Tropic of Cancer II: the condemned zone

By Dr F R Hilmi:

Cast your mind back to 2003 when the mini nuclear bombs were being dropped in concentrations over the area now called the Green Zone. Remember the mushroom-clouds rising above the area producing a spectacle of fire, booms and showers of debris all over Baghdad. Those were not explosions caused by gun powder, dynamite or conventional explosives; they were tactical nuclear-tipped weapons designed to kill maximum numbers of people, not just at the time of impact but to go on doing so for decades and centuries afterwards. They were in fact more likely to be the infamous Neutron omvs.

What you probably don’t know is that these nastiest of nuclear bombs are designed to kill people but preserve structures and buildings as far as possible. You must have seen the Pompeii-style dead people lying around in the streets, having become atomised by these monstrous bombs so that they collapsed in a pile of soot when touched or disturbed.

Having lost a sister to cancer and been involved in the preparation of a cancer hospital project for Kurdistan I had more than average knowledge of the subject, and in 2003 I warned publicly of the oncoming wave of cancer conditions in Baghdad and other affected regions. At the time one or two residents and members of Iraq’s parliament called the TV program I was appearing on and expressed concern but they ignored my advice.

Today another dear member of my family living in Baghdad as a staff member of the Kurdish team of the Iraqi Foreign Office has been diagnosed with the dreadful disease. I found out that the name of the condition is Multiple Myeloma and I set about trying to find out all about it. Here is what I found:

I looked for the known causes of Multiple Myloma, which is a haematological cancer disease related to the bone marrow producing a malignant form of plasma cells. My relative has more than just Myeloma, causing great concern since the other problems are also life-threatening. A young man with no previous ailments and suddenly struck down with several dangerous conditions is a suspicious situation which, coupled with my knowledge of the radioactive link, made me look for the sources of radiation and whether or not radiation may be the cause of Myeloma.

Since Myeloma also affects the immune system a couple of serious infections could also be the outcome of that disease and so my main concern was the link to radiation.

Myeloma is a rare disease affecting a small proportion of Americans (20,000). It is even rarer in the UK and unlikely to have been present in numbers in Iraq prior to its “liberation”. According to reference (1) below a positive cause of Myeloma is “exposure to ionising radiation”.

The World Health Organisation (3) is also concerned about the levels of ionising radiation resulting from the release of nuclear radiation after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami considering it a main cause of cancers.

We know that Iraq has never had a nuclear radiation release due to any nuclear accident and, despite obesity and other common risk factors, there was no outbreak of cancer until the Second Gulf war when the south was bombed by a large number of uranium tipped bombs. We have heard also of the large number of cancers which took around ten years to appear en masse in the south (the normal period for the appearance of cancers after nuclear attacks or accidents). 2012 is the tenth year after the “liberation” and I predict the appearance of a very large number of incidences as expected.

On a recent visit to Baghdad I saw some really horrendous examples of cancerous deformations and malignancies in cats and dogs in the streets of Baghdad.

Let us re-quote what Wikipedia states about the effect and purpose of tactical nuclear weapons similar to those used on Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq in the process of “liberation”.

“Some tactical nuclear weapons have specific features meant to enhance their battlefield characteristics, such as variable yield which allow their explosive power to be varied over a wide range for different situations, or enhanced radiation weapons (the so-called “neutron bombs“) which are meant to maximize ionizing radiation exposure while minimizing blast effects.”

The clear and undisputable link between the weapons used and the Myeloma which my dear young relative is suffering from is there and it cannot be denied.

Recommendations:

  1. As a conclusion of this short investigation I suggest that Al-Maliki and Talabani should order the evacuation of the Green Zone and declare it a “Condemned Zone”; bring experts to test the soil, the water, vegetation life-stock and even the air before allowing anyone to inhabit the contaminated rich palaces inherited from Saddam or looted from the state.
  2. The Iraqi government should demand that the US owns up to these crimes and supplies all the antidotes, medications and effective treatments that it must have developed to deal with the disease when its own citizens and soldiers are affected.
  3. Demand full and substantial compensation from the US for the damage caused and the lives lost and the Iraq government to offer additional compensation of its own.
  4. The Iraqi government should demand complete cancer hospitals to be established in Iraq with all the latest facilities, treatments, medications and specialists.

References:

1. On The Causes of Myeloma

http://www.livestrong.com/article/147467-causes-of-multiple-myeloma-cancer/

Be Clear on Cancer

Causes of Multiple Myeloma Cancer

Jun 13, 2010 | By Helen Williams

Ionizing Radiation

Exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation causes multiple myeloma, according to the National Cancer Institute. This is evidenced by Japanese atomic bomb survivors, whose risk for this cancer is five times higher. The incidence is higher in radiologists and nuclear plants workers as well. There is no link, however, between medical X-rays and multiple myeloma.

Age and Gender

It’s well established that increasing age and male gender are risk factors for multiple myeloma. According to the National Cancer Institute, most people with this cancer are diagnosed after age 65. On the other hand, very few people younger than 40 develop this disease.

Photo Credit lost cause image by Jake Hellbach from Fotolia.com

Multiple myeloma is a rare cancer, affecting about 20,000 Americans each year. Although the exact causes remain unclear, several risk factors have been identified. Established risk factors include older age and male gender, black race and family disease history. Epidemiologic research suggests other risk factors, including obesity and exposure to pesticides.

Black Race

According to the International Journal of Cancer, the risk for multiple myeloma is two to three times higher in African-Americans. Hawaiians and American Indians also have an elevated risk; Asian-Americans have a low risk. The reasons for different disease rates among ethnic groups remain unknown.

Positive Family History

The Mayo Clinic reports that having a relative with multiple myeloma or another blood cancer increases the risk for developing this disease. It may be that relatives have a similar genetic weakness, such as defect in chromosome 13, which is found in virtually all patients with this multiple myeloma. Another problem found in half of patients is translocated chromosomes, which means that chromosomes have exchanged parts.

Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significanc (MGUS)

MGUS, a benign condition characterized by abnormal plasma cells and the presence of the M protein, is strongly associated with multiple myeloma. According to the Mayo Clinic, 25 years after diagnosis, 39 percent of people with MGUS have developed multiple myeloma. The cause of MGUS remains unknown, reports the International Journal of Cancer, although, like multiple myeloma, the prevalence is higher in males and African-Americans.

Obesity

Obesity is consistently associated with a higher risk for multiple myeloma, reports the International Journal of Cancer. The elevated risk in obese people is shown in large epidemologic studies conducted all over the world. .

Pesticides

Exposure to pesticides may cause multiple myeloma. A study of nearly three million people in Sweden showed that workers exposed to pesticides, even if occasionally, had a higher risk for this cancer. The risk was particularly strong if they were exposed to intense levels. However, researchers are unsure about this finding, as other studies haven’t shown a link between exposure to pesticides and multiple myeloma

2. Where do we get Ionizing Radiation from?

World Health Organisation (WHO)

Preliminary Dose Estimation from the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Ionizing radiation has always been a part of the human environment. Along with natural radioactive sources present in the Earth’s crust and cosmic radiation, man-made sources also contribute to our continuous exposure to ionizing radiation.

Environmental radioactive pollution has resulted from past nuclear weapons testing, nuclear waste disposal, accidents at nuclear power plants, as well as from transportation, storage, loss, and misuse of radioactive sources. While there are risks associated with exposure to radiation benefits of nuclear applications in medicine industry and science are well established. WHO’s radiation programme aims to assure that the benefits of radiation technology far exceeds any known risks.

Environmental radioactive pollution has resulted from past nuclear weapons testing, nuclear waste disposal, accidents at nuclear power plants, as well as from transportation, storage, loss, and misuse of radioactive sources. While there are risks associated with exposure to radiation benefits of nuclear applications in medicine industry and science are well established. WHO’s radiation programme aims to assure that the benefits of radiation technology far exceeds any known risks.

 3. On Tactical Nuclear Weapons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_nuclear_weapon

Other new tactical weapons undergoing research include earth penetrating weapons which are designed to target enemy-held caves or deep-underground bunkers.

There is no precise definition of the “tactical” category, neither considering range nor yield of the nuclear weapon.[2][3] The yield of tactical nuclear weapons is generally lower than that of strategic nuclear weapons, but they are still very powerful, and some variable-yield warheads serve in both roles. Modern tactical nuclear warheads have yields up to the tens of kilotons, or potentially hundreds, several times that of the weapons used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Some tactical nuclear weapons have specific features meant to enhance their battlefield characteristics, such as variable yield which allow their explosive power to be varied over a wide range for different situations, or enhanced radiation weapons (the so-called “neutron bombs“) which are meant to maximize ionizing radiation exposure while minimizing blast effects.

Copyright © 2012 Kurdistantribune.com

2 Responses to Tropic of Cancer II: the condemned zone
  1. Dr. Sherzad
    September 25, 2012 | 12:33

    Although it is true that the US used a large number of anti tank depleted Uranium tipped missiles I doubted that is caused the cancer cases in Iraq. If it is true that part of Baghdad is contaminated with any type of radioactive material the it is the simplest way to check it is by getting radiation detection devices which is available on the market and every academic department in UK has a couple of these devices.
    The real reasons (as opposed to the very wide belief in conspiracy theory in our unfortunate area of the world) for the increase in cancer detection in Iraq now is because I think there are more medical facilities now that during all the 90’s because simply almost all medical doctors left Iraq when they could.
    As general information about cancer in the UK please see the internationally famous Cancer Research UK. The following info is from statistics about the number of people with cancer etc published by UK medical establishment:
    How common is cancer?
    • There are more than 200 types of cancer, each with different causes, symptoms and treatments.
    • Around 320,500 were diagnosed with cancer in 2009 in the UK, that’s around 880 people every day.
    • Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer.

  2. Cozen
    September 25, 2012 | 16:49

    Cancer is man made disease

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