The Bitter Harvest - Libya After the Liberation: The Wounded Are Everywhere

[tabatha]

Muammar Qadhafi’s authoritarian rule of Libya ended amidst catastrophic civil war, leaving grief and destruction in its wake. However, there is some comfort for the Libyan people in the fact that—as well as being rid of their long-standing and malignant leader—the aftermath of the recent battles will carry a different tone to the violence of years gone by.

During the former regime, Libyans used to retell stories of soldiers who were physically wounded during the Chadian-Libyan conflict and who were not allowed to return to their families. It is said that those soldiers were disposed of in the sea, because the Qadhafi regime did not want the people to be reminded of the conflict.

The regime apparently feared that people would say “this man lost an arm in Wadi Doum” or “this person lost a leg on the Tibesti Mountains.”

But Libya has never seen worse death and destruction than that of the past eight months of civil war, and the silver lining in the bleak cloud is that this time the victims and their families will be helped.

http://www.majalla.com/eng/2011/11/article55227666

[tabatha]

1. Estimates of number of casualties

Estimates of the number of casualties in the 2011 revolution are inconsistent. Major General Abdel Moneim Alhuni—a former associate of Qadhafi, leading member of the 1969 coup, and currently a representative of the National Transition Council (NTC) in Cairo—stated that the number of deaths amounts to 35,000, in addition to tens of thousands of wounded. On the other hand Commander Bouhajar, leader of the youth forces which sprung from the Nafusa Mountains in the west of Libya and contributed in the taking of Tripoli, declared that the number of casualties amounts to 50,000.

The Chairman of the NTC, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, has stated that the number of deaths exceeds 20,000, while Libyan Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mohammad Al-Naqua, estimates the number at about 40,000.

The number of wounded is now estimated at about 60,000, 3,000 of whom are now permanently disabled. In a population of less than 6 million, this number is clearly substantial.

[yurbud]

2. and we used DU there--a necessity in any humanitarian intervention

[tabatha]

3. I was told that DU was not used in Libya

In fact, in many instances, plain concrete was used on military equipment.

[sad sally]

4. Guess you're saying these reports are false?

Former U.S. congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, who is fiercely anti-war and traveled to Libya in June, has said that she found evidence of the use of depleted uranium at hospitals she visited.

A report on Wednesday by the Centre for Research on Globalization says measurements conducted at bomb sites showed higher than normal levels of uranium, citing scientists inside Libya.

The use of depleted uranium in weapons might be questionable, but it is not illegal. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1996 that only weapons that use toxic or radioactive metals for the purpose of poisoning or asphyxiating are illegal.

Depleted uranium, however, is simply used for blowing stuff up. So it's okay.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/the-casbah/nato-libya-dirty-bombs-depleted-uranium?du

and this:

There were two images from the Libyan war that are likely to spell real trouble in the coming years. One was of several U.S. A-10 attack planes, ungainly looking machines ugly enough to be nick named “Warthogs,” taxiing down a runway. The other was of several rebel fighters dancing on top of a burning tank.

That tank, an old Russian-era T-72, was likely knocked out by one of those A-10s, which means those rebels fighters are almost certainly going to be in a world of hurt. Because, while they were celebrating, they were also breathing in the residue from the shell that killed that tank, a 30 mm depleted uranium munition (DUA).

DUA is the weapon of choice when it comes to killing armored vehicles, and A-10s are specialists at using it. The U.S. used 320 tons of it in the first Gulf War, 10 tons in Kosovo, and over 1,000 tons in the invasion of Iraq. It is lethal to tanks, but it also damages anything that comes into contact with it. Common photos back in 1991 were of U.S. soldiers climbing on top of knocked-out Iraqi tanks to have their pictures taken or to look for souvenirs. When they did, they inhaled uranium oxide or impregnated their uniforms with it.

http://www.fpif.org/blog/killing_libya_in_order_to_save_it_gulf_war_syndrome?du

Another celebrated American "victory?"

Following conflict, levels of DU contamination in food and drinking water might be detected in affected areas even after a few years. This should be monitored where it is considered there is a reasonable possibility of significant quantities of DU entering the ground water or food chain.

Small children could receive greater exposure to DU when playing in or near DU impact sites. Their typical hand-to-mouth activity could lead to high DU ingestion from contaminated soil. Necessary preventative measures should be taken.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs257/en/?du

[tabatha]

5. Yes.

The bombs made since 200x? (I don't remember) that were supplied to NATO do not include DU. This was from someone in the know.

(I am a DU opponent and decried its use in Iraq)