The American use of depleted uranium munitions in both Persian Gulf wars
has unleashed a toxic disaster that will eclipse the Agent Orange
tragedy of the Vietnam War, a former top Army official said Monday
evening.
Former Maj. Douglas Rokke, who was director of the Army's depleted
uranium project, spoke to 125 people at the Buffalo & Erie County
Historical Society. The Champaign, Ill., science professor was brought
here by the Western New York Peace Center.
There is good reason to question Doug Rokke's assertions about the
health effects of DU munitions. He misrepresents his credentials and
expertise, and makes numerous claims refutable by known health effects
from exposure to uranium. Below is the text from two letters, one to
the reporter and the other to the editor of "The Age" regarding an
article about Rokke (see
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/27/1056683904035.html ). Each
letter writer worked with Rokke.
From radsafe-digest V1 #834
My letter to "The Age":
Re: Blowing the N-Whistle, June 28 2003
Dear Ms. Alcorn:
Dr. Rokke apparently misled you on several points as you prepared your
article.
He was never a US military researcher.
He was never a scientific expert on depleted uranium, much less the
Pentagon's senior expert.
While I cannot tell you why he was sacked (US Privacy Act), I can tell it was
not for his "public views." His first presented these views only after he
lost his job.
Scientists are not divided and much pertinent research has been done to show
that Rokke's allegations about the DU's health effects are false.
Damaged vehicles were left behind and buried because their recovery was
uneconomical, not because they were "too dangerous to move."
He was not recalled to head a "depleted uranium project in Nevada." He
inserted himself, but the US Department of Energy only allowed him there as an
observer.
In the past he has named friends he has "lost" who are still very much alive
and well.
While uranium can cause harm internally, it must exceed a threshold well
above natural levels. Rokke and soldiers in the Gulf War never exceeded that
threshold except for friendly fire survivors. Those survivors have never shown ill
health attributable to uranium still in their bodies.
If Rokke misleads you about these easily verifiable facts, how much of his
story can you believe?
Robert Cherry, Ph.D
Certified Health Physicist
Colonel, US Army (retired)
From radsafe-digest V1 #835:
Dear Editor,
Your reporter, Gay Alcorn, has just published (28 June 03) an
article on Doug Rokke, with the highest count of errors per paragraph
ever recorded to my knowledge. It is embarrassing to read such tripe
knowing Doug Rokke so well and experiencing the ease with which even a
cub reporter on a high school paper could trip him up. In a nutshell,
not one of his "facts" could be verified if you even bothered a
perfunctory check.
I was his supervisor at Fort McClellan, AL where he was called to
duty to work under me while I was the Director of the Bradley Radiation
Laboratories at the U.S. Army Chemical School. It would take too much
space to detail the lies he told your reporter, but here is a minuscule
sample: he is not a Health Physicist, he was not "put in charge" of
anything, he did NOT loose his job from speaking out: that came later,
etc. etc. ad nauseum!
Disappointedly, Ed L. Battle, PhD (in Physics, not education like
Dr. Rokke's), COL, USAF (Ret)
For those interested in viewing more postings on Radsafe (a listserve
for radiation safety professionals) that discuss Rokke's allegations and
other information on health effects of DU, the archives may be found at
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/
Susan Gawarecki
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