Former U.S. Official In Iraq To Investigate Depleted Uranium
by Tareq Ayyoub
AMMAN (IslamOnline) - Former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark left for Baghdad Saturday, leading a multi-national delegation that will investigate the impact of depleted uranium (DU) used by U.S.-led multinational coalition during the 1990-91 Gulf War on the Iraqi population, sources said.
Sources indicated that Clark's trip would coincide with the 10th anniversary of the land battle that forced the Iraqi army to pullout from Kuwait after a seven-month occupation of the Gulf emirate state.
A statement from the International Action Center (IAC), founded by Clark, indicated that at least 50 people would board the Royal Jordanian plane transporting the delegation to Iraq.
"The delegation, which is bringing solidarity medical aid to Iraq, will have as a major project an investigation of illness in Iraq caused by the depleted uranium," a one-page IAC statement said.
Nicknamed the Sanctions Challenge, Clark explains the purpose of the flight in a statement made available to IslamOnline. "Our government [U.S.] is responsible for enormous suffering in Iraq and should be made to pay for the cleanup and care of the population."
Many U.S. and British soldiers who participated in the 1991 war have been affected by what has been called the Gulf Syndrome, purportedly caused by the use of DU during the war.
The IAC statement claims that the U.S. left 60,000 pounds of DU behind in the Gulf region.
Former Jordanian Lower House member Laith Shbeilath, who will accompany Clark to Iraq, said the delegation would express solidarity with Iraq after ten years of sanctions.
In addition to Clark and Shbeilath, the delegation includes: Damacio Lopez, a New Mexico activist, and IAC coordinator Sara Flounders, who co-edited "Metal of Dishonor: How the Pentagon Radiates Soldiers and Civilians with Depleted Uranium Weapons."
