RE: [CPEO-MEF] DU Munitions

[Dori Digenti <ddigenti@hampshire.edu>]

Hello. I wanted to support Lenny's post on DU munitions use in Iraq and 
in general as part of the US arsenal with a small anecdote. I was in a 
meeting a few years ago with an MIT professor who had just toured an 
advanced army munitions operation, and he was amazed at how high-tech it 
was; he said that there was "no credible threat in the world" to US 
military capabilities (this was pre-9/11, obviously). 

My point is, while tank-destroying DU munitions may be the most 
effective, the word "overkill" comes to mind. I'm aware that if one is 
on the front lines with incomplete intelligence info about the enemy, 
one doesn't want to be unprepared; at the same time, the long-term 
devastation of environments with advanced weapons creates another kind 
of threat which is even more unpredictable. This discussion goes more to 
sustainability than to cleanup, but if we want to make long-term change 
in the after-effects of war and military operations on the environment, 
I think it does become part of the current discussion. Interested in 
hearing more on this topic,

Best,

Dori Digenti
ISIS/Hampshire College
Military Waste Cleanup Program
http://isis.hampshire.edu/mil/