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Depleted uranium weapons in Iraq
- Thread starter charboneau
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The US has used more chemical weapons/WMD than any other nation.
More about the US and its chemical warfare.
More about the US and its chemical warfare.
This kind of news makes me sick. It just shows how ugly war is and how, although we'd like to believe we are the brave and just champions of good, there is no no such absolute.
Open your eyes to our government's actions. Question them at every step. They don't deserve our trust, and distrust is the only thing that can keep them in line.
Taft
Open your eyes to our government's actions. Question them at every step. They don't deserve our trust, and distrust is the only thing that can keep them in line.
Taft
There you go again Psuedobrit with your typical anti-american rant. There is no denying that the US is responsible for some horrible things it its history. That being said...you seem to bring up these episodes yet you turn a blind eye to what Saddam Hussein and his regime has done.
Originally posted by skunk
Of course, you could just as well put that the other way round....
I think not. There is a huge difference between dropping a chemical that you THINK will harm the jungle that the enemy hides in, and deliberately targeting civilians with the goal of killing them.
Also, his line is BS. We have not used more WMD than any other nation.
Donthurtme:
Its a known fact that depleted uranium is used to tip certain munitions in the US arsenal. That those weapons is being used now is not by any means disputable. For example the rounds fired from the gatling gun in the A-10 warthog are tipped with depleted uranium - thats part of why that aircraft is so effective against armour.
What should make you feel like an ass is the horrible effects its going to have on this and the next god knows how many generations of Iraqis. The side effects are hideous. Lots of Cancer to go around - which really sucks if you don't have the proper medical infrastructure to deal with it.
I know the link posted is from a pretty out there to the left and beyond website but this is something not laugh about. I also doubt they are illegal they were widely used in Kosovo conflict during NATO sorties - but the side effects are not good.
Its a known fact that depleted uranium is used to tip certain munitions in the US arsenal. That those weapons is being used now is not by any means disputable. For example the rounds fired from the gatling gun in the A-10 warthog are tipped with depleted uranium - thats part of why that aircraft is so effective against armour.
What should make you feel like an ass is the horrible effects its going to have on this and the next god knows how many generations of Iraqis. The side effects are hideous. Lots of Cancer to go around - which really sucks if you don't have the proper medical infrastructure to deal with it.
I know the link posted is from a pretty out there to the left and beyond website but this is something not laugh about. I also doubt they are illegal they were widely used in Kosovo conflict during NATO sorties - but the side effects are not good.
I don't know what to say...
Which kills a person more efficiently, a regular bullet or a bullet tipped with uranium? Actually, if a person is hit in a vital area with either of those bullets, I suspect he would die quickly, without a noticeable effect. The uranium is just an added and completely unwarrented bit of nastiness, which is also extremely dangerous when used in large quantities.
So, we don't want Saddam and terrorists to get their hands on uranium, so that they are incapable of building nukes, etc. Therefore, we shoot at them with little bits of uranium.
It is quite possible that the uranium in the tips of these weapons could be collected and enriched into uranium capable of producing quite a blast....especially with 320-1000 metric tons of it.
I heard rumours of this from my friends a few weeks ago, but I didn't really believe it would be true. Right now, I don't know what to believe (though I hope for the sake of the world that it is all lies).
Which kills a person more efficiently, a regular bullet or a bullet tipped with uranium? Actually, if a person is hit in a vital area with either of those bullets, I suspect he would die quickly, without a noticeable effect. The uranium is just an added and completely unwarrented bit of nastiness, which is also extremely dangerous when used in large quantities.
So, we don't want Saddam and terrorists to get their hands on uranium, so that they are incapable of building nukes, etc. Therefore, we shoot at them with little bits of uranium.
It is quite possible that the uranium in the tips of these weapons could be collected and enriched into uranium capable of producing quite a blast....especially with 320-1000 metric tons of it.
I heard rumours of this from my friends a few weeks ago, but I didn't really believe it would be true. Right now, I don't know what to believe (though I hope for the sake of the world that it is all lies).
You know what?
ABC has depleted uranium and shipped it into the U.S in one of there reports. Accorind to the border people it should have been detected, but no, it wasn't. They got it shipped into the harbor, no detecting, (south ca.) they shipped it through Washington D.C no detection they got it into NYC. nothing, and when they tested it, guess what?
All gov't grade detectors should have found it.
BTW, depleted uranium is nothing, its probably the one from when Isreal destroed Iraq's original Nuclear Power plant.
Whatever, the U.S has more WMD than any nation. Period.
ABC has depleted uranium and shipped it into the U.S in one of there reports. Accorind to the border people it should have been detected, but no, it wasn't. They got it shipped into the harbor, no detecting, (south ca.) they shipped it through Washington D.C no detection they got it into NYC. nothing, and when they tested it, guess what?
All gov't grade detectors should have found it.
BTW, depleted uranium is nothing, its probably the one from when Isreal destroed Iraq's original Nuclear Power plant.
Whatever, the U.S has more WMD than any nation. Period.
Re: I don't know what to say...
But luckily (you failed to point out) that this is DEPLETED uranium, totally harmless inless you somehow have it put inside of you and contiune to live for a good 500 years. Yes, no effect. Nada, nothing.
Very true enriched uranium can do tons of damage. But depleted? Its like saying adding quartz or talc to a bullet will do more damage. Nah.
Originally posted by elfin buddy
Which kills a person more efficiently, a regular bullet or a bullet tipped with uranium? Actually, if a person is hit in a vital area with either of those bullets, I suspect he would die quickly, without a noticeable effect. The uranium is just an added ? and completely unwarrented ? bit of nastiness, which is also extremely dangerous when used in large quantities.
So, we don't want Saddam and terrorists to get their hands on uranium, so that they are incapable of building nukes, etc. Therefore, we shoot at them with little bits of uranium.
It is quite possible that the uranium in the tips of these weapons could be collected and enriched into uranium capable of producing quite a blast....especially with 320-1000 metric tons of it.
I heard rumours of this from my friends a few weeks ago, but I didn't really believe it would be true. Right now, I don't know what to believe (though I hope for the sake of the world that it is all lies).
But luckily (you failed to point out) that this is DEPLETED uranium, totally harmless inless you somehow have it put inside of you and contiune to live for a good 500 years. Yes, no effect. Nada, nothing.
Very true enriched uranium can do tons of damage. But depleted? Its like saying adding quartz or talc to a bullet will do more damage. Nah.
Think of lead, now think of depleted uranium, not much difference hence the word depleted uranium. This isnt exactly radioactive material thats being shot everywhere hello. Depleted! and on another matter the tanks are being taken out by many ways. not just by A-10's
MrMacman:
I decided not to bother pointing out, once again, that we are talking about depleted uranium. I simply assumed that it would be completely obvious to anyone reading this thread. I apoligize for being wrong.
Regardless, depleted uranium is still uranium. The concentration of the radioisotopes in the depleted uranium is obviously lower than it would be in regular enriched uranium (well, duh), but it still posesses about 0.2%-0.3% U-235. The concentrations of U-235 in depleted uranium are still high enough to allow it to be fissioned!
Natural uranium (with about 0.7% concentration of U-235) is relatively harmless, but only in small doses. Holding a chunk of natural uranium in your hand will certainly not hurt you, as long as you don't hold it for any real period of time (like a week). Even though the U-235 concentration in depleted uranium is less than half of that in natural uranium, these people are LIVING with it EVERY DAY for their ENTIRE LIVES! Needless to say, it IS harmful!
I decided not to bother pointing out, once again, that we are talking about depleted uranium. I simply assumed that it would be completely obvious to anyone reading this thread. I apoligize for being wrong.
Regardless, depleted uranium is still uranium. The concentration of the radioisotopes in the depleted uranium is obviously lower than it would be in regular enriched uranium (well, duh), but it still posesses about 0.2%-0.3% U-235. The concentrations of U-235 in depleted uranium are still high enough to allow it to be fissioned!
Natural uranium (with about 0.7% concentration of U-235) is relatively harmless, but only in small doses. Holding a chunk of natural uranium in your hand will certainly not hurt you, as long as you don't hold it for any real period of time (like a week). Even though the U-235 concentration in depleted uranium is less than half of that in natural uranium, these people are LIVING with it EVERY DAY for their ENTIRE LIVES! Needless to say, it IS harmful!
The rounds vaporize the uranium upon impact. The dust travels for miles and the health effects last for generations.
Our troops have inhaled and ingested God knows how much of this stuff in the dust storms.
We saw how well we served our troops in the first Gulf War after they won that conflict. Ask one of the 600,000 sick vets if they feel lucky or if they feel like winners.
The United States has used more weapons of mass destruction against its enemies than any other nation in history. Read the articles that were posted.
We knew the effects of Agent Orange and exposed the Vietnamese and our troops to the toxic chemicals.
WHERE DO WE KEEP HEARING THAT LINE? My GOD! What kind of sick person would use WMD against his OWN PEOPLE?!!?
Well, the US did and is today doing just that. Anyone for this war is against our troops.
Our troops have inhaled and ingested God knows how much of this stuff in the dust storms.
We saw how well we served our troops in the first Gulf War after they won that conflict. Ask one of the 600,000 sick vets if they feel lucky or if they feel like winners.
The United States has used more weapons of mass destruction against its enemies than any other nation in history. Read the articles that were posted.
We knew the effects of Agent Orange and exposed the Vietnamese and our troops to the toxic chemicals.
WHERE DO WE KEEP HEARING THAT LINE? My GOD! What kind of sick person would use WMD against his OWN PEOPLE?!!?
Well, the US did and is today doing just that. Anyone for this war is against our troops.
I would be more concerned about Saddam and the chemical/bio weapons. Gulf war syndrome is from this crap that was blown up by accident 12 years ago, This should be our focus not letting madmen having the ability to obtain or use these weapons. How many Iraqi's has Saddam killed?
As a kid, I use to do a lot of fishing. Hence, I use to put lead sinkers on my line with my teeth. Now I do it with my Gerber mult-pliers. Am I in trouble?
You obviously don't know much about nuclear reactors. The common PWRs (Pressurized Water Reactor) and BWRs (Boiling Water Reactor) which both use light water as a coolant and various substances as moderators are, for the most part, incapable is fissioning uranium with such low concentrations of U-235. In fact, the U-235 concentrations in natural uranium must be enriched to 2.5%-3.0% to be fissioned in reactors such as these. However, these aren't the only types of reactors in the world.
Once typical American reactors have used up their enriched uranium to the point that it is no longer fissionable in their reactors (I think the U-235 concentration drops to about 1.0%, but I'm not sure), the depleted uranium is often sent north to Canada, where CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactors can fission this depleted uranium. Depending on which specific CANDU reactor is in question, they can be capable of fissioning even extremely low U-235 concentrations, as are found in the depleted uranium being used as tips for bullets.
If you want to know more, feel free to look it all up for yourself. I don't feel like typing much more about it.
Really? I had no idea....please ignore my lines about Saddam and terrorists possibly collecting the depleted uranium....
Originally posted by elfin buddy
Really? I had no idea....please ignore my lines about Saddam and terrorists possibly collecting the depleted uranium....
Well, they vaporise when the strike something other than, say, sand anyway. There are many intact rounds littering the Iraqi countryside.