all macho and neo-con==or in any way that is not “patient oriented.” Its your REAL LIFE exposure to the REAL VICTIMS of war’s atrocities that would I think make you focus on the humans cost here rather than the monetary one?
So, Mengele to “cause” this human suffering?===No.
Mengele to “not recognize” this human suffering==yes you did stray from the straight and narrow good path that should guide your way.
In a world where I am 50% wrong, I will recognize my error and do better next time.
Bobbo: Thank you.
I’m sorry to come across as neo-con. I assure you I’m not. True, my political beliefs are all over the map but I try to avoid the extremes on either side.
At this point I think I’m just saturated with everyone from the Prez to the North Koreans lambasting the US as such a miserable bunch of bastards spreading hate and disease all over the world.
Doing the work I do, I have seen the absolute worst of human prejudice and intolerance. I’ve been threatened and shot at for simply trying to take care of people. In Kosovo I helped the War Crimes Tribunal investigators piece together body parts into whole corpses. I’ve hiked into recently bombed villages where women had their breasts removed with machetes. My point being that in war, soldiers and even civilians do some pretty horrible things. The US is no better or worse in my opinion. But, the US is well known for sticking around after and trying to help clean up the mess. We get lots of credit for screwing up and little credit for helping out. I’m no flag waver but it gets me down.
“In a world where I am 50% wrong…” As a doc I can tell you, I may not always be right but I am almost never wrong!
Animby==well I’m half tanked right now so I won’t accuse you of waffling when the time came for you to make an introspective realization – one over statement per day is enough. I completely accept the frustration and warping that being on the end of a constant political message can bring. So, indeed sometimes your better reality gets swamped/sidestepped? More than most you reference your “personal experience” as informing your positions/postings. We all have personal experience, but I concede yours are more rarefied and impactful. I’d think Snowden’s Secret being lived, rather than just read about, would be more central to your episodic outlook on life? Therefor, I’ll keep you on a short leash, just as I do myself.
I do wish you had not, and will not soon again, mention a Philly Cheesesteak.
# 25 bobbo, “I do wish you had not, and will not soon again, mention a Philly Cheesesteak.”
How do you think I feel, half a world away from being able to have one?
I’m more Yossarian than Snowden, thank heaven. When I spill my guts it tends to be verbally.
One member of Congress was assuring us that North and South Vietnam exist today side by side.
I admire the Vietnamese, who recovered so well from so many decades of horror. It seems that the poison affected combatants on both sides (including USA’s South Vietnamese allies, their families and now their descendants) in great measure.
I hope that Iraq will be able to do likewise, but doubt it.
I thought that conservatives were all in favour of taking care of their responsibilities, paying for damages caused. No? What I thought conservatives were against was excessive regulation and legislation. Time has moved along. On this issue, we will be able to count who is conservative, and who is just, er, inglorious.
“It is because of America’s chemical war against her people ”
no comment 🙁
“Lots of people are worse than me.”
After it was born like this, it cares about others. What a strong man.