Iraq’s Wrecked Environment
Half Life of a Toxic War Iraq’s Wrecked Environment ounterpunch May 1 By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR and JOSHUA FRANK – “………………….
Months of bombing during the first Gulf War by the United States and Great Britain left a deadly and insidious legacy: tons of shell casings, bullets and bomb fragments laced with depleted uranium. In all, the United States hit Iraqi targets with more than 970 radioactive bombs and missiles.
Depleted uranium (DU) is a rather benign sounding name for uranium-238, the trace element left behind when fissionable material is extracted from uranium-235 for nuclear reactors and weapons. For decades, this waste was a nuisance; by the late 1980s there were nearly a billion tons of the radioactive material piled at plutonium processing plants across the country. Then Pentagon weapons designers discovered a use for the tailings: they could be molded into bullets and bombs. Uranium is denser than lead, making it perfect for armor penetrating weapons designed to destroy tanks, armored personnel carriers and bunkers. When tank-busting bombs explode, depleted uranium oxidizes into microscopic fragments that float through the air, carried on the desert winds for decades. Inhaled, the lethal bits of carcinogenic dust stick to the lungs, eventually wreaking havoc in the form of tumors, hemorrhages, ravaged immune systems, and leukemia.
More than 15 years later, the dire health consequences of our first radioactive bombing campaign in this region are coming into focus. Since 1990, the incidence rate of leukemia in Iraq has increased over 600 percent.
Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank: Iraq’s Wrecked Environment
Israel stands ready to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites
Israel stands ready to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites
TimesOnLine The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government…………………. An Israeli attack on Iran would entail flying over Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, where US forces have a strong presence.
Ephraim Kam, the deputy director of the Institute for National Security Studies, said it was unlikely that the Americans would approve an attack.
“The American defence establishment is unsure that the operation will be successful. And the results of the operation would only delay Iran’s programme by two to four years,” he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6115903.ece
Yemen Drops Nuclear Power Idea; To Produce Wind and Thermal Energy
Yemen Drops Nuclear Power Idea; To Produce Wind and Thermal Energy Yemen Post 5, April, 2009
Minister of Electricity and Energy dismissed Wednesday the idea of producing nuclear energy in the country, saying it was not time to use nuclear power to deal with energy problems, mainly daily electricity cuts.However, Minister Awadh Al-Socotri affirmed the government has plans to produce wind and thermal energy instead.He said the government is about to sign deals with the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank to construct a wind-power plant in Makha province.
High Stakes for Moscow in U.S. Play for Iran
High Stakes for Moscow in U.S. Play for IranThe Moscow Times By Fyodor Lukyanov April 16, 2009 The situation in Iran will likely become the center of global tensions in the months and years ahead. Tehran’s desire to establish its status as a regional power will surely clash with Washington’s desire to solidify its own global leadership role. And Russia, which has one foot in both camps, will find itself in an increasingly difficult position………….
……………….Iran is a problem for Russia regardless of which direction Tehran goes. A nuclear-armed Iran would greatly destabilize the region. It is difficult to predict the extent and aim of Iran’s ambitions. Any attempt by the United States to apply force against Iran would mean that the military conflict would be brought to Russia’s southern border. Moreover, if Washington achieves its objectives in Iran, it would shift the strategic balance of power in favor of the United States and away from Moscow. But a failure by the United States to achieve its goals in Iran could undermine the existing balance of power.
U.S. Inks Nuclear Deal with Persian Gulf Sheikdom Cited for Human Rights Abuses
U.S. Inks Nuclear Deal with Persian Gulf Sheikdom Cited for Human Rights AbusesTuesday, April 14, 2009By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) – The State Department forged a nuclear cooperation deal with a Middle East ally that the department’s own human rights report criticizes for censorship of the media, trials without juries, arrests of homosexuals, flogging of prisoners who violate Islamic rules, and religious sermons drafted by a government agency, among other concerns.
The nuclear agreement between the United States and the UAE was concluded five days before President Barack Obama was inaugurated. The White House is expected to send it to Congress after April 20 for review. ………………………Once the nuclear cooperation deal is submitted, Congress has 90 days to review the agreement, which would allow joint ventures with U.S. firms to assist the UAE in building a fleet of civilian nuclear power plants, the first of which would be operating by 2017. The agreement would become binding absent congressional action within those 90 days. (If Congress objects through a joint resolution, the proposal could be amended or shelved.)
The agreement includes, as it states, an “exchange of scientific and technical information and documentation” between the United States and UAE; an “exchange and training of personnel;” “provisions relevant to technical assistance,” and the transfer of “material, equipment and components.” A key concern for members of Congress has been that the country has a record as a transshipment post to Iran.
CNSNews.com – U.S. Inks Nuclear Deal with Persian Gulf Sheikdom Cited for Human Rights Abuses
AFP: Iraq to create nuclear energy commission
Iraq to create nuclear energy commission7 hours ago Google News 10 April 09 BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq plans to create an atomic energy agency nearly three decades after Israeli bombers destroyed a reactor being built by the late dictator Saddam Hussein, the government spokesman said on Thursday.”The government has decided to create a national nuclear energy commission that will be responsible for controlling nuclear activities in the country and assuring they are in line with international regulations,” Ali al-Dabbagh said.”It will also deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAE) and other institutions, make suggestions on the peaceful use of atomic energy and be charged with disposing of nuclear waste,” he added.In 1976, Iraq and France signed an accord to build a nuclear reactor. Five years later, as the Iraq-Iran war raged and amid fears the nearly completed reactor might be loaded with nuclear fuel, it was bombed and heavily damaged by Israeli warplanes.There is still nuclear waste at that plant, 19 kilometres (12 miles) south of Baghdad, which must be disposed of.In February, Iraqi Electricity Minister Karim Wahid asked France to help the country build a new reactor.
Khatami: Israeli nukes the problem
Khatami: Israeli nukes the problem
The Age Daniel Flitton * March 26, 2009IRAN’s former president, Mohammad Khatami, has rejected claims that the Islamic republic is secretly developing nuclear weapons.Speaking in Melbourne yesterday, Dr Khatami said neighbouring countries with atomic arsenal pose a far greater threat to Middle East stability.”If there is a real concern about proliferation, we have to tackle the problem of these countries right now having nuclear arms in the region, not putting pressure on a country that doesn’t have such intention and there is no strategy of having nuclear weapons,” he said.Dr Khatami did not name countries, however Israel is the only Middle Eastern country said to posses nuclear weapons — a program Tel Aviv has never officially acknowledged.
A Nuclear Pandora’s Box
A Nuclear Pandora’s Box Khaleej Times Claude Salhani13 March 2009 – “,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Until now Israel was the only country in the region armed with nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them. Now with Iran entering into the Middle East political arena, and given its ambitions to obtain nuclear capabilities, it opens up a whole new Pandora’s box.
A nuclear-powered Pandora’s box in the possession of the Islamic republic, and depending on which experts one listens to, the contents of which could become operational as early as 2010 or 2011. The danger, besides the obvious, is that of nuclear proliferation in the region. What will the reaction from other Arab countries likely be? Will Saudi Arabia and Egypt not want to follow suit?
Does adding nuclear weapons not just further complicate the peace process, if there is even such a thing left? Indeed, is the Arab-Israeli peace process, or what’s left of it, still salvageable? That question was raised this week by Aaron David Miller, a former Arab-Israeli peace negotiator and a former adviser to six US secretaries of State at a discussion held at the Nixon Center in Washington…………………………….
There are three avenues, none of which are likely to lead to a conclusive peace agreement in the Middle East. First is if Iran voluntarily reneges on its nuclear programme; chances of that happening are about as good as an ayatollah becoming pope.
Second is if Israel destroys some of Iran’s nuclear making capability, move that would only amplify the crisis and augment the level of animosity between Iran and Israel. And it would not stop Iran’s march towards nuclear armament. It would only accentuate it.
Third alternative: accept a nuclear powered Iran, a move that is very likely to kick off a nuclear proliferation race in the Middle East, as mentioned earlier.
Israel mulling strike on Iran nuclear facilities
Israel mulling strike on Iran nuclear facilities – Washington, 5 March (IranVNC)—Israel is seriously considering taking unilateral military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, although the time frame for action is quickly fading, according to a report by top US political figures and experts released Wednesday.The nine-page report, entitled “Preventing a Cascade of Instability”, was put out by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.The bipartisan group, several of whose members met high-level Israeli officials to assess their perspective, said that Israeli leaders seem convinced that at least for now, they have a military option.
Evidence mounts of Syrian nuclear cover-up: U.S. | Reuters
Evidence mounts of Syrian nuclear cover-up: U.S.
By Mark Heinrich
VIENNA (Reuters) – The United States said on Wednesday that U.N. inspectors had found growing evidence of covert nuclear activity in Syria, and European allies said a lack of Syrian transparency demanded utmost scrutiny.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is looking into U.S. intelligence reports that Syria had almost built a North Korean-designed, nuclear reactor meant to yield bomb-grade plutonium before Israel bombed it in 2007.
Iran Says Its Missiles Can Reach Israel Nuclear Installations
Iran Says Its Missiles Can Reach Israel Nuclear Installations
By Ladane Nasseri
March 4 (Bloomberg) — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said Israeli nuclear sites are within the range of its missiles and warned that the Persian Gulf country will defend itself in the eventuality of military strikes.
“All of the facilities in different areas of the land occupied by the Zionist regimes are within reach of Iran’s missile defenses,” the Corps’ head, Mohammad Ali Jafari, was quoted as saying by the state-run Iranian Students News Agency………………….
Israel has indicated that it may hit Iran’s nuclear sites to cut short Iran’s progress in the nuclear field. The U.S. and Israel claim that Iran’s atomic program is aimed at developing weapons while the Middle-Eastern country says it only seeks to produce electricity.
Iran has missiles with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) putting all of Israel’s land including its nuclear sites within reach, Jafari said. Iran doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish state.
Iran must end ‘nuclear standoff’
Iran must end ‘nuclear standoff’ Aljazeera.net NEWS EUROPE March 02, 2009 Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN atomic watchdog, has urged Iran to co-operate with the international community and be transparent over its nuclear programme.
He said: “I again urge Iran to implement all measures required to build confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme at the earliest possible date and to unblock this stalemated situation.”
Speaking at the beginning of a week-long meeting of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, he also appeared to express hope that the United States’ apparent change in policy towards Iran would help resolve the problem.
“I am hopeful that the apparent fresh approach by the international community to dialogue with Iran will give new impetus to the efforts to resolve this long-standing issue,” he said.
Barack Obama, the new US president, has signalled that Washington may be willing to talk to Tehran over the two countries’ relations.
The United Nations has demanded Iran suspend its enrichment programme over fears it could be used to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran denies the charge, saying its programme is only for generating electricity.
Despite a six-year investigation, the IAEA has been unable to determine whether or not Iran’s uranium enrichment programme is intended for peaceful purposes.
Iran and USA – new approach needed
Iran and USA – new approach needed
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 26/02/2009
……….ROBERT BAER:………………………President Obama is moving tentatively to open up serious dialogue with Iran, but that process could be a long, slow one. And if further evidence emerges that Iran is moving closer to nuclear weapons capacity, he would come under pressure to act pre-emptively…………………………….what’s happened is that the United States looks at the Middle East through Israel. And the Arabs and the Persians look at Israel as an outpost of the United States of the West. We’ve lost this anti-colonial game and the Iranians have won it. They’ve simply portrayed themselves as not as religious fanatics, but as an anti-colonial power. And everybody in the Middle East, you look at the polls across the board, even countries like Morocco, which are entirely Sunni, look to Tehran as the great anti-imperial power. We’ve lost the ideological war. You know, that doesn’t mean we lost the war entirely, but we’ve lost the ideological war, but by bringing Iran to the negotiating table; by implementing Resolution 242; closing the settlements in the West Bank; getting the Israelis to a position where they don’t have to feel they have to bomb Gaza; will normalise relations in the Middle East…………. It’s a military dictatorship and any military conflict can be negotiated. Ideological ones cannot be…………………………….The nuclear weapons is a red herring in this conflict with Iran because the Iranians are not going to build a bomb now. I’m almost convinced of it. In as much as you can predict anything, they are not going to build and test a bomb now. It causes them too much problems – too many problems – they’ve gained too much. There would be international embargo, sanctions and on and on. Even Russia and China would back away. Nuclear bomb – they don’t need one right now, it’s just a way to get us to the negotiating table. But the major point is they’re not going to commit suicide. If the Iranians wanted to commit suicide, they could have done it long ago in the Gulf. Started a war with the United States. And they’re not going to start one with Israel either.
What the coming dialogue between US-Iran holds
What the coming dialogue between US-Iran holds Saudi Gazette Patrick Seale 26 February 2009 A WASHINGTON consensus is emerging about the necessity of talking to Iran – sooner rather than later. President Barack Obama has spoken of reaching out to the Islamic Republic, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has responded by expressing a readiness to talk. He has even written a letter to Obama congratulating him on his election. This must surely be taken as a signal of a coming thaw.Both sides recognize that, after 30 years of stubborn mutual hostility, the time for dialogue has arrived. It may still be premature to expect an early restoration of diplomatic relations, but the opening of a US-staffed interests section in Tehran seems a likely prospect…………………..Several developments seem to be driving the US and Iran to the negotiating table. Of these, probably the most important is Iran’s progress in enriching uranium. Although it denies any intention to manufacture nuclear weapons, Iran’s scientific and technological achievement suggests that it is on the ‘threshold’ of becoming a nuclear power. But it is by no means certain that it will choose to take that extra step.
America’s interest lies in persuading Iran to go no further, while Iran’s interest is to go just far enough to deter any would-be attacker, but not so far as to arouse the fears of its neighbors, and incur the problems and responsibilities of actually becoming a nuclear power.
Saudi Gazette – What the coming dialogue between US-Iran holds
Iraq’s War Disfigured Babies
Iraq’s War Disfigured Babies iSLAMoNlINE.NET By Afif Sarhan, Feb. 23, 2009 BAGHDAD— In new Iraq, women like Leila Omar Wassin are heart-broken giving birth to babies born malformed because of the deadly substances years of war have sown in their bodies.
“My first baby died after he was born without legs and the second one died few days ago because his spinal cord was exposed and his head was too big,” the 36-old woman told IslamOnline.net.
Wassim is one of the victims of the massive bombing of Fallujah in 2004, when the US army admittedly used depleted uranium munitions, which contain low-level radioactive waste……………………………
After denying it at first, the Pentagon admitted in November 2005 that white phosphorous, a restricted incendiary weapon, was used in shelling Fallujah.
It also admitted to having used more than 1,200 tons of depleted uranium munitions in Iraq during the 2003 invasion.
The plight of babies’ birth defects has exacerbated over the years, becoming a common occurrence for doctors and nurses.
“Baghdad has shown a high level of contamination,” a doctor and a researcher at a Red Crescent Hospital in Baghdad told IOL, requesting anonymity.
“In 2005, we had about 600 cases reported at public hospitals and three years latter, this number has doubled.”
1 This Month
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- May 2026 (37)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 