Agent Orange, the killer that keeps killing

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/28423/
Vietnam Vets, Experts Urge Government to Do More for Agent Orange Victims
Friday, May 16, 2008 : infoZine Staff - by Michele Byrd
One day before the 33rd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, one of the war's most controversial subjects - Agent Orange - is still the subject of debate.

Washington, D.C. - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - infoZine - At a hearing Thursday before a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, witnesses said the U.S. needs to spend more money to help victims of the toxic defoliant, some of whom are the grandchildren of U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese who were exposed.

Agent Orange is a weed killer used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War to destroy the jungle providing cover for the Vietcong, Communist guerillas who fought against the United States. It contains the chemical dioxin, which can cause reproductive problems, birth defects, cancer and other diseases.Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, head of the Women's Health Department at Ho Chi Minh City Medical University in Vietnam, recounted her experiences delivering children to mothers exposed to Agent Orange since the late 1960s.

"When I was an intern, I delivered a severely deformed baby with no brain and no limbs," she said. "Since then, every day or two, I have witnessed such birth defects and mothers' sufferings."Scot Marciel the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for Asian affairs, testified that the U.S. government is cooperating with the Vietnamese government to provide at least $3 million for "environmental remediation and health activities" at "hot spots" in Vietnam.

Delegate Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, D-American Samoa, chairman of the subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, said there are at least a million victims, meaning the government is spending only $3 on each.Richard Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the federal government hasn't done enough research to help U.S. war veterans while it was helping Vietnam rebuild and improve health care.

"While we wish the Vietnamese people all the best with their problems due to Agent Orange," Weidman's written statement said, "it is a fact that American veterans of Vietnam, and our families, are being cast aside by the way things have developed in the past seven years or so."Marciel said that the United States does not recognize legal liability for the effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam and neighboring countries, citing a lack of scientific evidence."We continue to stress that the discussions of the effects of Agent Orange need to be based on credible scientific research that meets international standards," he said.

Faleomavaega disagreed with the U.S. position on legal liability, but he said it is not about finger pointing."It's there, and we should find a solution," he said.According to several witnesses, that solution begins with the allocation of more money and legislation aimed at cleaning up the environment and addressing the health issues of both Vietnamese people and U.S. Vietnam veterans. However, they said the hearing is just the first step."We're building a record. We've barely even started," Faleomavaega said. "I'm very hopeful that whoever the next president is going to be will pay more attention to this."