Time: Wed Dec 17 16:34:01 1997
To:
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: More on Anthrax Inoculation for entire U.S. military
Cc:
Bcc: <usafeat@alpha.ultraweb.net>
References:
[This text is formatted in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
http://www.trufax.org/alert.html
All U.S. Military to Receive
Experimental Biowarfare Vaccines
in Repeat of Gulf War Syndrome Scenario
In a stunning announcement which shocked tens of thousands of
Gulf War veterans with Gulf War Syndrome, the US government
announced on December 16, 1997 that all US military members will
be forced to submit to experimental biowarfare vaccines again,
leaving questions in the minds of active and inactive military
members whether the mysterious mycoplasma believed to be a co-
factor in Gulf War Syndrome, created in a lab in Dallas, Texas,
is also present in the upcoming vaccine series. Many of the
original biowarfare weapons to which Gulf War veterans were
exposed were shipped to Iraq by American Type Culture and other
United States biotech firms. It is believed that this is the main
reason why the Department of Defense slants all communications
about GFS towards chemical weapons, preferring not to discuss the
biological aspect of GFS as pointed out by many competent
scientists. Many consider the new vaccine series, called "junk
science" by many scientists, another attempt to destroy both the
US military and impact the US population with a communicable
carcinogenic neurotoxic disease. The December 16 news story is as
follows:
WASHINGTON -- Increasingly fearful of the threats posed by germ
warfare, the Pentagon announced Monday it would vaccinate every
member of the armed services against anthrax, one of the most
deadly biological agents ever known.
While the Pentagon has vaccinated soldiers against biological and
chemical agents before, including many thousands during the
Persian Gulf War, it never has tried to inoculate the entire
force -- now 1.4 million troops on active duty and another 1
million reservists -- to counter a potential threat from a
biological or chemical weapon.
There is no evidence that any country ever has used anthrax -- or
significant amounts of any biological weapon -- during warfare.
But in recent years, the Pentagon has raised new alarms about the
threats posed by biological and chemical weapons, warning that
its forces are ill-prepared to combat attacks by an enemy nation
or terrorist group.
In a report last month, the Pentagon said at least 10 countries
-- including Iraq and North Korea -- now have the ability to
develop biological weapons. Military officials say they suspect
Iraq has significant quantities of anthrax that could be used in
germ warfare.
Recent efforts by U.N. inspectors to locate Iraq's weapons of
mass destruction have led to renewed tensions between the United
States and the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein.
On television last month during the height of the confrontation
with Iraq, Secretary of Defense William Cohen held up a 5-pound
bag of sugar and ominously warned that an equivalent amount of
anthrax, if dispersed properly, could kill half of Washington,
D.C.
"We owe it to our people to move ahead with this immunization
plan," Cohen said Monday in a brief written statement announcing
the vaccination program.
In announcing the program, officials at the Pentagon appeared
wary of creating a controversy over the vaccines, going to great
lengths to say that officials would consult with members of
Congress and advise military personnel about the vaccinations
before inoculations actually are given.
After the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the Pentagon was harshly
criticized for using experimental drugs intended to protect
troops against the effects of chemical weapons.
There is no hard evidence that the Iraqis used such weapons
during the war, and some researchers have suggested that the
experimental drugs given the troops may have led to the health
problems in veterans that came to be known collectively as gulf
war syndrome.
The program, which includes a series of six shots over six months
for each soldier and booster shots each year thereafter, is to
begin next summer with 100,000 troops in the Persian Gulf and on
the Korean peninsula, who are considered most at risk of attack
from biological weapons. It will then take six years -- and cost
$130 million -- to inoculate the entire active and reserve force.
Anthrax, a stable, durable bacterium that often afflicts cattle
and sheep, can be incorporated fairly easily into weapons, either
bombs dropped from airplanes or warheads loaded on missiles. If
inhaled by humans, spores of anthrax are particularly lethal,
causing death in the overwhelming majority of cases within a few
days.
The vaccine the Pentagon will use was first developed in the
1950's and approved by the Food and Drug Administration for
general use in 1970.
Produced by the Michigan Biologic Products Institute, it is given
routinely to veterinarians and others who work with livestock.
The Pentagon already vaccinates a few thousand soldiers most at
risk of exposure, including special units in the Army and Marines
created to respond to biological or chemical attacks. It also
gave initial, but not complete doses to about 150,000 troops
stationed in the Persian Gulf during the war with Iraq.
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