What's the difference between a Windfall a WMD?

The New York Stock Exchange facade at Broad Street Wall Street corner.

The difference is a Wall Street address!

That's the only answer that seems to fit the facts. In researching another topic this item popped up and made me wonder.

What qualifies an an enemy?

Is it Bioterrorism or Business?

Isn't it a crime if people are dying for profits?

Senator Evan Bayh - OCTOBER 1, 2009

Washington—At the request of Senator Evan Bayh, the Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) announced that it will initiate an investigation into the U.S. Army's response to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. soldiers—including 142 members of the Indiana National Guard—to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate in Iraq.

In 2003, Hoosier troops were guarding the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant in Iraq, being rebuilt by the Houston-based construction firm KBR, then a subsidiary of the oil conglomerate Halliburton. Despite on-site assurances that the orange, sand-like dust spread throughout the facility was a "mild irritant," it was later revealed to be sodium dichromate. A major component of sodium dichromate is hexavalent chromium, one of the world's most carcinogenic substances.

Capitol Hill hearings on the issue have subsequently revealed a number of failures by contractor KBR to warn troops and even their own employees of the exposure and to properly clean up the contamination. Hearings also exposed multiple failures by the Army either to hold KBR accountable or to inform and test soldiers once the Army did learn of the contamination.

"This investigation is an important step in our efforts to learn what went wrong at Qarmat Ali and why members of the Indiana National Guard didn't receive timely notification about the extreme dangers of sodium dichromate," Bayh said. "The failure of the Army to properly warn our troops of these dangers or to properly clean the site unwittingly exposed hundreds of soldiers to carcinogenic toxins. It is essential that the Defense Department take a hard look at this incident to learn the lessons of Qarmat Ali and make sure that service members are never again needlessly exposed to hazardous chemicals while deployed."

If these Americans were to suffer exposure at the hand of an "enemy" it would be an unthinkable war crime. But as a result of corporate greed, recklessly irresponsible and grossly negligent behavior by one of the biggest profiteers the Pentagon feeds, it's a look see mission through endless paper mazes.

http://bayh.senate.gov/news/press/release/?id=be852449-56b8-438a-b464-7a1da011fd29

Note this should be switched from news event to opinion, but the edit function isn't cooperating!

Back To Top

American Chronicle | Sen. Dorgan: DOD IG To Investigate Army's Handling of Exposure of US Troops to Deadly Chemical

American Chronicle

Tue Oct 13

0