Thousands of US troops evacuated from Iraq for unexplained medical reasons

WSWS

Thousands of US troops evacuated from Iraq for unexplained medical
reasons

By James Conachy
9 September 2003

Citing the US military Central Command as its source, the Washington
Post
reported on September 2 that "more than 6,000 service members" had been
medically evacuated from Iraq since the launch of the war. At the time,
the
number of combat wounded stood at 1,124. A further 301 personnel had
been injured in non-combat incidents such as vehicle accidents. The
figure
of
"more than 6,000" supplied to the Post therefore implies that over 4,500
US
troops have required evacuation from Iraq for medical reasons other than

combat or non-combat injuries.

The Washington Post article did not include any further information on
what
is a staggering admission by the military. At no point in the last six
months have the American people been told that for every soldier who has

been killed in Iraq, at least another 15 have fallen so ill that they
had to
be flown back to the United States. The Post described the unexplained
evacuations simply as the 3thousands who became physically or mentally
ill2.

The obvious questions that must be answered are: what were they
diagnosed
with; what units are they from; what duties were they were performing;
what
long-term effects have they suffered; and what treatment are they
receiving?

While large numbers of the evacuations may well be for routine medical
reasons, such a detailed breakdown is essential. Apart from providing an

insight into the true impact of the war on the American troops, it may
provide evidence that supports the concerns among military personnel and

their families that service in Iraq is exposing them to long-term and
potentially fatal medical problems. In particular, there are fears that
soldiers have already died or are falling ill due to their exposure to
depleted uranium (DU) or the anthrax vaccine they have been compelled to

take.

On July 31, the Army Surgeon General announced an investigation into the

deaths of two soldiers, Michael Tosta and Josh Neusche, and the
hospitalisation of another 100, diagnosed with severe pneumonia. It has
been
established that inhaling large concentrations of DU-contaminated
particles
damages the lungs and kidneys and can cause respiratory illness. There
are
also recorded medical suspicions that the US military1s anthrax vaccine
can
trigger pneumonia. In August 2002, three military doctors noted in the
Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care Journal that a case of pneumonia in a
healthy 39-year-old soldier 3may be due to the anthrax vaccine2.

The US Department of Defense has only made public one progress report on

the pneumonia investigation. On August 22 it announced that it was
making
significant progress2 in eliminating SARS and vaccines as a possible
cause.
It revealed that 10 alleged pneumonia cases showed a higher than normal
number of the white blood cell eosinophils. It also reported that none
of
the 19 most severe cases belonged to the same units, that 13 had fallen
ill
in Iraq and that the remaining six fell ill in Kuwait, Qatar,
Uzbekistan,
and
Djibouti. The Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner was reportedly

investigating the 3specific cause or causes of death2 of Tosta and
Neusche.

Since July 31, however, another soldier, Zeferino Colunga, has died
allegedly from pneumonia while Sergeant Richard Eaton has died from a
pulmonary edema or fluid in the lungs. Two other soldiers have been
found
dead in their beds for as yet unexplained reasons.

Such is the distrust of the military that the families of both Josh
Neusche
and Colunga have demanded access to their loved ones1 medical records,
personal effects and blood and tissue samples, so that independent
medical
opinions can be sought on the cause of death. The families sent letters
on
August 12 to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stating: 'We as a
family
are concerned that we are not being told the truth.'

Stephanie Tosta, the 22-year-old widow of Michael Tosta, has publicly
speculated the military is lying about the cause of her husband1s death.
She
told United Press International last month: 3More and more I think it
was
the [anthrax] shots. I think they [the Army] might be lying about this
stuff. I really feel like it. Nobody can tell me anything. If it is the
shots, then
of course they are lying. We just want to know what happened and we
have a right to know. But the Army is acting like they are trying to
hide
something, and that just makes it harder.
-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
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