[DU-WATCH] What the US KNOWS about DU

International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan

QUESTION 11.  
WHAT DOES THE U.S. GOVT. KNOW ABOUT DU?

November 25, 2003
By Leuren Moret  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

11. The US government flatly denies risk of DU officially.

World Health Organization published a similar report recently.

Please tell us what you think the US government really knows.

1943 - MANHATTAN PROJECT:   Memo to General Leslie R. Groves  October
30, 1943 Blueprint for Depleted Uranium weapons

Recommendation from Manhattan Project physicists (Compton, Urey,
Connant) to develop radioactive battlefield weapons "which would
behave like a radioactive gas"

using nuclear trash from the atomic bomb program in order to beat
the Germans who might do it first.

Depleted uranium was specifically mentioned in other communications.

http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/Groves-Memo-Manhattan30oct43.htm
Source of document:  Major Doug Rokke, U.S. Army Head of Depleted
Uranium Project to clean up Iraq and Kuwait after1991 Gulf War.

1946 - OPEN LITERATURE:  ACTIONS OF RADIATIONS ON LIVING CELLS

by D.E. Lea, Cambridge University Press (1946) (includes early
research beginning in 1927 by H.J. Muller on genetic mutations in
Drosophila from ionizing radiation);

through collaboration with the Radiological Society of North America,
the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, and the Royal
Society.

1950 - U.S. ARMY Pamphlet:   THE EFFECTS OF ATOMIC WEAPONS

9.40 "...The uranium and plutonium which may have escaped fission
in the nuclear weapon represent a further possible source of residual
nuclear radiation..."

9.41 "The alpha particles from uranium and plutonium... are completely
absorbed in an inch or two of air.... indicates that uranium and
plutonium deposited on the earth do not represent a serous external
hazard."

9.42 "Although there is negligible danger from uranium and plutonium
outside the body, it is possible for dangerous amounts of these
elements to enter the body through the lungs, the digestive system,
or breaks in the skin.  Plutonium, for example, tends to concentrate
in bone and lungs, where the prolonged action of the alpha particles
can cause serious harm."

THE EFFECTS OF ATOMIC WEAPONS (1950), U.S. Army  republished 1957,
1962, 1964 as THE EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, Dept. of the Army
Pamphlet No.50-3, Headquarters, Dept. of the Army (March 1977).

1974-99 - U.S. MILITARY: Research Report Summaries on Depleted
Uranium

Major research on military use of depleted uranium, 1974-1999,
Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses - "GulfLINK"

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/du_ii/du_ii_tabl1.htm These summaries
represent extensive research to test and characterize depleted
uranium as a military weapon.  The summaries confirm everything
that was known in 1943 in the Groves Memo.

1976 - U.S. AIR FORCE:  "INTERNATIONAL LAW - - THE CONDUCT OF ARMED
CONFLICT AND AIR OPERATIONS"  -  November 19, 1976 Judge Advocate
General Activities  Air Force Pamphlet  AFP 110-31

The U.S. Department of the Air Force manual, "International Law:
The conduct of Armed Conflict and Air Operations", AFP 110-31,
November 19, 1976 (hereinafter "USAF manual"), governs the actions
of all U.S. Air Force pilots including operators of the A-10
Thunderbolts. This Air Force manual acknowledges that the Department
of the Air Force must adhere to international and U.S. military law
regarding bombardment and air operations.

"It is especially important that treaties, having the force of law
equal to laws enacted by the Congress of the United States, be
scrupulously adhered to by the United States armed forces." This
is the legal policy of the U.S. Department of Defense. (USAF manual,
p. 1-7)

Article VI of the Constitution of the United States says: "...all
treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges
in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution
or the laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."

"The following are relevant examples of treaties to which the U.S.
is a party: Hague Conventions IV of October 18, 1907 (USAF manual,
p. 1-7); Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of
Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods
of Warfare of 1925 [the Geneva Gas Protocol, June 17, 1925] (USAF
manual, p. 1-7); Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of
Civilians in Time of War, August 12, 1949." (USAF manual, p. 1-8)

Even without a formal declaration of war, the United States Department
of Defense is legally obligated under the U.S. Constitution to obey
the laws of war. "The law of armed conflict applies to an international
armed conflict regardless of whether a declared war exists." (USAF
manual, p. 1-10) "The Armed Forces of the United States will comply
with the law of war in the conduct of military operations and related
activities in armed conflict however such conflicts are characterized."
(USAF manual, p. 1-8)

Although uranium weapons are not banned by name in an existent
treaty, they are illegal under binding Air Force law and international
conventions. "Any weapon may be put to an unlawful use." (USAF
manual, p. 6-1) "A weapon may be illegal per se if either international
custom or treaty has forbidden its use under all circumstances. An
example is poison to kill or injure a person." (USAF manual, p.
6-1) The International Court of Justice recognizes this rule in its
Advisory Opinion, "Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons"
(International Court of Justice Reports, 1996). In paragraph 87 of
that Opinion, the Court found that the principles and rules of
humanitarian law apply to all weapons, including nuclear ones. In
other parts of the Opinion the Court stresses the duty to evaluate
legality or illegality prior to use in military operations.

The Geneva Gas Protocol prohibits, "the use in war of asphyxiating,
poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials
or devices." (USAF manual, p.6-3, 6-4) The Geneva  Conventions now
include the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Protocol Additional
I, and Protocol Additional II. [The two protocols strongly set out
prohibitions of military operations that would unleash hazardous
forces (such as an attack on a nuclear power facility or a dam) or
would damage the natural environment or water supply. ]

The 1907 Hague Convention IV, at Section II, Article 23, absolutely
forbids any use of poison. It states: "In addition to the prohibitions
provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden  a) To
employ poison or poisoned weapons; b) To kill or wound treacherously
individuals belonging to the hostile nation army; e) To employ arms,
projectiles, or material calculated to cause unnecessary suffering."
(USAF manual, p.5-1) Poison is defined in the Air Force manual in
a way that clearly describes uranium munitions: "Poisons are
biological or chemical substances causing death or disability with
permanent effects when, in even small quantities, they are ingested,
enter the lungs or bloodstream, or through the skin. The longstanding
customary prohibition against poison is based on their uncontrolled
character and the inevitability of death or permanent disability
as well as on a traditional belief that it is treacherous to use
poison."

(USAF manual, p. 6-5) U.S. Air Force Pamphlet [Manual]  AFP 110-31
"U.S. Air Force and International Law Forbid the Use of Uranium
Weapons"

by Karen Parker, J.D., Diplome (Strasbourg) and Piotr Bein, PhD.

Source: John LaForge, Nukewatch      http://www.nukewatch.com/

1978 - 95th CONGRESS AND U.S. PRESIDENT - Speech by Senator Bob
Dole

Making Bullets Out of Depleted Uranium -  Mr. Dole: "Mr. President,
an article appeared in the Washington Star on March 14 [1978],
reporting that the Pentagon is about to start using depleted-uranium
to produce bullets.  They seem to have chosen this material for
bullets because uranium metal is dense, and because depleted uranium
is cheap.  Needless to say, I find this proposal shocking.  On the
one hand this shows a complete lack of sensitivity to the general
fear of using radioactive materials.  On the other hand, only a
strange set of policy decisions could have made this material so
cheap that anybody would consider using it for bullets."

Opening paragraph of 140-line long statement by Senator Bob Dole
at the 95th Congress, 2nd Session, Vol. 124 (part 29) March 17,
1978, page 7416.

1979 - U.S. ARMY:  Mobility Equipment, Research & Development Command

The U.S. Army Mobility Equipment, Research & Development Command,
March 7, 1979, states:  "Not only the people in the immediate
vicinity (emergency and fire fighting personnel) but also people
at distances downwind from the fire are faced with potential over
exposure to air borne uranium dust."

1984 - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY -  Testing Problems from DU
Contamination

"Prototype Firing Range Air Cleaning System" by J.A. Glissmeyer,
J. Mishima and J.A.

Bamberger, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, Washington,
Proceedings of the 18th DOE Nuclear Airborne Waste Management and
Air Cleaning Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, August 12-16, 1984.
Published March 1985, Editor M.W. First, U.S. Dept. of Energy and
The Harvard Air Cleaning Laboratory; CONF-840806 Vol. 2.

"The Ballistics Research Laboratory, a component of the U.S. Army
Research and Development Command, contracted with Pacific Northwest
Laboratory (PNL) to provide a prototype air cleaning system for a
new large caliber firing range where depleted uranium munitions are
testfired. ...too costly to operate... rapid particle loading results
in short filter life necessitating frequent replacement and disposal
as low-level radioactive waste.

The rapid particle loading also results in decreased airflow causing
an excessive waiting period before personnel can reenter the target
area."

"The U.S. Army Material Test Directorate (MTD) and the Ballistics
Research Laboratory (BRL) both operate two firing ranges (Ranges
A, B, and C, D respectively) for the testing of large caliber
depleted uranium (DU) penetrators.  The targets are housed in
enclosures which contain DU aerosols and fragments produced by the
test firings.  One of the draw- backs of using a target enclosure
is that the airborne DU must be removed by ventilation and air
cleaning before personnel can enter the enclosure without respiratory
protection."

1989 - U.S. NAVY -  Changes from Depleted Uranium to Tungsten Alloys

"The interesting aspect in the history of this application is that
after deciding in 1978 to use a uranium alloy, the U.S. Navy decided
in 1989 to change to tungsten alloys, based on live fire tests
showing that tungsten met their performance requirements while
offering reduced probabilities of radiation exposure and environmental
impact."

B.Rostker, Development of DU Munitions, in Environmental Exposure
Report, Depleted Uranium in the Gulf (II), (2000).

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/du_ii/du_ii_tabe.htm

1990 - Office of the ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, A. H. Passarella,
Dir.

Freedom of Information and Security Review, Feb. 11, 1990 letter
to Mr. Dan Fahey "Depleted uranium (DU) material can constitute a
heavy metal poisoning and radiation poisoning hazard in the pulverized
(powder) state only if it is either ingested or inhaled."

Dan Fahey, Case Narrative: Depleted Uranium (DU) Exposures, 2nd
Edition, July 2, 1998, National Gulf War Resource Center, pp.
197-198.

1990 - SAIC: Government Contractor "Short-term effects of high doses
can result in death, while long-term effects of low doses have been
implicated in cancer."

"Aerosol DU exposures to soldiers on the battlefield could be
significant with potential radiological and toxicological effects."

>From the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
report, included as Appendix D of AMMCOMs Kinetic Energy Penetrator
Long Term Strategic Study, Danesi, July 1990.  This report was
completed six months before Desert Storm.

1990  -  U.S. ARMY - Armament, Munitions and Chemical Command
[AMCCOM]

"...reported in July 1990, that depleted uranium is a "low level
alpha radiation emitter which is linked to cancer when exposures
are internal, [and] chemical toxicity causing kidney damage."

AMCCOMs radiological task group has said that "long term effects
of low doses [of DU] have implicated in cancer... there is no dose
so low that the probability of effect is zero."

Dan Fahey, Case Narrative: Depleted Uranium (DU) Exposures, 2nd
Edition, July 2, 1998, National Gulf War Resource Center, Inc., p.
i)

1990 - LOS ALAMOS MEMO -  Los Alamos Nuclear Weapns Laboratory
SUBJECT: The Effectiveness of Depleted Uranium Penetrators    March
1, 1991 From: Lt. Col. M.V. Ziehm To: Major Larson "Studies and
Analysis Branch" (WR 13)

"There is a relatively small amount of lethality data for uranium
penetrators, either the tank fired long version or the GAU-8 round
fired from the A-10 close air support aircraft.  The recent war has
likely multiplied the number of du rounds fired at targets by orders
of magnitude. It is believed that du pene-trators were very effective
against Iraqi armor;

however, assessments of such will have to be made.

There has been and continues to be a concern regarding the impact
of du on the environ- ment.  Therefore, if no one makes a case for
the effectiveness of du on the battlefield, du rounds may become
politically unacceptable and thus, be deleted from the arsenal.

If du penetrators proved their worth during our recent combat
activities, then we should assure their future existence (until
something better is developed) through Service/DoD proponency.  If
proponency is garnered, it is possible that we stand to lose a
valuable combat capability.

I believe we should keep this sensitive issue at mind when after
action reports are written.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Memorandum  March 1, 1991 Source of
this document:  Major Doug Rokke, Head of Depleted Uranium Cleanup
Project for Iraq and Kuwait after the Gulf War 1991.

1989 -  UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND  log -  following a major
fire at a depleted uranium ammunition storage facility in Doha

"EOD POC (point of contact) states that burning depleted uranium
puts off alpha radiation.

Uranium particles when breathed can be hazardous.  11ACR has been
notified to treat the area as though it were a chemical hazard area;
i.e. stay upwind and wear protective mask in the vicinity."

United States Central Command log, "11ACR Fire in Doha: Updates
from CENTCOM Forward," July 12, 1991, entry 10.

1993 - U.S. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE (GAO)

"Inhaled insoluble oxides stay in the lungs longer and pose a
potential cancer risk due to radiation.  Ingested DU dust can also
pose both a radioactive and a toxicity risk."

Operation Desert Storm: Army Not Adequately Prepared to Deal With
Depleted Uranium Conta-mination, United States General Accounting
Office (GAO/NSIAD-93-90), January 1993, pp.17-18.

1993 - U.S.ARMY ARMAMENT, MUNITIONS AND CHEMICAL COMMAND(AMCCOM)

"When a DU penetrator impacts a target surface, a large portion of
the kinetic energy is dissipated as heat.  The heat of the impact
causes the DU to oxidize or burn momentarily.

This results in smoke which contains high concentration of DU
particles.

These uranium particles can be ingested or inhaled and are toxic."

U.S. ARMY ARMAMENT, MUNITIONS, AND CHEMICAL COMMAND(AMCCOM) "Depleted
Uranium Facts," photocopy in Bukowski, et. al, Uranium Battlefields
Home and Abroad, March 1993, p. 97.

1993 - U.S. ARMY:  Colonel Robert G. Claypool, Medical Corps Director,
Professional Services of the Department of the Army, Office of the
Surgeon General, August 16, 1993 letter to U.S. Army Chemical School

"When soldiers inhale or ingest DU dust, they incur a potential
increase in cancer risk. The magnitude of that increase can be
quantified (in terms of projected days of life lost) if the DU
intake is known (or can be estimated). Expected physiological effects
from exposure to DU dust include possible increased risk of cancer
(lung or bone) and kidney damage."

Dan Fahey, Case Narrative: Depleted Uranium (DU) Exposures, 2nd
Edition, July 2, 1998, National Gulf War Resource Center, pp.
263-264).

1993  - U.S. ARMY:  Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff For Operations
and Plans, Washington D.C.  August 19, 1993:  Memorandum Thru Deputy
Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans - Director Army Staff - for
Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installation Logistics & Environment)
Subject:  Review of Draft Report to Congress - Health and Environmental
Consequences of Depleted Uranium in the U.S. Army - ACTION MEMORANDUM
[This was a response to a GAO report to Congress on DU issues]

c. "In response to the GAO report, the Deputy Secretary of Defense
(DEPSECDEF) issued a tasking memorandum on 8 June 1993.  The
memorandum directs the Secretary of the Army to:

(1) Provide adequate training for personnel who may come in contact
with DU contaminated equipment.

(2) Complete medical testing of personnel exposed to DU contamination
during the Persian Gulf War.

(3) Develop a plan for DU contaminated equipment recovery during
future operations."

Signed   -  Brigadier General Eric K. Shinseki [The rest of the
memorandum is in regard to implementation of this order.] Source
of document:  Major Doug Rokke, U.S. Army Head of Depleted Uranium
Project to clean up Iraq and Kuwait after1991 Gulf War.

1993  -  U.S. ARMY:  Operations Support Directorate - UNCLASSIFIED
SECTION Subject:  Medical Management Of Unusual Depleted Uranium
Exposures October 2, 1993

4. "Unusual exposures to DU are also expected to cause no medical
problems.

But in the interest of documenting the expected minimal exposures,
the exposures should be documented and specimens taken.  Unusual
exposures include situations which could result in ingestion/inhalation
of DU dust; or the contamination of wounds by DU dust or fragments.
These unusual exposures could result from:

A. Being in the midst of the smoke from DU fires resulting from the
burning of vehicles uploaded with DU munitions or depots in which
DU munitions are being stored.

B. Working within environments containing DU dust or residues from
DU fires.

C. Being within a structure or vehicle while it is struck by a DU
munition.

5. Safety guidance on appropriate soldier response to accidents
involving DU is contained within reference A. and guidance on
appropriate management of potentially DU- contaminated equipment
is contained within reference B.

6. In cases such as those in described in Paragraph 4, the following
steps should be taken:

A. A MED-16 report (RCS MED-15(R4)) should be submitted in accordance
with Paragraph 5-10 of Reference B.

B. Specimens should be collected and forwarded for analysis in
conformance with the information provided in subsequent paragraphs
and paragraph 9-6 of Reference A.

(1) Nasal swipes could be collected...  Nasal swipes can be useful
if confirming exposure to DU dust environments...

(2) Any filters used for respiratory protection (Protective mask
canister, dust masks, field-expedient cloths placed over the nose
etc.) should be sealed in plastic bags or other protective containers...

(3) Twenty-four hour urine specimens should be collected..."

Source of document:  Major Doug Rokke, U.S. Army Head of Depleted
Uranium Project to clean up Iraq and Kuwait after1991 Gulf War.

1995 - U.S. ARMY - Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI) Report to
Congress

"If DU enters the body, it has the potential to generate significant
medical consequences.

The risks associated with DU in the body are both chemical and
radiological. "

"The radiation dose to critical organs depends upon the amount of
time that depleted uranium resides in the organs. When this value
is known or estimated, cancer and hereditary risk estimates can be
determined"

"Personnel inside or near vehicles struck by DU penetrators could
receive significant internal exposures."

"Very few remediation technologies have actually been used to clean
up DU-contaminated sites.

"No available technology can significantly change the inherent
chemical and radiological toxicity of DU.  These are intrinsic
properties of uranium."

"The Army should determine the full life-cycle cost of DU weapon
sytems.

This analysis must take into account not only production costs, but
also demilitarization, disposal and recycling costs; facility
decontamination costs; test range remediation costs; and long-term
health and environmental costs."

"The only systematic DU contamination of Army land occurs during
the research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) cycle
for DU ammunition."

"The Army needs to review particle data from Army studies and
elsewhere to determine data gaps and conduct experiments to generate
the requisite data to fill these gaps."

"The Army needs to develop a better understanding of DU particles
generated from impacts or burning."

"The Army should be prepared to provide guidance to other governments
on the health and safety risks associated with DU for affected
battlefields.  This guidance may include information on environmental
measurement, monitoring, migration and remediation techniques."

>From the Army Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI), Health and
Environmental Consequences of Depleted Uranium Use in the U.S. Army,
June 1995

1997  - ARMED FORCES RADIOBIOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE   (AFRRI)

Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) in Bethesda,
Maryland has discovered in animal studies that embedded DU, unlike
most metals, dissolves and spreads through the body depositing in
organs like the spleen and the brain, and that a pregnant female
rat will pass DU along to a developing fetus.

The Nation magazine, May 26, 1997, p. 17-18.

1998  - UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION   (NRC)

According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
guidelines for occupational exposure, the 186,000,000 grams of
depleted uranium released during the Gulf War combat operations is
enough to poison every American man, woman, and child 100 times.

Dan Fahey, Case Narrative: Depleted Uranium (DU) Exposures, 2nd
Edition, July 2, 1998, National Gulf War Resource Center, p. 3.

1998 -  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR/OSHA

Health Hazards Data, the Materials Safety Data Sheet from the U.S.

Department of Labor/OSHA, says this about depleted uranium: "Increased
risk of lung carcinoma and chemical toxicity to kidney. Hazardous
decomposition products..."

Dan Fahey, Case Narrative: Depleted Uranium (DU) Exposures, 2nd
Edition, July 2, 1998, National Gulf War Resource Center, Inc.

2000  - UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY  (DOE)

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has said, "One may
normally expect that depleted uranium contains a trace amount of
plutonium." In a January 20, 2000 letter, DOE Assistant Secretary
David Michaels formally admits that, "As background, I would note
that our historical information shows that recycled uranium, which
came straight from one of our production sites, e.g., Hanford, would
routinely contain transuranics [americium, neptunium, plutonium]
at a very low level.... We have initiated a project to characterize
the level of transuranics [americium, neptunium, plutonium] in the
various depleted uranium inventories."

David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Assistant Secretary Environment, Safety
and Health, U.S. Department of Energy, letter, Jan. 20, 2000.)

2003 - MEDIA:  PENTAGON CONTROLLING THE NEWS   -   John  Hanchette
Former Editor U.S.A. TODAY (National Daily Newspaper)

During a speaking tour in the Eastern United States in January 2003
with Gulf War Veteran Major Doug Rokke, I was introduced to John
Hanchette who in Dougs words is "one of the good guys on the depleted
uranium issue".  Mr. Hanchette told me that from 1991 to 2001, as
Editor of U.S.A. TODAY, he published news breaking stories on the
effects of depleted uranium on Gulf War Veterans.  Each time he was
ready to publish a story about devastating illnesses in Gulf War
soldiers, he got a phone call from the Pentagon pressuring him not
to print the story.  He has been replaced as Editor at U.S.A. TODAY
and is now teaching journalism to college students.

Interview with former U.S.A. TODAY Editor John Hanchetter by Leuren
Moret, Olean, New York, January 29, 2003.

2003 - PENTAGON - U.S. Army Colonel

Journalist:  "What about the health risks that are associated with
D.U.?

Or do you deny there are any?"

U.S.Army Colonel:  "You are determined to get me to make a statement
about the health risks arent you?"

Journalist:  "If you will, I want to see what the behind the scenes
view of D.U. is in the Pentagon."

U.S. Army Colonel:  "Well....(long pause, followed by heavy
profanity)....

Okay, Ill give you some dirt if thats what youre looking for.  The
Pentagon knows there are huge health risks associated with D.U.
They know from years of monitoring our own test ranges and manufacturing
facilities.  There were parts of Iraq designated as high contamination
areas before we ever placed any troops on the ground.  The areas
around Basra, Jalibah, Talil, most of the southern desert, and
various other hot spots were all identified as contaminated before
the war.  Some of the areas in the southern desert region along the
Kuwaiti border are especially radioactive on scans and tests.  One
of our test ranges in Saudi Arabia shows over 1000 times the normal
background level for radiation.  We have test ranges in the U.S.

that are extremely contaminated, hell they have been since the 80s
and nothing is ever said publicly.  Dont ask dont tell is not only
applied to gays, it is applied to this matter heavily.

I know that at one time the theory was developed that any soldier
exposed to D.U. shells should have to wear full MOP gear (the
chemical protective suit).  But they realized that it just wouldnt
be practical and it was never openly discussed again."

Journalist:  "So the stories that they know D.U. is harmful are
true?"

U.S. Army Colonel:  "Yes, there is no doubt that most high level
commanders who were around during the 80s know about it."

2003 - MEDIA:  WHITE HOUSE/PENTAGON CONTROLLING THE NEWS    TBRNews.com

During the middle of March, 2003, tbrnews received an email from a
man who claimed to be a mid-level executive with a major American
television network. He stated in this, and subsequent, emails that
he was in possession of "thousands" of pages of in-house memos sent
from his corporate headquarters in New York City to the head of the
networks television news department. He went on to say that these
memos set forth directives about what material was, and was not,
to be aired on the various outlets of the network.

This individual claimed he was developing serious doubts about the
strict control of media events and decided that he would pass this
material along to someone who might make use of it...  All are on
corporate stationary, signed or initialed by the senders and again,
signed or initialed by the recipients in the news division...

If these memos were true, they showed with a terrible clarity that
at least one part of the American mass media was strictly controlled
and that the news was so doctored and spun that it might as well
be official news releases from the White House and Pentagon:

(Sept 28) There is to be nothing said about the high levels of
radiation in Iraq. Depleted uranium is the culprit but if it becomes
too widespread, it is to be blamed on Saddams "hidden A-bomb arsenal"!
Our man in the Pentagon was moaning that when GIs start losing their
hair and fingers in a few years, there will be more lawsuits.

As they say in the military, "not on my watch, Charlie!"

(Nov 17) the Supreme Court is busting Bushs balls now. They are
going to take cases about the Gitmo [Guantanamo] gulag and the White
House is shrieking with rage. I guess the Court doesnt realize that
Bush thinks he is the one to decide what is constitutional and not
the Court. He has a rude surprise coming very soon as I understand...

To read more than 1400 memos since February 2003 with daily updates
go to http://www.tbrnews.org/index.htm.

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