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<a href="http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/December/5%20o/US%20and%20Israel%20Targeting%20DNA%20in%20Gaza%20The%20DIME%20Bomb%20Yet%20Another%20Genotoxic%20Weapon,%20Part%20I%20By%20James%20Brooks.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/December/5%20o/US%20and%20Israel%20Targeting%20DNA%20in%20Gaza%20The%20DIME%20Bomb%20Yet%20Another%20Genotoxic%20Weapon,%20Part%20I%20By%20James%20Brooks.htm<br>
<br>
</a></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=5>US and Israel Targeting
DNA in Gaza? The DIME Bomb: Yet Another Genotoxic Weapon, Part I
<br><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>By James Brooks<br><br>
Al-Jazeerah, December 5,
2006</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=4><b> <br><br>
</b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>It’s been almost five
months since the first report that Israeli drone aircraft have been
dropping a “mystery weapon” on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Since
then, news media around the world have run stories depicting the strange
and “horrific” wounds inflicted by the new bomb. The international press
has spoken with Palestinian doctors and medics who say Israel’s new
device is a kind of chemical weapon that has significantly increased the
fatality rate among the victims of Israeli attacks. (1)(2)
<br><br>
In mid-October, Italian investigators reported forensic evidence that
suggests the new weapon may also represent the near future of US
“counterinsurgency warfare”. Combined with photographs of the victims and
testimony from attending doctors, this evidence points to the use of
Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME). (3)<br><br>
DIME is an LCD (“low collateral damage”) weapon developed at the US Air
Force Research Laboratory. Publicly, it is slated for initial deployment
in 2008. DIME bombs produce an unusually powerful blast within a
relatively small area, spraying a superheated “micro-shrapnel” of
powdered Heavy Metal Tungsten Alloy (HMTA). Scientific studies have found
that HMTA is chemically toxic, damages the immune system, rapidly causes
cancer, and attacks DNA (genotoxic).(4-11) <br><br>
It is unfortunate that the US media have virtually blacked out the story
of Israel’s new weapon, not least because our own military may soon be
using it in Iraq and Afghanistan. The story might also have told us
something about the grossly disproportionate brutality of Israel’s war on
the Palestinian peoplereason enough for the media to suppress it. (12)
<br><br>
Thanks to the intrepid Italians, the story could even have introduced
Americans to their government’s DIME weapons program. This three-part
article will ask whether Israel is ‘testing’ US DIME bombs in the Gaza
Strip, and explore the workings, dangers, and projected use of DIME
weapons and their roots in depleted uranium (DU) research. These
parallels will lead us to consider DIME in its historical context, as the
latest innovation in the US military’s long-running development of
genotoxic weapons. <br><br>
“They cannot return to life again”<br><br>
The first reports about ‘Israel’s new weapon’ came from Dr Joma Al-Saqqa,
chief of the emergency unit at Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa. Dr.
Al-Saqqa said that Israel was using “a new ‘chemical’ weapon” and its
siege was “a live exercise on a new ammunition that, so far, has resulted
in killing 50 Palestinians and injuring 200.” He observed that, “despite
the damage in internal soft tissue in the bodies of injured people, the
fragments were not detected by X-ray. In other words, they had
disappeared or dissolved inside the body.”(13)<br><br>
“There were usually entry and exit wounds,” Dr. Al-Saqqa reported. “When
the wounds were explored no foreign material was found. There was tissue
death, the extent of which was diff icult to determine….A higher deep
infection rate resulted with subsequent amputation. In spite of
amputation there was a higher mortality.” (14) The effects of the weapon
seemed “radioactive”. (15)<br>
According to Palestine News Network, Dr. Al-Saqqa “confirmed that there
were dozens of wounded legs and arms. Many of them had been burned from
the inside, and distorted to the point that they cannot return to life
again.”(16)<br><br>
“When the shrapnel hit[s] the body, it causes very strong burns that
destroy the tissues around the bones…it burns and destroys internal
organs, like the liver, kidneys, and the spleen and other organs and
makes saving the wounded almost impossible. As a surgeon, I have seen
thousands of wounds during the Intifada, but nothing was like this
weapon.”(17)<br><br>
However, Dr. Al-Saqqa could not analyze the chemistry of the bizarre
wounds. On the first day of the siege, June 27, Israel had conveniently
destroyed Gaza’s only criminal laboratory. (18)<br>
Despite his pleas to the “international community” to investigate and
lend assistance in treating the victims, “no one has lifted a finger”,
the doctor was quoted in mid-July. “What we found were journalists who
came to take pictures, but as for the medical community, nothing.”
(19)<br><br>
On August 3, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported
that Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd had visited Dr. Al-Saqqa’s
hospital, “where the staff is struggling to deal with wounds resulting in
an unusually high number of amputations.” Commissioner AbuZayd commented
that “what we saw in Al-Shifa...was rather horrific.” (20) <br><br>
According to Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International), “75 per
cent of war-wounded patients admitted at one hospital needed amputations”
following an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (21)<br><br>
The World Health Organization was reportedly considering an investigation
into the injuries. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel “agreed to take
away fragments of tissue from the bodies of Palestinians killed during
the recent military operations in Gaza for possible analysis in Israel
but urged the medics to seek an international investigation.”
(22)<br><br>
Tungsten in Tissue Samples: A DIME Weapon?<br><br>
On October 19, Italy’s Rai24news televised an investigative report that
supplied crucial new information. The Italian investigators had tissue
samples from the victims in Gaza analyzed by Dr. Carmela Vaccaio at
University Parma. Dr. Vaccaio reportedly found “a very high concentration
of carbon and the presence of unusual materials, such as copper, aluminum
and tungsten.” The doctor concluded that her "findings could be in
line with the hypothesis that the weapon in question is DIME."
<br><br>
Rai24news reporters also talked to Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Ben-Israel, former
chief of the IDF's weapons development program. General Ben-Israel
appeared to be familiar with DIME weapons. He explained that, "one
of the ideas is to allow those targeted to be hit without causing damage
to bystanders or other persons." (23)<br>
The US Air Force refers to this emerging realm of weaponry as FLM
(Focused Lethality Munitions). FLM is expected to provide the ‘weapons of
choice’ for targeting “terrorists hiding among civilians”, as a
cheerleading Wall Street Journal article put it. (24) <br><br>
With “focused lethality [and] higher energy materials...nano particles,
intelligent fuzing, [and] mass focus lethality”, the Air Force “will be
able to strike effectively, wherever and whenever necessary, with minimal
collateral damage.” Ominously, the military thinks these weapons will
allow it to target sites "previously off limits to the
warfighter." (25)(26)<br><br>
This warfare of the future is reminiscent of what Israel has been doing
for years, but with one-ton bombs, 155-mm artillery shells, and
tank-fired antipersonnel flechette bombs. Are FLM weapons like DIME an
improvement? Or will they actually increase civilian casualties and
suffering, and mimic depleted uranium weapons by inducing disease and
genetic damage in their victims? These disturbing questions will be
explored in the next installment of this article. <br><br>
<br>
<b>References:<br><br>
</b>1) Palestinian injuries suggest Israel is using chemical weapons in
Gaza <br>
Ma'an News, 7/10/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=13044">
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=13044</a>
<br>
<br>
2) Israel used chemical weapons in Lebanon and Gaza <br>
By Jean Shaoul, Centre for Research on Globalization/wsws.org, 10/24/2006
<br>
<a href="http://wsws.org/articles/2006/oct2006/isra-o24.shtml">
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/oct2006/isra-o24.shtml</a> <br><br>
3) Italian TV: Israel used new weapon prototype in Gaza Strip <br>
Ha'aretz, 10/19/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=772894">
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=772894</a> <br>
<br>
4) Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) <br>
GlobalSecurity.org, 10/18/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/dime.htm">
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/dime.htm</a>
<br><br>
5) Abstract: Potential late health effects of depleted uranium and
tungsten used in armor-piercing munitions: comparison of neoplastic
transformation and genotoxicity with the known carcinogen nickel <br>
Miller, AC, et al, PubMed, 11/26/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11873492&dopt=Abstract">
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=</a><br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11873492&dopt=Abstract">
PubMed&list_uids=11873492&dopt=Abstract</a> <br>
<br>
6) Neoplastic transformation of human osteoblast cells to the tumorigenic
phenotype by heavy metal–tungsten alloy particles: induction of genotoxic
effects <br>
Miller, AC, et al <br>
Carcinogenesis, Vol. 22, No. 1, 115-125, January 2001, Oxford University
Press <br>
<a href="http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/1/115">
http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/1/115</a> <br><br>
7) Abstract: Carcinogenic Potential of Depleted Uranium and Tungsten
Alloys <br>
Alexandra C Miller, Ph. D., Department Of Defense, Armed Forces
Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) <br>
<a href="http://www.deploymentlink.osd.mil/du_library/reports/projects/dod122.htm">
http://www.deploymentlink.osd.mil/du_library/reports/projects/dod122.htm</a>
<br>
<br>
8) Depleted uranium-catalyzed oxidative DNA damage: absence of
significant <br>
alpha particle decay <br>
Miller, AC, et al, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, Issue 91, 2002 pp.
246– 252 <br>
<a href="http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil/www/outreach/pdf/tungsten_cancer.pdf">
http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil/www/outreach/pdf/tungsten_cancer.pdf</a> <br>
<br>
9) Embedded Weapons-Grade Tungsten Alloy Shrapnel Rapidly Induces
Metastatic High-Grade Rhabdomyosarcomas in F344 Rats <br>
Kalinich et al, Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 113, Number 6,
June 2005 <br>
<a href="http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/7791/7791.html">
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/7791/7791.html</a> <br><br>
10) Abstract: Effect of the militarily-relevant heavy metals, depleted
uranium and heavy metal tungsten-alloy on gene expression in human liver
carcinoma cells (HepG2) <br>
By Miller, AC, et al, SpringerLink/Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry,
1/1/2004 <br>
<a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/u8830115617471jl/">
http://www.springerlink.com/content/u8830115617471jl/</a> <br><br>
11) Preconceptional paternal exposure to radiation or heavy metals like
cadmium can induce cancer in unexposed offspring <br>
By Alexandra C. Miller, Rafael Rivas, Robert J. Merlot and Paul,
Carcinogenesis 5: Environmental and Endogenous Carcinogens/Proc Amer
Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.aacrmeetingabstracts.org/cgi/content/abstract/2006/1/448-b">
http://www.aacrmeetingabstracts.org/cgi/content/abstract/2006/1/448-b</a>
<br><br>
12) If Americans Knew <br>
<a href="http://www.ifamericansknew.org/">
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/</a> <br><br>
13) Israel 'is using chemical ammunition' in Gaza <br>
By Duraid Al Baik, Centre for Research on Globalization/Gulf News,
6/13/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=AL%2020060713&articleId=2730">
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=</a>
<br><br>
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=AL%2020060713&articleId=2730">
AL%2020060713&articleId=2730</a> <br><br>
14) Are New Weapons Being Used In Gaza and Lebanon <br>
By David Halpin MB BS FRCS, Electronic Intifada, 8/14/2006 <br>
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5528.shtml">
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5528.shtml</a> <br><br>
15) Ministry of Health report on toxic Israeli weapons confirmed by Gaza
City medical sources <br>
Palestine News Network, 7/13/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.pnn.ps/english/archive2006/jul/week2/130706/report5.htm">
http://www.pnn.ps/english/archive2006/jul/week2/130706/report5.htm</a>
<br><br>
16) ibid. <br>
<br>
17) Doctors Report Unusual Weapon Used in Gaza<br>
Pacifica/Free Speech Radio News 7/11/2006 <br><br>
<a href="http://www.pacifica.org/programs/fsrn/fsrn_060711.html">
http://www.pacifica.org/programs/fsrn/fsrn_060711.html</a> <br><br>
18) Israel 'is using chemical ammunition' in Gaza <br>
Centre for Research on Globalization/Gulf News, 6/13/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=AL%2020060713&articleId=2730">
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=</a>
<br><br>
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=AL%2020060713&articleId=2730">
AL%2020060713&articleId=2730</a> <br><br>
19) Ministry of Health report on toxic Israeli weapons confirmed by Gaza
City medical sources <br>
Palestine News Network, 7/13/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.pnn.ps/english/archive2006/jul/week2/130706/report5.htm">
http://www.pnn.ps/english/archive2006/jul/week2/130706/report5.htm</a>
<br><br>
20) UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd: "Please don't forget
what's going on in Gaza" <br>
ReliefWeb/UNRWA, 8/3/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVOD-6SBJDR?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR">
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVOD-6SBJDR?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR</a>
<br><br>
21) Hospitals in Gaza overwhelmed and running out of supplies <br>
Electronic Intifada/Merlin, 8/8/2006 <br>
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5455.shtml">
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5455.shtml</a> <br><br>
22) <b>Gaza doctors encounter 'unexplained injuries'<br>
</b>Donald Macintyre, The Independent 9/4/2006 <br>
<a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1359830.ece">
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1359830.ece</a>
<br><br>
23) Italian TV: Israel used new weapon prototype in Gaza Strip <br>
Ha'aretz, 10/12/2006 <br>
<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=772894">
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=772894</a>
<br><br>
24) Air Force seeks a bomb with less bang <br>
By Greg Jaffe, The Wall Street Journal/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/11/2006
<br>
<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06096/679996-84.stm">
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06096/679996-84.stm</a> <br><br>
25) Munition Technology Drivers <br>
By Col. Thomas “Mas” Masiell, Air Force Research Laboratory, 12/1/2006
<br>
<a href="http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2001munitions/masiello.pdf">
http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2001munitions/masiello.pdf</a> <br><br>
26) USAF Unfunded Priority List (UPL) <br>
SAF/FMB POC, FY 2007, February 2006, Page 54 <br>
<a href="http://wwwd.house.gov/hasc_democrats/Issues%20109th/unfunded/AF%20UFR%20FY07.pdf">
http://wwwd.house.gov/hasc_democrats/Issues%20109th/</a><br><br>
<a href="http://wwwd.house.gov/hasc_democrats/Issues%20109th/unfunded/AF%20UFR%20FY07.pdf">
unfunded/AF%20UFR%20FY07.pdf</a> <br>
<br>
James Brooks serves as webmaster for Vermonters for a Just Peace in
Palestine/Israel (<a href="http://www.vtjp.org/">www.vtjp.org</a>). He
can be contacted at
<a href="mailto:jamiedb@wildblue.net">jamiedb@wildblue.net</a>.<br><br>
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