Poison DUst shown in Denver

On July 30, activists in Denver and the surrounding area filled the Mercury Cafe to hear Dr. Sue Harris, director of the film Poison DUst, speak. Poison DUst is about the use of depleted uranium (DU) in U.S. weaponry all over the world and how it is a main cause of Gulf War Syndrome in U.S. troops.

The film points out that there were initially less than 200 U.S. casualties from the first Gulf War, but now, 14 years later, over 10,000 are dead and over 200,000 are on full disability.

The film describes the danger of low level radiation and how it affects children most of all. It shows the effects of DU on Iraqi children. It also gives a history of U.S. duplicity concerning atomic power since the beginning of its use.

Dahlia Wasfi, an Iraqi-American physician, spoke about her recent trip to Basra, Iraq, to visit family members. She remarked on the jump in cancer rates in the area, how her family had been affected and on the conditions that persist there.

Following introductory remarks by Harris, and the showing of an hour segment of the film, the audience asked questions. Sheik Ibrahim Kazerooni was quick to point out, when the question was asked about other factors that might be responsible for the rise in cancer rates, such as burning oil, that during the first U.S. war against Iraq, the burning pipe lines were in Kuwait, not Iraq, and that there had been a jump in cancer rates only in Iraq. Incidence of cancer there has since increased over 300 percent.

Harris spoke about further projects, such as a full-length documentary on the effects of DU bombing by the U.S. navy on the people in Vieques, Puerto Rico. All copies of the film sold out, as did copies of the anti-military recruiting book, We Won’t Go!

This event was hosted by the Denver International Action Center.

—Larry Hales