U.S. Army Huey helicopter spraying Agent Orange over Vietnamese agricultural land
Agent Orange is the combination of the code names for Herbicide Orange (HO) and Agent LNX, one of the herbicidesand defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its chemical warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during theVietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth defects as a result of its use.[1][2] The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems due to Agent Orange.[3] The United States government has dismissed these figures as unreliable and unrealistically high.[4][5]
During the Vietnam War, between 1962 and 1971, the United States military sprayed nearly 20,000,000 US gallons (76,000,000 l) of material containing chemical herbicides and defoliants mixed with jet fuel in Vietnam, eastern Laosand parts of Cambodia, as part of Operation Ranch Hand.[7][8] The program's goal was to defoliate forested and rural land, depriving guerrillas of cover; another goal was to induce forced draft urbanization, destroying the ability of peasants to support themselves in the countryside, and forcing them to flee to the U.S. dominated cities, thus depriving the guerrillas of their rural support and food supply.[8][9]
The US began to target food crops in October 1962, primarily using Agent Blue. In 1965, 42 percent of all herbicide spraying was dedicated to food crops.[9] Rural-to-urban migration rates dramatically increased in South Vietnam, as peasants escaped the war and famine in the countryside by fleeing to the U.S.-dominated cities. The urban population in South Vietnam nearly tripled: from 2.8 million people in 1958, to 8 million by 1971. The rapid flow of people led to a fast-paced and uncontrolled urbanization; an estimated 1.5 million people were living in Saigonslums.[10]
United States Air Force records show that at least 6,542 spraying missions took place over the course of Operation Ranch Hand.[11] By 1971, 12 percent of the total area of South Vietnam had been sprayed with defoliating chemicals, at an average concentration of 13 times the recommended USDA application rate for domestic use.[12] In South Vietnam alone, an estimated 10 million hectares (25 million acres, 39,000 square miles) of agricultural land was ultimately destroyed.[13] In some areas, TCDD concentrations in soil and water were hundreds of times greater than the levels considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.[14][15] Overall, more than 20% of South Vietnam's forests were sprayed at least once over a nine-year period.[9]
On Sept 11, the congress give the Noble Price winner this answer.
Mr. President:
You asked us about the war on Syria. After examining the facts and debate, our answer is: NO!
Yuo said: you could have gone without us. Then: choise is yours! If you want to go, go alone! Don't take our endorsement with you!
Why bother?
Twelve years ago, we voted "Yes" on a war which you voted "no". Now, you are alone again!
Mr. Kerry: we understand you are playing games with the word! Strike is NOT war? Just like you didn't care about your Purple Heart? We all know this "Strike" is going to take down more than World Trade Center!
We got you. Don't come back asking us to elect you as President again. The answer will still be: "No"!
Kerry: We're not going to war in Syria, Assad could avoid strike
US Secretary of State repeats Obama's message that military action in Syria would not be a repeat of Iraq or Afghanistan.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague greets US counterpart John Kerry in London, Sept. 9, 2013. Photo: Reuters
US Secretary State of John Kerry vowed Monday that the United States was not about to embark on a long-term military adventure in Syria, echoing President Barack Obama's pledge that any action would not be a repeat of the two controversial American wars of the past decade. He also offered the embattled Syrian leader a way to deter a possible American attack.
"That's not what we are talking about. We are not going to war. We will not have people at risk that way," he said during a press conference with his British counterpart William Hague in London. "We will be able to hold Bashar Assad accountable .... in a very limited, very targeted, very short-term effort."
He said he understood the American and European people's reticence about military action, but said that the risk of not acting in Syria was greater than the risk of acting.
Obama has declared his intent to take military action against the Assad regime for its apparent use of chemical weapons, most recently in neighborhoods on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21.
Obama and Kerry have been making a persistent case for military action both domestically and internationally. Key Assad ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, has insisted that there is not sufficient proof of such attacks and has come out strongly against any American strike on Syrian soil.
Kerry said Monday that Syria could prevent a military attack, however, if Assad handed over all his chemical weapons to the international community within the next week, but added that Assad was not about to do so.
When asked by a reporter whether there was anything Assad's government could do or offer to stop an attack, Kerry said:
"Sure, he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week - turn it over, all of it without delay and allow the full and total accounting [of it] but he isn't about to do it and it can't be done."
Kerry also stressed the relationship between Britain and the United States was as strong as ever despite the British parliament having decided not to join military action against Syria.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron suffered anembarrassing defeat in parliament last month, when the lawmakers voted against any British involvement in military action in Syria. Polls have shown that the vote was a reflection of the sentiments of the UK population, which has also seen hundreds of its troops perish in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Kerry had harsh words about Syrian President Bashar Assad, recalling a time he had confronted the Syria leader about the transfer of Scud missiles and Assad had "lied to my face."
There is a "certain arrogance about the man", Kerry said. He is "without credibility."
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