the ecological effects of war

The US is now committed unilaterally to an invasion of Iraq. Up to 250,000 soldiers are being mobilized, along with an armada of warships, and thousands of aircraft and missiles. As shown by the war in Kosovo and in the earlier US-led war against Iraq, human death and the obliteration of "military targets" will not be the only results of the coming war. The longer-term consequences will include an ecological disaster that will visit itself on future generations. Iraq has still not recovered from the effects of the last war. In particular, the presence of large amounts of depleted uranium (DU) from anti-tank cannons and landmines continues to cause large numbers of stillbirths, children born with defects, childhood leukemia and other cancers. The Balkans still suffers the aftermath of the bombing of petrochemical plants, which released clouds of toxins into the air and rivers.

the ecological effects of war