wired.com— American soldiers also are beginning to suffer injuries from a silent and pernicious weapon material of U.S. origin—depleted uranium
Oct 19, 2006View in Crawl 4
there have been a few 'uranium burns up'... burning usually means it mixes or combines with oxygen or other materials....So its not really gone, its just oxidized as fine particles, now heavy metals like uranium can't be good to breath, lead is less dense and is a hazard because it is a heavy metal. The simple fact that Uranium oxidizes when exposed to air, makes me very concerned about using DU as a munition.
DU penetrates armor because it is more dense than the material through which it is passing at a very high velocity, period. It doesn't penetrate because it's radioactive (or not), has been sprinkled with fairy dust from eeeevil neo-cons. Does it matter if the 2,000 degree metal flying around is steel or DU? No. Coal isn't really dangerous either, unless you're working in a coal mine. You all forget about not only tank rounds and the 19K that handle them, but the hundreds of thousands of airmen that have handled GAU-8 ammo since the early 80s, pilots in the AH-64, Bradley crewmen, Avenger Crewmen, etc. Much like a rifle round, there's going to be "dust" containing all sorts of nasty stuff around the mouth of the barrel and nosecone (or other nearby part) of the aircraft when it lands, and none of them appear to have come down with "GWS" or the like.The primary method of defeat for DU rounds is reactive armor, or other types that bleed off energy or change the angle of impact of the DU penetrator from the SABOT. You don't line the outside of tanks with lead or fireproof material, it's just straight physics.Also, in respnse to a comment a bit lower down, heavy metals do not just transit through the atmosphere ad-nauseum spreading death and disease for centuries. Precipitation "scrubs" the air pretty efficiently, just like after a normal thermo-nuke explosion. Birth defects are more often going to be caused by malnutrition and poor sanitation than by anything else.
@ohearnIt is a moral choice. Do you let your government go on killing innocent people because it made a stupid "mistake"? Do you let your government go on trying to play God in Iraq, even though it's _utterly_ screwed up from the word go? Or do you do the hard thing, get off your butt, and put a stop to it.Sooner or later one has to decide to do the right thing . . .
The story of the USS Liberty is particularly relevant to Iraq, and to preventing war with Iran.The Liberty was to be sunk by Israel, and blamed on Egypt, bringing the U.S. into war with Egypt. If you look at the neocon agenda, it is to secure Israel by having the U.S. take every possible threat off the board. And if that is accomplished by deception < cough > WMDs? < /cough > then that is what it takes.Soldier's lives? Secondary, to both Israel and the U.S.
jugalatorOct 19, 2006
That's not restricted to Digg, and since it isn't, you should start asking yourself why.
gabrielsOct 19, 2006
To: nfultonStick to the science. You don't speak for Iraqis. Stop pretending like you do.
Closed AccountOct 19, 2006
I call it sarcasm, and it's true DDT is not harmful to humans as once thought.
Closed AccountOct 19, 2006
121 grams @ $660.00, damn it was sold! Depleted Uranium handgun rounds anybody?<a class="user" href="http://www.unitednuclear.com/121.jpg">http://www.unitednuclear.com/121.jpg</a> I think that would be enough.
bloodstoneOct 19, 2006
there have been a few 'uranium burns up'... burning usually means it mixes or combines with oxygen or other materials....So its not really gone, its just oxidized as fine particles, now heavy metals like uranium can't be good to breath, lead is less dense and is a hazard because it is a heavy metal. The simple fact that Uranium oxidizes when exposed to air, makes me very concerned about using DU as a munition.
nonlegOct 19, 2006
DU penetrates armor because it is more dense than the material through which it is passing at a very high velocity, period. It doesn't penetrate because it's radioactive (or not), has been sprinkled with fairy dust from eeeevil neo-cons. Does it matter if the 2,000 degree metal flying around is steel or DU? No. Coal isn't really dangerous either, unless you're working in a coal mine. You all forget about not only tank rounds and the 19K that handle them, but the hundreds of thousands of airmen that have handled GAU-8 ammo since the early 80s, pilots in the AH-64, Bradley crewmen, Avenger Crewmen, etc. Much like a rifle round, there's going to be "dust" containing all sorts of nasty stuff around the mouth of the barrel and nosecone (or other nearby part) of the aircraft when it lands, and none of them appear to have come down with "GWS" or the like.The primary method of defeat for DU rounds is reactive armor, or other types that bleed off energy or change the angle of impact of the DU penetrator from the SABOT. You don't line the outside of tanks with lead or fireproof material, it's just straight physics.Also, in respnse to a comment a bit lower down, heavy metals do not just transit through the atmosphere ad-nauseum spreading death and disease for centuries. Precipitation "scrubs" the air pretty efficiently, just like after a normal thermo-nuke explosion. Birth defects are more often going to be caused by malnutrition and poor sanitation than by anything else.
nfultonOct 20, 2006
@ohearnIt is a moral choice. Do you let your government go on killing innocent people because it made a stupid "mistake"? Do you let your government go on trying to play God in Iraq, even though it's _utterly_ screwed up from the word go? Or do you do the hard thing, get off your butt, and put a stop to it.Sooner or later one has to decide to do the right thing . . .
nfultonOct 20, 2006
What makes you think he was joking?His strategy would work. He'd just have to flee the country . . .
williamdyerOct 20, 2006
The story of the USS Liberty is particularly relevant to Iraq, and to preventing war with Iran.The Liberty was to be sunk by Israel, and blamed on Egypt, bringing the U.S. into war with Egypt. If you look at the neocon agenda, it is to secure Israel by having the U.S. take every possible threat off the board. And if that is accomplished by deception < cough > WMDs? < /cough > then that is what it takes.Soldier's lives? Secondary, to both Israel and the U.S.