-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Bein
Sent: October 12, 2000 5:32 PM
To: 'venik@...'; 'sparta13@...'; 'ES LaPorte';
'rrozoff@...'; 'Petokraka78@...'; 'minja m.'; 'milan kasic';
'kawczynski@...'; 'rlsenior@...'; 'kevcross@...';
'T.V.
Weber & Alida Weber'; 'john_peter maher'; 'Marek Glogoczowski'; 'Bob
Petrovich'
Cc: 'Cat Euler'
Subject: critical comments please

Dear Friends,
Could I ask you to take a few minutes to critically review the attached
paper, please?
The paper is at its length limit. I would like to finalize it by October

25th, 2000.
Peter Bein

---

DRAFT
NATO (mis)information to the public: Why we must not trust NATO on DU

Dr. Peter Bein, PEng, <mailto:piotr.bein@...> piotr.bein@...

Vancouver, Canada

International Conference Against Depleted Uranium Weapons

Manchester, 4-5 November, 2000

Introduction

This brief attempts to show that military information about DU has the
characteristics of information warfare and should not be taken at face
value. Information to the public about DU weapon use and effects on life

in
the Balkans are one of the subjects of information operations in NATO
campaign in the region. NATO used propaganda to: demonize Serbs to
justify
intervention in former Yugoslavia; exaggerate Serbs atrocities before
the
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia; cover-up own
military
blunders in Yugoslavia; and, induce overthrow of "unfriendly" government

in
Yugoslavia. For details, the reader may refer to English references at
the
ends of chapters in my Polish book.1 It covers DU in the Gulf War as
well.

I'd like to thank Venik for his contribution to the DU brochure for the
Balkans and for reviewing this brief [others???]. I am solely
responsible
for opinions below.

Information operations

Information warfare is one of four instruments of power - diplomatic,
informational, military, and economic - that nations wield to influence
events and actions during peace and conflict. It is as old as human
race.
Our times added bahavioural science, the use of mass media and high
technology. The military employs information operations, as laid out,
for
example, in the US Field Manual 100-6.2 Information warfare of US
Department
of Defense (DoD) targets foreign nations and groups, including foreign
governments. DoD actions "convey and/or deny selected information and
indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives,
and
objective reasoning; and to intelligence systems and leaders at all
levels.3
DoD specifies that management of the foreign perceptions "combines truth

projection, operation security, cover and deception, and psychological
operations." In NATO, psychological operations mean "planned
psychological
activities in peace and war directed to enemy, friendly and neutral
audiences in order to influence attitudes and behavior affecting the
achievement of political and military objectives."

A companion of PsyOp is Public Affairs (PA), which "provides objective
reporting without intent to propagandize" and disseminates information
internationally.4 Information warfare uses propaganda - white (telling
the
truth), gray (ambiguous) or black (lying) - often through public
relations
(PR). In "Selling a conflict - the ultimate PR challenge" NATO spokesman

during Kosovo conflict Jamie Shea told a Switzerland forum how "he won
the
war": "If there is no story, create one," as he did when he got Cherie
Blair
and Hilary Clinton to visit a refugee camp for CNN's cameras. By
declaring
that the daily briefings were a PR exercise, Shea and his employers have

lost all credibility.5 American PR firm Rudder Finn arranged a protest
of
the Jewry against alleged "Serb" death camps in Bosnia. Once the Jews
protested, the rest of the world believed the atrocity was authentic.6
The
information operation was highly successful, regardless of whether the
originators were the warring factions of former Yugoslavia unfriendly to

Serbia, NATO, some other group or a combination. The most convincing
proof
that Serb "death" camps were a hoax is in a video7 filmed in one of the
camps by Serb TV next to reporters of the ITN press giant. ITN spread
around
the world images of the camp presented like a WW2 Nazi concentration
camp.

In our times the military, government, mass media and industry
integrated
into a complex, who battles for the minds of the electorate, consumers
and
workers. Supreme US commander general Dwight Eisenhower was responsible
for
drafting a plan for integrating civic life with the military. In his
last
presidential speech in 1946, he warned against growth of the
military-industrial complex. Today, half of US federal taxes during
peacetime go into military spending, including information operations.

How it works

Information operations prepared the world for NATO engagements in Iraq
and
the Balkans by demonizing the leaders and people of these regions. PA of

these campaigns subordinated mass media. The methods of PsyOp "are based

on
projection of truths and credible message [...that serve to discredit]
adversary propaganda or misinformation against the operations of
US/coalition forces [which] is critical to maintaining favorable public
opinion."2 The target audience is stated clearly, but the other words
require an Orwellian-English dictionary.

US ambassador William Walker and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) staged the

Racak "massacre" on January 15th, 1999. Walker was the head of Kosovo
Verification Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in

Europe (OSCE) who supposedly monitored compliance of both sides to
ceasefire. While the Yugoslav forces complied, KLA operated unchecked.
In
June 2000 Dr. Helena Ranta, the head of the Finnish forensic team
investigating Racak incident for NATO, told me that the bodies had no
signs
of execution, were brought from other locations and that NATO made her
final
report secret. Had it proved Serb crime, the report would receive prompt

publicity. Instead, it was made secret to hide lack of proofs. The fate
was
similar to the "evidence" brought before the NATO "court" in Hague by
"witnesses" of an alleged massacre of several thousand Bosnian Moslems
by
Serb forces in Srebrenica. KLA political leader Hashim Thaci admitted in

a
BBC interview prepared for March 24th, 2000, that a major KLA unit
operated
at Racak and many soldiers lost their life in battles with Yugoslav
forces.
KLA intentionally killed 4 Serb policemen in order to enliven the
conflict
and covertly killed Albanian peasants to win sympathy for the separatist

cause from the West. Madeleine Albright admitted in the same BBC
programme
that Racak incident needed preparation and was vivified in order to keep

pressure on European allies to intervene militarily.

The Racak case indicates the following information warfare elements: (1)

Mission: exert pressure on European allies to intervene militarily
against
"Milosevic". (2) Target audience: foreign governments and public
opinion.
(3) Psychological objectives: cohesion of European allies. (4) Timing:
before Ramboulliet "talks". (5) Theme: another "Serb" atrocity in
Kosovo.
(6) Partners: US department of state, KLA, OSCE. (7) Development: covert

action, mass media. (8) Filtering: select "friendly" media, ban Serb
media
from the site of the "massacre". (9) Blunders: mistakes in staging an
execution, admissions by Albright and Thaci to BBC. (10) Damage control:

deny the final scientific report by making it secret.

Mainstream media supported NATO's Racak propaganda against facts, logic
and
ethics. By large, the journalist profession in the West volunteered to
compromise their ethical code for NATO campaigns, failed to verify
information and could seldom report the other side of each story. In my
opinion, it means a deep penetration and control of the media by
military
and government information operations. Let's look at a BBC case. On the
1st
anniversary of the "massacre" BBC News began a story with a usual
statement
that Serb forces are guilty of the atrocity. The truth was hidden at the

end: Helena Ranta was very close to determining what happened. A reader
must
have wondered at this point, given the beginning of the story. Most
people
read only headlines and bylines. Between the lie and the truth, BBC
story
placed Hashim Thaci's opinion that Racak was a turning point in Kosovo's

history that convinced Western powers about the need to intervene
militarily. The story was typical for thousands of others on the Balkan
conflict in Western media since early 1990s. In the BBC story there was
no
voice from Yugoslav forensic and judicial people involved in the Racak
investigation. After experiencing a few messages of this type, their
schematic must emerge as obviously biased against Serbs.

Reflecting on recent "democratic" elections in Yugoslavia, University of

Berkeley professor emeritus in history Raymond Kent wrote, "the Serbs
are
suddenly transformed from a nation of neo-Nazi 'subhumans' into a 'brave

and
valiant people,' a decade of carefully nurtured Serbophobia lurks in the

background. A host of people in government, politics, intellectual
journals,
scribal and audio-visual media have gained in careers and prominence
through
hate-mongering against the Serbs. This will not be given up easily." 8
Kent
alluded to the infiltration of media by the power complex, "As an
outgrowth
of deceit and disinformation needed to justify military interventions
abroad, an unusually intimate relationship of the major scribal and
audio
visual media and the administration has emerged in the shaping of
foreign
policy. While a 'patriotic mutuality' of government and media was
commonplace in major wars, it never loomed as large in peacetime as in
the
last decade while focusing on the Balkans and the Yugoslav tragedy."

A Dutch paper "Trouw" reported that PsyOp officers worked at two leading

US
news channels during the Kosovo war. A liberal US commentator Alexander
Cockburn remarked, "In the Kosovo conflict [...] CNN's screen was filled

with an unending procession of bellicose advocates of bombing, many of
them
retired US generals." However, the few interns seen at CNN and NPR don't

explain the systematic, decade-long bias across the mass media in NATO
countries. The infiltration must be far subtler to explain it. In fact,
the
story in "Trouw" may have been a PsyOp trick designed to divert public
attention from permanent ties of the media with the power complex.

PA involves press releases and conferences and statements by the
military.
In 1998 Dynamic Response exercises of SFOR, PA informed the regional and

international media. Several military agencies and commanders were
involved
in preparation and delivery of a message, which "must be clearly
communicated and correctly interpreted by potential adversaries."
After-action reviews showed that former warring faction "leaders in
attendance and those watching the event through the media received the
intended message loud and clear." 9

DU propaganda during NATO bombing campaign

Information operations misrepresent the radioactive and toxic effects of

DU
in order to temper public protests which could lead to withdrawal of DU
weapons. This would put the US and other NATO countries at a military
disadvantage where DU ammunition is required to destroy enemy's heavy
armour
and concrete bunkers. It was even suggested that a recent Bundeswehr
report
about a Dutch peacekeeper from Kosovo who apparently became ill of DU
was a
PsyOp plot designed to discredit a wave of DU illness cases expected in
2001.10

On March 30th, 1999, NATO announced they would use DU ammunition in
Kosovo,
but reassured that DU would not harm the environment. A day later Dr.
Bertell condemned as "barbarian" the use of radioactive weapons that had

terrible consequences in Iraq and Bosnia. NATO announcement may have
pre-tested public opinion before formulation of a propaganda plan.
Propaganda planning is a continuous process, responsive to immediate
change
brought about by any new condition or circumstance affecting the target
audience or the psychological objectives. The resulting plan is also
subject
to change. NATO plan was to continue denying adverse effects of DU and
to
withhold information about location of DU use. By comparison, location
of
sites of NATO cluster bomb release was not a secret and a well-organized

UN
and NATO effort to warn the population and to de-mine Kosovo started
immediately after the end of bombing.

NATO announcement about planned use of DU over Kosovo also served to
demoralize Yugoslav army. NATO Blitzkrieg failed to destroy enemy's
command
and control centres and anti-aircraft defences in the "first few days"
(later changed to "few first weeks") of bombing. Leaflets showing A-10
and
Apache were dropped over Yugoslav positions in an attempt to break the
morale and tank power of one of Europe's strongest and most disciplined
armies. Tanks would be difficult to deal with in a ground invasion. A
Serb
who participated in the Kosovo campaign told me that naïveté of NATO
propaganda amused Nebojsa Pavkovic's 3rd Army in camouflaged dugouts,.
On
April 26th at least 11 of 24 Apache helicopters shown on NATO leaflets
were
destroyed in an attack of Yugoslav Air Force planes on Rinas airport
near
Tirana. Yugoslav forces are equipped with British cluster bombs (DU
type?)
and this kind of weapon would be a logical choice in the attack. A few
Apaches were shot down from SAM guns shoulder-held by Yugoslav Army foot

soldiers. Another couple of Apaches may indeed have had accidents during

exercises, as "explained" by NATO propaganda. General Pavkovic chose
military over information warfare to neutralize the Apache "tank
killer". At
least one DU-armed A-10 aircraft was shot down. A part from its engine
is on
display at the museum of NATO aggression in Beograd. NATO did not
publicize
these losses, while US special services attempted to suppress
independent
sources that did.

Kosovo campaign also used British Harrier GR7 and US Navy Harrier AV-8B,

both firing 25 mm DU rounds, and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter firing 20
mm
DU rounds. NATO is equipped with ADAM and PDM cluster bombs made of DU.
Apache carry ATACM and MLRS cluster bombs made of DU, and Hellfire
anti-armour missiles (made of DU?). It is plausible that air-to-surface
anti-armour rockets such as US-made Maverick (also in Yugoslav Air
Force)
might be made with a DU penetrator. There were no questions regarding
these
weapons, therefore no answers from NATO. The issue of DU weapons on
board of
crashed and destroyed A-10 and Apaches and DU counterweights in all
destroyed planes and bombs did not receive as much public attention as
fired
DU ammunition.

Yugoslav authorities must have known about the nuclear and toxic danger
but
did not warn the public, presumably for fear of an outcry. Director of
Desert Storm Think Tank, Patricia Axelrod found on her August 1999 trip
in
Serbia that Yugoslav authorities responded with decontamination to
Tomahawk
explosions. Her Geiger counter showed 10 times higher radioactivity at
craters filled after Tomahawks. She was told that Yugoslav government
did
not inform the population about the hazard but hid radiation victims. It

is
likely that Yugoslav anti-aircraft artillery used Russian AA-8 Aphid
bullets
made of DU. They disintegrate into smaller pieces in the air and
puncture
enemy planes and flying bombs, but DU pieces fall on the ground as well.

The
fiercest anti-aircraft defense was in urban centres.

US president Clinton said on April 13th that NATO would attack
Milosevic's
tanks.and artillery. But an increased level of radiation was found
earlier
over the Balkans. Five days before Clinton's statement, Russian foreign
affairs minister Ivanov said that at several locations in Kosovo experts

found increased radioactivity in the air and on the ground. He hinted at

a
new type of radioactive weapon, not the anti-tank DU ammunition. Greek
professor of chemistry Zeferos discovered dangerously high levels of
radioactivity in the air blown from Kosovo and Serbia in the first 3
days of
NATO attacks. A-10 "tank killers" were not yet engaged.

On April 20th NATO confirmed the use of DU ammunition currently in
Kosovo
and previously in Bosnia, but the spokesman trivialized the danger of
DU. He
added that DU may cause "complications" if it enters the body. Five days

earlier a Pentagon report stated that veterans of previous DU wars need
to
be concerned about their health. The message was likely timed to temper
expected public opposition following the announcement of April 20th. On
May
3rd a Greek accusation before the International Criminal Tribunal for
Former
Yugoslavia named A-10 and Tomahawks containing DU and stressed
intentional
use by NATO of indiscriminating weapons with long-term consequences.

US Air Force command initially contradicted NATO spokesman by denying
that
A-10 aircraft fired DU ammunition. Then on May 7th Pentagon's general
Chuck
Wald confirmed that A-10 fired DU. Yugoslav secretary general described
on
May 15th the use of DU weapons as a "crime against humanity and
international law," naming A-10 attacks on Prizren (March 30th) and on
Bujanovac (April 18th). At the same time, author of a report on DU from
1998
Dan Fahey stated that US soldiers should not be sent to Kosovo, unless
they
are trained to deal with DU contamination, wear protective clothing and
carry Geiger counters. General Alekseiev, the head of environmental
safety
in the Russian army, stated on May 27th that NATO aircraft "intensely"
used
DU bullets against tanks and concrete structures. But not only. An
independent investigation team under Swiss leadership dug out DU bullets

at
the radio tower in Vranje in southern Serbia. At Djakovica, a foreign
aid
worker found tips of DU bullets in a military place with no armoured
vehicles.

DU propaganda after NATO bombing

NATO bombing ceased on June 9, 1999. Yugoslav forces withdrew from
Kosovo
and UN and NATO so-called KFOR peacekeepers came in. Shortly after
ceasefire, US and British military gave detailed information about the
drops
of 1.5 thousand cluster bombs which helped de-miners draw maps of
affected
areas. Military sources suggested that only 3 to 4 thousand DU shells
have
been fired in Kosovo, a figure in apparent agreement with Yugoslav
sources.
Ten months later the estimate grew tenfold.

Pentagon said in June that there was no basis for concerns about dangers

of
DU contamination to returning Kosovo refugees, because uranium is
naturally
everywhere around us and is "absorbed by the body." Pentagon stated that

they did not have any plans to decontaminate Kosovo battlefields,
because
minimal quantities of DU were used and DU is not harmful to health. DU
experts Doug Rokke and Dan Fahey were very concerned. Fahey recommended
careful removal of vehicles hit by DU ammo, then excavating and hauling
away
30 cm of top soil from contaminated sites to controlled disposal and
searching out and disposal of all DU shrapnel and unexploded DU
ammunition.
Yugoslav press agency Beta reported on June 27th about Hungarian "Magyar

Nezmet" paper news of 30 to 50-fold increase of alfa radiation near the
border with Yugoslavia. A likely source might have been a downed NATO
plane
that was destroyed with a NATO missile to hide evidence of NATO loss.
British biologist Roger Coghill stated for BBC from a conference on DU
effects of the 1991 Gulf War that for its hazards to human health DU
should
have never been used in combat. Coghill estimated over 10 thousands
future
deaths from DU released in the Balkans during NATO attacks.

BBC News reported on August 18th that humanitarian workers in Kosovo
were
warned about the DU danger but not local population. Between September
26
and 28, 1999, KFOR officers admitted that DU particles may have
contaminated
soil around targets in Yugoslavia and may be hazardous if inhaled,
particularly by children. Peacekeepers were advised to wear protective
suits, masks and gloves in DU-contaminated areas. or else stay 50 m away

from objects shelled with DU ammunition. US DoD spokesman Victor
Warzinski
said that remains of DU on Kosovo battlefields do not pose a
"significant"
risk to human health. When in June UN de-mining teams asked for guidance

from NATO on DU, they were advised to stay away from vehicles hit by DU
bullets. British National Radiation Protection Board advised that main
risk
stemmed from inhaling DU-contaminated dust.

By the beginning of October, UN agencies who asked NATO where DU combat
sites were located did not receive this "secret" information they
required
to assess war damage in Kosovo. David Kyd of the UN-funded Balkan Task
Force
was frustrated, because NATO cooperated on identification of bombed
industrial facilities and on pollution that escaped into the Danube. US
military reps in European NATO headquarters refused to give any
information.
Pentagon played hide-and-seek with DU information seekers. A RAND study
released by Pentagon on October 19th said that anti-nerve agent pills
cannot
be ruled out as a possible cause for Gulf War syndrome. Bernard Rostker,

DoD
special assistant for Gulf War illnesses said that based on experience
in
the Persian Gulf, extensive environmental reviews were conducted based
upon
industrial pollutants and war damage in Kosovo. "We're now becoming more

sensitive to some of the environmental hazards and placing a lot more
emphasis on environmental medicine," Dr. Sue Bailey, assistant secretary

of
defence for health affairs echoed Rostker. The statements were suspected

to
be a preparation for "other" causes of DU-induced illness in Kosovo.

Robert Fisk reported from Pristina on November 22nd that A-10 shot DU
bullets for longer than a month at at least 40 locations in Kosovo. NATO

did
not bother to look for and examine survivors of attacks on refugee
convoys
for possible DU effects. By the side of Djakovica-Prizren road where one

of
the tragic attacks on refugees took place on April 14th, Fisk found on
the
next day similar craters he saw left by anti-armour missiles launched
from
A-10 in the Gulf. NATO sources in Kosovo told Fisk that DU was present
in
the tips of missiles aimed at Serb bunkers and underground military
installations. Pentagon spokesman Warzinski denied presence of DU in
cruise
missiles. According to Fisk, Yugoslav authorities did not have DU
information about Kosovo because their army had to leave in a hurry.

On February 2nd, 2000, over ten months after US started using DU weapons

in
Kosovo, NATO secretary general Lord Robertson confirmed in a letter to
UN
secreatry general Kofi Annan that A-10 fired 31 thousand DU bullets
containing 10.5 tons of DU. Robertson indicated general areas of DU use
in
Kosovo, but no detail necessary to conduct site investigations. On March

3rd, 2000, Pentagon spokesman Steve Campbell confirmed the absence of
"significant" risk to health and environment from DU remnants. On March
22nd, 3 elderly Catholics and a priest from Plowshares Against Depleted
Uranium were sentenced for damaging A-10 aircraft at a military base in
Maryland, USA. The accused refused the right for a defense attorney and
some
of them demanded placement in a more severe prison. The judge sentenced
them
to 2-3 times longer prison terms than was suggested by the prosecutor.
At
the end of March, German KFOR units identified a radioactive 5,000 sq. m

area inside Kosovo and German ministry of defense was forced to promise
radiological examination of its Kosovo troops.

On March 28th, Nic Fleming reported in British paper "The Express" that
thousands times higher than accepted levels of radioactivity were
discovered
in populated areas by a public health institute in Nis. On April 16th,
"Balkan syndrome" was coined in "Sunday Times" story about a dozen
British
soldiers who were preparing litigation against the government for
alleged
exposure to the harmful effects of DU used by the military in the Balkan

conflicts. Belgium who had soldiers in the same Kosovo sector as the
British
KFOR, reportedly started examination of their 14,000 soldiers who have
served in the Balkans.

On April 30th, 2000, after repeated warnings from military officials and

others to stop Dr. Rokke speak out about the effects of DU, someone shot

through a bedroom window of his home. On May 27th, his locked house in
Alabama was ransacked. Professor Siegwart-Horst Günther was arrested and

maltreated in June 1995 following his crusade against DU. For one year
after
release he remained under police supervision. On January 4th, 1999, he
appeared before a German court. He was told that if necessary he would
be
forcefully taken to a closed psychiatric institution. The authorities
are
very nervous indeed about the DU truth getting out. Violence and
intimidation methods belong to the tools of information warfare.

Countering PsyOp on DU

If DU was benign, why did not Pentagon disclose locations of DU weapon
use
in the Balkans? Public verification would effectively deal with the
world's
suspicions about DU. It would get Pentagon off the hook on this issue
forever and would allow retention of an effective armour-piercer in the
US
and British arsenal. Information operations chose a different approach
for
obvious reasons.

Knowing the adversary may help in anti-DU activities. The Balkan DU case

has
the following information warfare characteristics: (1) Mission: a)
maintain
tactical advantage over enemy's armour; b) suppress
government-industry-military liability, including storage of DU waste
and
past uses of DU weapons in the Gulf, Bosnia and on testing ranges; c)
maintain a weapon against enemy civilians as a terrorist tool with
long-term
biological consequences. (2) Target audience: domestic and foreign
public
opinion. (3) Psychological objectives: alienate, dilute and delay global

public opposition to DU. (4) Timing: a) until US and international laws
ban
the military use of DU; or, b) until a world tribunal sentences persons
responsible, whichever comes first. (5) Theme: "As harmless as a handful

of
dirt from your backyard." (6) Partners: US department of defense, DU
industry. (7) Development: communication through spokesmen, "scientific"

reports and mass media; intimidation of key anti-DU activists with
"special"
methods. (8) Filtering: emphasize "friendly" reports, suppress
independent
research results. (9) Blunders: contradictory own reports; delays in
divulging location of DU use over Yugoslavia; and, failure to warn and
protect NATO and UN forces, foreign workers and local civilians. (10)
Damage
control: deny scientific evidence by changing emphasis.

The primary goal of anti-DU campaigns during US, British and NATO
military
operations should be to warn local population that might be affected.
The
need for a clear and simple handout for the Balkan population about DU
dangers arose as soon as NATO announced the intent to use DU ammunition.

To
the detriment of those affected, development and dissemination of a
brochure
was delayed. NATO propaganda created ambiguity, denial and fog. To date,

the
issue of DU in the ballast and navigational gear of aircraft and guided
missiles is not clear. Neither is it clear if reports about radiation in

the
Balkans prior to NATO use of DU ammo were a black propaganda or not.
Coordination between grassroot orgs in Yugoslavia and Western orgs was
lacking initially. When finally Green Table prepared the brochure with
inputs from the West and Yugoslavia, it was excessive in technical
jargon.
It was issued in only one of the many Balkan languages, was not targeted

at
Kosovo population and came out too late to warn about the hazards. The
brochure was only ready in the beginning of year 2000. By then Robert
Fisk,
Scott Peterson and others have already described how Kosovo children
played
with the DU shells while grown-ups salvaged vehicles that were shelled
with
DU.

How to do it better next time, hoping there will be no 'next' time? We
should not wait for initiative from an affected country, where day to
day
survival may be more important during a war. We must have information
material ready for review by local specialists and for prompt
dissemination.
Present US and NATO strategy seems to mean more "humanitarian
interventions"
wherever and whenever globalisation interests call for use of force, to
subdue states and destabilize regions, including use of prohibited
weapons
against civilians. Western NGOs and concerned citizens should stand-by
with
money and organizational resources necessary to issue and disseminate DU

brochures and posters, ads for local newspapers, radio and TV and other
"products" (to use PsyOp jargon) to any region of the world in any
language
on a short notice. This is what "globalisation" means today,
unfortunately.

Let's be prepared to put out DU fires as they are spread by NATO.
Longer-term, we can design nuclear misinformation de-bunking campaigns.
Using our scientific and citizenship credibility we can spread the word
around to influence the public - just like PsyOp do, but with a
different
meaning of "truth projection", "objective reporting" and "national" and
"strategic" objectives. Organmizations like IDUST, the International
Depleted Uranium Study Team, a newly established NGO of international
researchers, activists and scientists intends to stop the use DU in
military
weapons by the year 2010 through alliance-building, education, research
and
outreach - globally.

Conclusion

Distortions and half-truths about the post-combat hazards of DU weapons
flow
from strategic objectives of "military advantage" over enemy's armour
and
military installations, which in turn flow from objectives of US
"national
interests" or "strategic interests" of NATO. DU ammunition did not
secure
any "military advantage" to US and NATO forces. The necessity to use
slow-moving and low-altitude A-10 and Apache against Serb tanks and
mobile
missile launches spelled disaster to US equipment. Thousands of DU
rounds
went into mock-ups of Serb armour and butchered refugees when "Serb"
armour
was suspected in the convoys. Serb forces left the battlefields
practically
intact, but DU contamination stayed behind. It greeted hundreds of
thousands
of returning refugees, KLA and illegal newcomers from Albania, as well
as
tens of thousands of NATO and UN peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and
Western "re-builders" of this Yugoslav territory. The nature and effects

of
other nuclear weapons that were possibly used in Yugoslavia is
uncertain.

"National" and "strategic" objectives wielded by the US and NATO also
prove
counterproductive. Moral credit of the United States was tarnished in
Western Europe. The same regards majority of former Soviet block people
who
invested great hopes in a better world spearheaded by the US and NATO.
USA
is harming her own national long-term interests and is letting down
millions
of needy people in the process. Opposition to joining NATO and European
Union rose dramatically in Slav countries after NATO attacked
Yugoslavia. In
Poland it is expressed by about 60 to 70% of the population.

The US and NATO would not give up DU's "military advantage" voluntarily,

although DU has an alternative in expensive tungsten. The military does
not
employ a full social cost calculus and has no incentive to switch to a
more
benign material. The cheap DU material was incorporated into the
sandwich
armour of the newest American tank to make it "harder". A "green"
anti-armour bullet was announced by Pentagon propaganda [does someone
know
more about it - I lost the posting]. Obviously, the public does not have

influence on legislation to change things around. The problem concerns
not
only DU ammunition but also DU used as ballast and in navigational
devices
of aircraft and flying bombs.

Massive incidence of DU-related disease and deaths among US and UK Gulf
War
veterans carries the potential for multi-billion dollar litigation.
Evidence
is also mounting about improper handling of DU counterweights by
aircraft
maintenance staff who never went to the Persian Gulf or the Balkans but
acquired Gulf War syndrome nevertheless. Potential government liability
hampers publication of the truth about DU. Once DU is officially
declared
hazardous, military and civilian victims would demand compensation. The
storage of thousands of tonnes of depleted uranium waste around the
world
would have to be remedied at a great expense, too, while DU
contamination in
the Persian Gulf, the Balkans and on DU shooting ranges would need
costly
cleanups. Given the potential liabilities and loss of credibility, it is

in
self-interests of the military, the government and the defence industry
to
continue attempts at "changing emphasis", deception, half-truths and
straight lying about DU. The public must take a vigorous stand to
protect
present and future generations of all life endangered by DU. Propaganda
is a
weak point of the military-government-industry complex who lost
credibility
in the eyes of the public on account of repeated blunders and lies.
Continuing exposure of truth to the public at large should hopefully
begin
desirable change.

Once the public understands the hazards and can identify with the
adverse
consequences, the electorate would exert pressure on politicians. But
the
public is too comfortable with, and does not question mainstream media
messages. The public does not have time and intellectual capacity to
seek,
analyse and understand alternative information about DU. Information
outside
of the prevailing perceptions is rejected as strange or hostile to the
common feeling of security. Government-military-industry information
warriors exploit this in their operations. Bonaparte's assertion that
"the
sword is always beaten by the mind" is challenging if one considers how
the
mind can be influenced by black and grey propaganda. On our side is the
public's self-preservation instinct that came to fruition during project

Plowshares and other protests against nuclear mania.

In a supposedly democratic society, domination of biased messages is an
assault on freedom of opinion and the right to know the truth. The
public is
manipulated with "truth projection." Spreading hatred propaganda against

a
nation to justify aggression and covering up information regarding
crimes
against humanity are crimes themselves. The degree of protection
received by
off-mainstream information, such as ours on DU, will be a major working
test
of freedom and democracy.

1 <http://www.most.org.pl/zb/internet/nato/index.html>
www.most.org.pl/zb/internet/nato/index.html

2 Headquarters, Department of the Army, Field Manual 100-6: Information
Operations, USGPO, Washington DC, 27 August 1996

3 Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense, JCS Publication 1,
Glossary
Department of Defense Military and Associated Terms, 1987,
<http://www.pipeline.com/~psywarrior/glossary.html>
www.pipeline.com/~psywarrior/glossary.html

4 Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Publication

3-53, Joint Doctrine for Psychological Operations, USGPO, Washington DC,

10
July 1996

5 Neue Zurcher Zeitung, March 30, 2000

6 Jacques Merlino, It Is Not Good To Tell The Truth About Yugoslavia, A.

Michel, Paris, 1993

7 Judgement can be ordered through <http://www.tenc.net/> www.tenc.net

8 R. K. Kent, Nationalisms and the absolute corruptibility of imagined
absolute power, October 7, 2000

9 Arthur N. Tulak, Information Operations in Support of Demonstrations
and
Shows of Force,
<http://www.abolishnato.com/abolishnato/natobriefs/intim.nonsence.htm>
www.abolishnato.com/abolishnato/natobriefs/intim.nonsence.htm

10
<http://www.vorstadtzentrum.net/cgi-bin/joesb/news/viewnews.cgi?category=all

&id=969989108>
www.vorstadtzentrum.net/cgi-bin/joesb/news/viewnews.cgi?category=all&id=9699

89108

============================================================================

=======



ALTRA DOCUMENTAZIONE INTERNET E BIBLIOGRAFIA SUL DU
da Piotr Bein
(fonte: mailing list STOPNATO@... )

Convention with Respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The
Hague,
July 29, 1899 (Hague, II)
Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague,
October 18, 1907 (Hague, IV)
Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating,
Poisonous or
Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, Geneva, June 17,

1925
Geneva Conventions, 12 August 1949
Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
War,
Geneva, 1949
Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment,
Stockholm, 1972
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and
Stockpiling
of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons, and on their
Destruction,
1972
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts
(Protocol I of 1977)
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (Report of the United
Nations
Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June
1992,
Annex I)
UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities Resolution 1996/16, August 29, 1996, E/CN.4/SUB.2/RES/1996/16

UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities Resolution 1997/36, August 28, 1997, E/CN.4/SUB.2/RES/1997/36

UN Press Release, September 4, 1996, HR/CN/755
Oswiadczenia rzadowe i protesty spoleczne
The denunciation to the Prosecutor of ICTY, in the Hague, filed by the
Association of Serbs from Bosnia and Hercegovina, concerning the use of
DU
by NATO in Republika Srpska, in 1995
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Federal Ministry for Development,
Science and Environment, Information about the effects of the NATO
aggression on the environment in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
Belgrad, 4.99, www.iacenter.org/yugoenv.htm
Jela Jowanowicz, Aide memoire on the use of inhumane weapons in the
aggression of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization against the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, 15.5.99, www.iacenter.org/aide_mem.htm

Independent Commission of Inquiry hearing to investigate U.S./NATO war
crimes against the people of Yugoslavia, 30.7.99,
www.iacenter.org/warcrime/index.htm
Ramsey Clark, An international appeal to ban the use of depleted uranium

weapons, www.iacenter.org/
Artykuly prasowe
Christine Abdelkrim-Delanne, Ces armes si peu conventionneles [w:] "Le
Monde
Diplomatique" z czerwca 1999 r.,
www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1999/06/ABDELKRIM_DELANNE/12106.html
Patricia Axelrod, On the road to Kosovo: Yugoslavs are paying the price
for
NATO's war, www.sfbayguardian.com/
Piotr Bein, Wojenna historia zubozonego uranu: czesc II [w:] ZB nr
2(147),
www.most.org.pl/zb/zb/147/military.htm
Nick Cohen, Depleted uranium: deadly weapon, deadly legacy? [w:]
"Guardian"
z 9.5.99
Natasha Dokovska, A New Chernobyl in the Balkans [w:] Environment News
Service (ENS), 1999, http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr99/1999L-04-13-01.html
Robert Fisk, Exposed: The deadly legacy of NATO strikes in Kosovo [w:]
"Independent" z 26-28.9.99
Robert Fisk, Exposed: The deadly legacy of NATO strikes in Kosovo [w:]
"Independent News" z 4.10.99,
www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Europe/nato041099.shtml
Robert Fisk, I'd like to believe Nato that depleted uranium is harmless
[w:]
"Independent News" z 4.10.99,
www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Europe/fisk041099.shtml
Robert Fisk, US 'lost count of uranium shells fired in Kosovo' [w:]
"Independent" z 22.11.99
Nic Fleming, Thousand facing cancer death after Nato jets' radioactive
blitz
[w:] "The Express" z 28.3.00,
www.lineone.net/express/00/03/28/news/n2520cancer-d.html
Alex Kirby, Depleted uranium 'threatens Balkan cancer epidemic' [w:] BBC

News z 30.7.99,
http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid%5F408000/408122.stm

Alex Kirby, Pentagon's man in uranium warning [w:] BBC News z 11.5.99,
http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid%5F340000/340944.stm

Alex Kirby, Pentagon confirms depleted uranium use [w:] BBC News z
7.5.99,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_337000/337855.stm
Alex Kirby, Uranium weapons fear in Kosovo - A-10 can fire depleted
uranium
shells, BBC News z 9.4.99
Dina Kyriakidou, NATO bombing wrecks Balkan environment - Greenpeace,
http://202.139.253.156/news/20059901.html, [w:] ZB 7(133)/99 s.4
Jon Leyne, UK sweeping up stray bombs [w:] BBC News z 30.7.99,
http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid%5F408000/408394.stm

David O'Reilly, Activists draw jail in Md. incident [w:] "Philadelphia
Inquirer" z 24.3.00,
www.phillynews.com/inquirer/2000/Mar/24/city/PPLOW24.htm
Scott Peterson, Will America risk use of DU in Kosovo? [w:] "Christian
Science Monitor" z 29.4.99,
www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/04/29/p12s2.htm
Scott Peterson, Pentagon stance on DU a moving target [w:] "Christian
Science Monitor" z 30.4.99,
www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/04/30/p8s1.htm
Scott Peterson, US reluctance to talk about DU [w:] "Christian Science
Monitir" z 5.10.99, www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/10/05/fp6s2-csm.shtml

Scott Peterson, The Trail of a Bullet: New evidence emerges of
radioactive
contamination in Kosovo. The Pentagon isn't talking [w:] "Christian
Science
Monitor" z 5.10.99, www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/10/05/fp1s3-csm.shtml

Lois Rogers, Ailing troops sue over Balkan war syndrome [w:] "Sunday
Times"
z 16.4.00, www.sunday-times.co.uk
Kathleen Sullivan, U.S. firing radioactive ammo: Depleted uranium
contamination poses threat to civilians, troops in Balkans [w:] "San
Francisco Examiner" z 7.5.99, s.A1,
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/05/07/NEWS111

11.dtl
Kathleen Sullivan, Radioactive ammo health study draws fire from expert,

says researchers in denial about risks [w:] "San Francisco Examiner" z
16.4.99, s.A23,
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/04/16/NEWS769

4.dtl
Kathleen Sullivan, Uranium bullets on NATO holsters [w:] "San Francisco
Examiner" z 1.4.99
M.R. Gordon i E. Schmitt, Pentagon blocks Apache use in Kosovo [w:] "New

York Times" z 16.5.99, www.flora.org/flora.mai-not/11532
Magazyn "In Defense of Marxism", www.marxist.com/Europe/uranium.html
Boost for Gulf War syndrome research [w:] BBC News z 28.4.99,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_61000/61412.stm
Spanish fighter pilots admit that NATO deliberately attacked civilian
targets [w:] "Articulo 20" nr 30 z 14.6.99
Ksiazki
International Action Center, "Metal of Dishonor: Depleted Uranium - How
the
Pentagon Radiates Soldiers & Civilians with DU Weapons", New York City,
1997
Helen Caldicott, A New Kind of Nuclear War [w:] "Metal of Dishonor:
Depleted
Uranium - How the Pentagon Radiates Soldiers & Civilians with DU
Weapons",
New York City: International Action Center, 1997
Raporty rzadu USA
Army Environmental Policy Institute, Health and Environmental
Consequences
of Depleted Uranium Use in the US Army June 1995
US General Accounting Office, Operation Desert Storm: Army Not
Adequately
Prepared to Deal With Depleted Uranium Contamination, (GAO/NSIAD-93-90),

January 1993
Tylko na Sieci i inne
Vladimir S. Zajic, Review of Radioactivity, Military Use, and Health
Effects
of Depleted Uranium, July 1999,
http://members.tripod.com/vzajic/index.html
Michel Chossudovsky, "Impacts of NATO`s 'Humanitarian' Bombings, The
Balance
Sheet of Destruction in Yugoslavia", Ottawa, April 11, 1999.
Coghill Research Laboratories, Lower Race, Pontypool, Gwent NP4 5UH, UK,
UK,
www.cogreslab.demon.co.uk/WEBDU.htm
J.J. Richardson, Depleted uranium: The invisible threat, 23.6.99,
www.motherjones.com/total_coverage/kosovo/reality_check/du.html
Serb dummies fool NATO dummies, 24.6.99,
www.truthinmedia.org/Kosovo/Peace/ps8.html
Rosalie Bertell, War in Kosovo: Use of depleted uranium, wiadomosc z
31.3.99
na www.flora.org/flora.mai-not/10957
Nuklearni Rat u Jugoslaviji, Osiromaseni uranijum: Sta je to i kako se
zastiti, Zeleni Sto i International DU Information Network, broszura z
2000
r. bez daty, rozprowadzona w Sieci
Od Venika
Ponizsze pozycje mozna znalezc w witrynie internetowej Venika
www.venik.way.to, która z powodu przesladowania przez wladze USA czesto
zmienia serwer. Po ukazaniu sie strony tytulowej nalezy wybrac
guzik-obrazek
"War in Yugoslavia", a nastepnie szukac danej pozycji w spisie tresci,
albo
podstawic podany przyrostek htm za slowem aviation w pasku wyszukiwania.

"USA Today" z 27.4.99, s.6A /apachecrash01.htm
Spanish fighter pilots admit that NATO deliberately attacked civilian
targets [w:] "Articulo 20" nr 30 z 14.6.99, /nws001/articulo001.htm
Apache helicopter crash site in Albania, /apachecrash02.htm

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