Agent Orange is a powerful chemical herbicide that was used during the Vietnam war. It was used as part of a larger mission called Operation Ranch Hand, where from 1961-1971, the United States sprayed chemicals across 4.5 million acres of north Vietnam to destroy forest cover and the Viet Cong's crops. Out of the 20 million gallons of chemicals sprayed, 13 million of them were Agent Orange. The chemical didn't just kill millions of acres of plants, but also contaminated rivers and other water bodies, which flow down to the rest of the country and found its way into the food supply.
before and after picture of a forest destroyed by Agent Orange
The worst part is the devastating impact it had on the health of Vietnamese. Agent Orange contains dioxins, which are highly toxic compounds that are usually produced as a byproduct of manufacturing. They are called persistent organic pollutants (POPs), because the take a long time to break down in the environment. This way, they accumulate in animals, and travel up the food chain.
Dioxins are known to cause:
- Various Cancers (including prostate and leukemia)
- Immune System Damage
- Birth Defects
- Disruption of the Endocrine, Immune, and Nervous systems
- Diabetes
- Chloracne
The birth defects that occurred in Vietnamese children are extremely horrifying. Kids born without eyes, limbs, or other organs. Kids with deformed heads. Kids completely paralyzed from the ground up. It's absolutely heartbreaking to see, and makes you thankful for the life you have.
(If you want to see pictures of the birth defects, click here. I don't want to put them in the post, because of how graphic they are.)
Traces of Agent Orange still linger on in some parts of Vietnam, and sometimes show up in the food supply. The people of Vietnam are still being poisoned even 4 decades later.
Vietnam claims that 400,000 were directly killed or maimed due to the effects of Agent Orange, as well as half a million children that were born with serious birth defects.
I was appalled at how the U.S dealt with this whole situation. For example, one of the U.S Air Force researchers associated with Operation Ranch Hand wrote to a senator "When we initiated the program in the 1960s, we were aware of the potential for damage due to dioxin contamination in the herbicide. However, because the material was to be used on the enemy, none of us were overly concerned. We never considered a scenario in which our own personnel would become contaminated with the herbicide.”When a class action lawsuit was filed in 1979 on behalf of 2.4 million veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, seven large chemical companies who manufactured the herbicide agreed to pay $180 million in reparations. That's only $75 per veteran! Would you be willing to expose yourself for 5 years to some of the more toxic chemicals on earth, for $75?
The Vietnamese fared much worse. When they filed a class-action lawsuit against 30 chemical companies in 2004, they demanded billions of dollars. The case was simply dismissed by a federal judge a year later, and again in 2008. As author Fred A. Wilcox puts it, “The U.S. government refuses to compensate Vietnamese victims of chemical warfare because to do so would mean admitting that the U.S. committed war crimes in Vietnam. This would open the door to lawsuits that would cost the government billions of dollars.”
How can a country that prides itself on freedom, justice, and liberty refuse to admit a war crime on such a large scale? How can we call ourselves freedom fighters? Paying reparations alone will not do justice; a full apology is necessary.
Sources:
https://www.epa.gov/dioxin/learn-about-dioxin
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/agent-orange-1
I think we justify it because they are either the enemy or helping the enemy. This war was not pretty on both sides and I think people wanted to forget about this stuff.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how little each veteran received for the amount of suffering they went through. I was also shocked that they would use chemicals that would specifically hurt children.
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