Afghans to Probe Whether U.S. Used Depleted Uranium

[Fireweed247]

KABUL - The Afghan government plans to investigate whether the United States used depleted uranium during its invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and if it might be linked to malformed babies born afterwards.
Parts of Afghanistan, particularly the mountainous region of Tora Bora in the east — the suspected hideout of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden — came under heavy U.S. bombing in late 2001 when the Taliban regime was ousted.

Depleted uranium is a heavy metal used in some weapons that can pierce armour. It has small levels of radioactivity associated with it.
Cases of malformed babies delivered in the heavily bombed Afghan areas have come to light, Faizullah Kakar, Afghan deputy public health minister for technical affairs said on Saturday, citing an unnamed U.S. expert.

Kakar told Reuters the Afghan government planned to investigate the matter.
“We have decided to do a study to see what is going on. We will take samples of soil, rocks, water in different areas where the war had taken place in the past and look in the same area to see if there is an excess of malformed babies,” Kakar said.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/20/8401/

[TomInTib]

1. "Whether"?. I thought that this was well-known.

"do a study", my ass.

Dirt, meet rug.

[PDJane]

2. It is well known.

Very well known. It's been well known since Bosnia.

[maddezmom]

3. I posted the same in LBN yesterday, now there is this: Afghan ministry denies evidence of DU

Afghan ministry denies evidence of depleted uranium
Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:44pm IST Email | Print | Share| Single Page<-> Text <+> KABUL, April 20 (Reuters) - The Afghan Public Health Ministry denied on Sunday a media report that there was evidence of nuclear contamination in the Tora Bora mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

The radio report said the ministry was investigating claims the Tora Bora mountains had been contaminated with radioactive material, the ministry said in a statement.

"The Public Health Ministry, so far, has no information from any official source about the presence of nuclear contamination in Tora Bora and has launched no investigation about it. The ministry even has no plan for such an investigation."

The Tora Bora mountains in the east of Afghanistan were heavily bombed by U.S. planes in late 2001 targeting al Qaeda leaders believed to be sheltering in caves there.

more:http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINHKG28019720080420

but read all the way....they are still going to do a study