NYT: Pentagon Ignored Hundreds Of Soldiers Exposed To Chemicals In Iraq
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More than 600 American service members since 2003 have reported to military medical staff members that they believe they were exposed to chemical warfare agents in Iraq, but the Pentagon failed to recognize the scope of the reported cases or offer adequate tracking and treatment to those who may have been injured, defense officials say.
The Pentagon’s disclosure abruptly changed the scale and potential costs of the United States’ encounters with abandoned chemical weapons during the occupation of Iraq, episodes the military had for more than a decade kept from view…
The Times initially disclosed 17 cases of American service members who were injured by sarin or sulfur mustard agent. And since the report was published last month, more service members have come forward, pushing the number who were exposed to chemical agents to more than 25. But an internal review of Pentagon records ordered by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has now uncovered that hundreds of troops told the military they believe they were exposed, officials said.[su_csky_ad]
tracey marie November 6th, 2014 at 8:34 pm
Basically bush/cheney lied us into war, ignored the illnesses of the soldiers how typical.
arc99 November 6th, 2014 at 8:36 pm
But now that we have a Republican majority in both houses of Congress, blaming President Obama will be a piece of cake.
There will be demands for investigations, hearings and impeachment.
Who cares if it happened before the President was elected. They are Republicans. Reality is irrelevant.
tracey marie November 6th, 2014 at 8:39 pm
and then they will have to explain the 2003-2009 years….this will be fun.
granpa.usthai November 7th, 2014 at 12:04 am
under the 2001 Republican Patriot Act they may not be able to talk about that time period unless it was a color code green day.
granpa.usthai November 6th, 2014 at 11:34 pm
The Republican Majority Congress ran it’s 2014 campaign on EXCELLENT Health Care for Veterans. Day 1 they used to explain how they’re gonna use their Majority to help themselves (god,country and vets be damned) – day 2 has been used to explain how they’re gonna dismantle healthcare and go back to the ‘be rich enough to have your accountants write it off on your tax returns (plus a little kick back from the IRS). Honestly, I don’t think the SAME Republicans are going to do anything different than before – SAME LIARS – SAME LIES – but for the idiot trolls that want to cluck with the Senate clackers – we’ll see. 2 years no BS, blame game, Limbaugh math, we’ll see if they make good on their PROMISES – if not, I raise my right hand here and now and pledge to never offer comfort aid or support to a damn Republican or any other enemy of the people of The United States of America – EVER.
granpa.usthai November 6th, 2014 at 11:58 pm
well, they knew when Obama won the Democrat Primary in NC in 2008 that Obama would be the POTUS that would hate the US Military so much that he’d have sent them in anyway! This was his policy when he sneaked the Japanese maps of Pearl Harbor in September 1941, sat in the back of the boat General Washington used to cross the Delaware River in and punched holes in the bottom with the edge of his manacles, blew out one of the candles that Paul Revere was counting on and intentionally hide a star from Betsy Ross causing her to take longer to sew the flag! Not only that, he stole the Pilgrims turkey and left a dead chicken that looked just like Mitch McConnell to chew on. Redrew the Maps Lewis and Clark made (giving away half the west to Canada) threw the 1918 World Series, gives the Mexicans half the Rio Grande River, calls the bay of Texorida the Gulf of Mexico and freedom fries French fries! Calls the northern Polynesian Islands the ‘State of Hawaii’ (so he can run for POTUS) licked the Good Ship Lollipop right down the middle and cuts in line @ Texas BBQ Houses.
granpa.usthai November 7th, 2014 at 12:13 am
no, having your intel sources feed false info to you so you will be misled is not the same as LYING – so said the left wing liberal mainstream media that had no more follow up questions than when Reagan said
‘well – I guess I did’.
rg9rts November 7th, 2014 at 3:12 am
I’ve been lax…..TAG
tiredoftea November 6th, 2014 at 8:46 pm
Another war, another chemical attack on our own soldiers.
crc3 November 6th, 2014 at 10:05 pm
Disgusting attitude and coverup by the MIC. More to come…
granpa.usthai November 7th, 2014 at 12:15 am
some of the Repugs to this very day are still denying the effects of agent orange.
Maybe by 2054, but I doubt it.
rg9rts November 7th, 2014 at 3:11 am
They’ll admit it when we are all dead
Cosmic_Surfer November 6th, 2014 at 10:38 pm
From the “Did you hear the Beatles broke up?” department. Nice of the NY Times to get around to a story on that which “we” (as in the “we,” the activists who protest the US Perpetual War state in the 21st Century) have been sounding alarms for over a decade….And it isn’t just the veterans (and it is 10’s of thousands of them not merely “hundreds”) but the entire planet is at risk. India started showing signs of deformation of fetuses as early as 2005 from depleted uranium…other countries even earlier, dating back to the 1990’s..
For the global effects:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/depleted-uranium-is-blowing-in-the-wind/2057
As for Iraqis and Afghanis…Might as well plan on a few generations of increased cancers, deformities and early deaths. They are living in the toxic dump left courtesy of US Imperialism
Spirit of America November 6th, 2014 at 11:14 pm
But there were no wmd’s in iraq…
As I’ve said way before these stories came, give it time, more is on the way……..
granpa.usthai November 7th, 2014 at 12:08 am
-just like GW himself said.
arc99 November 7th, 2014 at 10:40 am
There was no threat to the United States from Saddam which justified 35,000 American dead and wounded, 100,000 Iraqi civilian casualties, or the $1trillion+ this war has cost American taxpayers.
There is no way to paint lipstick on the pig that was the invasion of Iraq.
As the article notes, there was no active weapons program. The shells were found in storage. Storage facilities that the UN inspectors were not given time to locate and inventory because this country was swept up in war frenzy and anyone who questioned the bloodlust was deemed a “traitor”.
When it is all said and done, I suppose history will be the judge. Which was the greater transgression against common sense and the American people? Was it the war in Iraq where hundreds of billions were spent and thousands died for nothing? Or was it Solyndra which cost 1/10 of one percent of what we spent in Iraq, and nobody died.
Spirit of America November 7th, 2014 at 10:47 am
But justification is a different topic than I’m addressing, and/but your point there is well read.
“As the article notes, there was no active weapons program”
This is on topic, and like I said about 2 years ago here and many other places when it was touted as ‘none’, give it time, more will come out, esp about the quantity and ‘where are they/did they go’.
rg9rts November 7th, 2014 at 3:10 am
Welcome Bro to the ranks of the agent orange generation…..you’ll get used to being screwed by the gov in the hopes that you’ll die off before they have to pay
Budda November 7th, 2014 at 8:45 am
The military is Americas biggest polluter. They expose the troops to all kinds of crap even in peace.