United States Hypocrisy

Some of the most disturbing news stories that we see on television today are the threats of chemical weaponry. Most recently, Syrian troops were accused of using chemical weapons on their own civilians. Joby Warrick states more than 1,400 Syrian civilians have been killed. The Syrian government has denied these allegations; however, the United States threatened action against the government in retaliation. The United Nations is now overseeing that the chemical weapons in Syria be destroyed. I have heard discussions about the United States being hypocritical about wanting to take a hard stand against Syria. How could taking a stand against chemical warfare be hypocritical? After doing research I have found information that is very shocking to me and is very evidential that the United States is being quite hypocritical. According to the Washington’s Blog, “the U.S. encouraged Saddam Hussein’s use of chemical weapons against Iran … which was the largest use of chemical weapons in history. While the number of people killed in the August 21st chemical weapons attack has been estimated at between 350 and 1,429, 20,000 Iranians and 5,000 Kurds were killed by Saddam’s chemical weapons attacks with full U.S. support and backing.” After doing further research I came across a substance called Agent Orange that was used by the United States in the Vietnam War and what I found was shocking. Chemical weapons are defined as “chemical substances that can be delivered using munitions and dispersal devices to cause death or severe harm to people and animals and plants.” They can be dispersed in gas, liquid, or solid form and often affect more people than just the intended target. Was the United States guilty of using chemical warfare in Vietnam? During the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed a powerful mixture of chemical defoliants known as Agent Orange in the jungles of North Vietnam. The U.S. program of defoliation “sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam from 1961 to 1972.” The intent was to thin the dense jungles where the Viet Cong were so effective in fighting the American troops. Unfortunately, the method of distribution allowed the chemical to contaminate the water supplies and vegetation consumed by not only the North Vietnamese, but also the U.S. troops fighting in Vietnam.
The herbicide Agent Orange “contained the chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used of the herbicide mixtures, and the most effective.” The effect on humans is equally toxic causing birth defects, muscular dysfunction, nervous system disorders, and numerous forms of cancer. It was not until Vietnam veterans began complaining of numerous health conditions including skin irritations, miscarriages, type-II diabetes, cancer, and birth defects did the United States began recognizing the link to Agent Orange. A class action lawsuit on behalf of 2.4 million Vietnam veterans that were exposed to Agent Orange was filed in 1979. A settlement of over 240 million dollars has since been reached. In 1991, President George H. W. Bush signed into law the Agent Orange Act. This law mandated that some diseases associated with Agent Orange be treated as a result of wartime service. “In addition to the massive environmental impact of the U.S. defoliation program in Vietnam, that nation has reported that some 400,000 people were killed or maimed as a result of exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange. In addition, Vietnam claims half a million children have been born with serious birth defects, while as many 2 million people are suffering from cancer or other illness caused by Agent Orange.” Also, another way the United States is being critical about Syria is how they are trying to expedite the process of eliminating the chemical weapons so quickly. I have discovered the United States itself has been very slow in eliminating our own chemical weapons but yet we demand Syria to do it in such a short amount of time. Dave Lindorff states “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has referred to Syria as having one of the largest chemical stockpiles in the world. But the US and Russia both still have stocks of chemicals many times as large. The U.S. caches, at 3100 tons, are three times as large as Syria’s reported 1000 tons.” History will state that the intent of the United States to employ Agent Orange during the Vietnam War was not as a chemical weapon by definition. It was used as a defoliant to thin the dense jungles of Vietnam in an effort to aid our soldiers. Unfortunately, the argument does not stand today knowing what we have learned about Agent Orange in the years since the war. Agent Orange clearly was a chemical weapon that has caused long-term damaging effects on millions of innocent lives. As we continue to fight the battle against chemical weapons, let’s hope we don’t lose sight of the fact that we too were guilty of using chemical warfare