Vets Testify On Cold War Toxins

Chemicals Used Decades Ago May Have Sickened U.S. Military

(CBS/ AP)  Lawmakers and veterans of secret Cold War-era chemical and germ tests on military personnel demanded help from the Bush administration Thursday, but they got no satisfaction.

Officials from the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department said there was no need for legislation to guarantee health care and benefits to the veterans. Thousands of servicemembers were exposed, sometimes without their knowledge, to real and simulated chemical and biological agents, including sarin and VX.

The tests were conducted at sea and above a half-dozen U.S. states from 1962-1973 to see how U.S. ships would withstand chemical and germ assaults and how such weapons would disperse.

"We were exposed to health hazards almost continuously," retired Navy Reserve Lt. Commander Jack Alderson told the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on disability assistance.

Veterans who tried to get help from the V.A. were "shown the door," Alderson said, his voice loud and choked with emotion.

Administration officials said there was no definitive link between the tests - called Project 112 and Project SHAD - and illnesses, including cancer and respiratory problems, now afflicting Alderson and others.

CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reports there was a lot of pressure on the servicemembers not to rock the boat about the tests.

"We were pretty strongly debriefed and said if we ever talk about this we could find ourselves with free room and board at Leavenworth (prison). And everybody kept their mouth shut,'' said Alderson.

When Alderson finally complained, the Pentagon insisted there was no Project SHAD. So Alderson went to his congressman, Martin reports. But Rep. Mike Thompson still didn't get the whole truth from the Pentagon.

"I went to the military and after a couple years of banging on the doors over there they finally admitted there was in fact this project that took place, this Project SHAD,'' said Thompson.

"DOD opposes this legislation. The scientific evidence does not support" it, Michael L. Dominguez, a principal deputy undersecretary of defense, said in written testimony to the panel.

The Pentagon did not send Dominguez or anyone else to testify in person. That aggravated the subcommittee chairman, Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., who said the Defense Department backed out just last week after initially agreeing to attend.

"The nexus between DOD and V.A. is undeniable," Hall said as the hearing began. "Congress deserves the right to question the appropriate DOD personnel in person, not just in writing."

A Pentagon spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the department's failure to show. In an interview earlier this week, Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, the Pentagon's deputy director for force health protection and readiness, said officials had determined the issue would be more appropriately addressed by the Veterans Affairs Department.

The V.A. witness echoed what DOD had to say. Bradley Mayes, the Veterans Affairs director of compensation and pensions, called legislation unnecessary because the agency was not "aware of evidence linking any disease to participation in project SHAD."

The bill under consideration is patterned after legislation passed in 1991 to help people exposed to Agent Orange, the chemical defoliant use used by U.S. forces in Vietnam that was linked to cancer and other ailments. Written by Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., it would guarantee coverage and benefits to veterans of Projects 112 and SHAD without requiring them to prove a connection to their military service.

Thompson said it took DOD decades to admit the secret tests actually happened so he put no stock in their refusal to recognize health problems the tests may have caused.

A similar bill is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee later this month.

[terrorislami]

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. John Adams

[terrorislami]

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein

%u201CAdmittedly there is a risk in any course we follow other than this, but every lesson in history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement, and this is the specter our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face--that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight and surrender.%u201D (President Reagan, 1964. Rendezvous with Destiny)

[terrorislami]

USA''''s PLEDGE 2 THE WORLD GIVEN BY JFK!!

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

"Today we need a nation of minute men; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. The cause of liberty, the cause of American, cannot succeed with any lesser effort."-- President John F. Kennedy, January 29, 1961

One ought never to turn one''''s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke

[terrorislami]

Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. ~D.H. Lawrence, Classical American Literature, 1922

[dog7771]

we let the Bund/Nazis flourish here and embraced them. I don''t trust any of our courts, politicians (except Dean/Obama) Now we know Pelosi and others were in on the torture and spying. That is why no impeachment. She and the others will NOT BE REELECTED.

[terrorislami]

TAKE NO PRISONERS,,,

we have defeated fascist nazi terrorislam before,,,

after america became a country,,, fascist nazi terrorislam demanded that america pay protection money or they would attack americas ships and enslave all on board,,,

thomas jefferson and james madison was having non of that,,, and they sent americas military to kick fascist nazi terrorislams arses in barbary war one and barbary war two,,, why two wars,,, fascist nazi terrorislamists break treaties,,, sound familiar??? can you say iraq,,,

It is a settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute. The United States, while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none. President James Madison

[Latrocinor]

There are no statesmen, just ************.

Posted by globlwarning
.. .. ..
The statesman have been chased off by insanely cursing and screaming citizens.

Now you got telemarketers in a new career.

[shirereef]

This is just another example of DVA and DOD attempting FURTHER cover ups on saving a penny so the bigwigs and brass can get BIG awards (in cash) for saving that penny. I mean this is totally ludricous bordering on murder. Stop rewriting rules that were put in place by Presidents and congress. I am refering to the DVA attempting to rewrite the ''Definition of Service in the Republic of Vietnam'', against the Blue Water Navy Veterans of Vietnam. We fought there, some of us died there, some of us were imprisoned there and now the DVA is attempting to say we were NOT in the VietNam War but in an"VietNam Era War". Is that what the Blue Water Navy did in the D''Day landings, Anzio, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Afgahnistan and Iraq???? shirereef

[michael0004]

You are welcome t_barr. In 1969 - 1971, I was stationed aboard USS Eversole (DD 789). We also spent time on the gun line and anchored in DaNang harbor. Although I have a covered conditioned under the Agent Orange Act, the VA will not approve my disability because I did not set foot on land in the Republic of Vietnam. Unlike many others though, I am fortunate to have private health insurance, so my medical needs are covered by that insurance. A lot of our shipmates are not so fortunate though and the VA''s denial of benefits to them means that they do not have access to adequate medical care and can not afford the necessary medication. They have been quite literally dieing while the VA after losing a court case apealed the decision rather than give them the medical care they need and deserve. I''m glad to hear that you intend to write the VA. Thank you for your support.

[terrorislami]

THE NATION WILL LIVE TO REGRET WHAT THE COURT HAS DONE TODAY,,,

VOTE DEMONIC-RAT AT YOUR PERIL,,,

DEMONIC-RAT UN-SUPREME COURT JUDGES TRASH THE CONSTITUTION,,,

Scalia asserted that the decision will have dire consequences. He warned that some detainees will be freed and return to war against America: "The nation will live to regret what the court has done today."

Supreme Court maintains post-9/11 course on Gitmo
The Supreme Court''''s 5-4 decision Thursday declaring for the first time that Guantanamo detainees have a constitutional right to a hearing in U.S. courts is a milestone. It also reinforces a familiar court pattern in the post-9/11 world of insisting on judicial review of detainee cases.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2008-06-12-court-pattern_N.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/12/supremecourt/main4175226.shtml

[michael0004]

In the case of Agent Orange, the VA does not contest whether there is a disability, they just change the rules in such a way as to eliminate coverage for those with undisputed disabilities so as to save a few dollars or protect political interests. They do not do it based on any scientific studies or fact, that just proclaim it to be so. That is why many of us are opposing the VA''s rulemaking to codify its non-scientific based policies to deny Vietnam Veterans who came within hundreds of yards of the Vietnam shore or anchored in Vietnam harbors their disability claims based on exposure to Agent Orange. The VA ignores the scientific evidence of exposutore due wind drift and contanminated sea water that was used to make "fresh" water on board Navy ships. www.bluewaternavy.org has a wealth of info on this. We ask that all citizens file comments with the VA before the June 16th deadline and oppose the VA. To file comments:

1. Copy the following letters and numbers to your computers clipboard memory (highlight it and copy it)

VA-2008-VBA-0014

2. Go to this link: http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp

Also, with respect to Project Shad, everyone should write to their Congressmen and insist that the legislation discussed by this article be passed.

[mswolfestock]

michael0004 - you are correct. The VA is NOT the veteran''s friend. The same can be said for Social Security - they go out of their way to deny benefits in the face of glaring disability.

This country is becoming a disgrace - I am a veteran myself (healthy, thank the Lord) and it just breaks my heart to know that the VA has been abandoning this country''s veterans for decades.

We need to stop the war in Iraq, then there would be plenty of money to take care of all of our deserving veterans. In the meantime, somebody needs to clean house and kick some b*u*t*t in the Veterans Administration. The VA should be run by veterans, then maybe they''d get the care and help they deserve.

[michael0004]

%u201CWith malice toward none, with charity for all,
with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right,let us strive on to finish the work we are in,
to bind up the nation%u2019s wounds,to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan . . ." Abraham Lincoln''s 2nd Inaugural Address

[michael0004]

maxify55 you may denigrate VA medicine as being "socialized" all you want, but the fact is that thousands of veterans of current and past wars only opportunity for medical care for their service connected disabilities is the VA''s health care system. So, if given a choice between no health care and what you call "socialized" health care if you were one of these vets, which would you choose?

[cockapoo11]

Even being a bus driver requires a yearly checkup. Thats all people are talking about with healthcare. Just a checkup, Mr. ThisisVAHealthcare Man. And if America can afford to give hundreds of billions of tax payer dollars away to some foreign country like Iraq, why can''t it afford to pay fer every constituents butttcheek implants too? They''re constituents, and its their money.

[michael0004]

Also, the VA is accepting comments on their proposal to codify the policy I describe in my previous comment. I encourage everyone, to file comments opposing the VA''''s policy by:

1. Copy the following letters and numbers to your computers clipboard memory (highlight it and copy it)

VA-2008-VBA-0014

2. Go to this link: http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.
jsp

The comment period ends on Monday, June 16th, so comments must be filed this weekend.

[omnibus66]

What''s really scary about this is that you can be sure that DOD, CIA, NSA, or some other secret government agency is still carrying out chemical and biological tests.

How many tests have they already done that no one is talking about? Our government is out of control, and it is only getting worse.

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country... Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed"

Abraham Lincoln, 11/12/1864

[michael0004]

Every day, more and more evidence is revealed that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is an enemy, not an advocate for veterans. Has the VA conducted any investigations or studies to determine whether Project Shad had any deliterious health affects on U.S. servicmen. I doubt it. But that is typical of the VA. They just announce conclusions that fit in to preconceived notions so as to save a few dollars or cover up politically sensitive information. Take for instance so-called blue water U.S. Navy Vietnam veterans who are afflicted with diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange. For 11 years after the enactmen of the Agent Orange Act of 1991, the VA granted medical and other benefits to these blue water Navy Vietnam veterans. But in 2002, the VA all of a sudden said that their interpretation of the AO Act of 1991 meant that only those Vietnam veterans who set foot on land in Vietnam were covered by the law. Conduct of combat operations a few hundred feet off shore in Vietnam or being anchored in Vietnam harbors no longer was sufficient to qualify for these benefits. So the blue water Navy veterans are left to die of their conditions. That''''s the 21st century VA. More information on this can be obtained at www.bluewaternavy.org

[bigsk8fan]

i''ll bet bush wants to wait for ''better science'' on whether the usa army used toxins on its own soldiers. (just like he needed yet more proof on global warming)

[oneworldusa]

Which half a dozen US States?

This is not going to help recruiting for our ''voluntary'' military forces.