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Living the lie – Agent Orange activist confronts Monsanto
There are so many of us that want this ongoing crime that Monsanto, Dow, the other chemical companies involved – plus the US Government to end. For the horror to end, the collective group of those that invented,authorized its use, and used it during the war against the Vietnamese, the US and allies, resulting in death, illnesses to them, their offspring, and, for who knows how many generations to come, must first admit to this ongoing horror.
I find it a complete paradox in my own mind, and I am sure so many others, that Monsanto was authorized to open an office in Vietnam – and further, to have their Director continue the lie that Monsanto has been repeating over and over for over three decades now. One of our brothers, a leading authority on Agent Orange, the numerous cover-ups, and a true activist, attempted to confront the VN Director of Monsanto – who was coincidentally not available for a face to face meeting and further, continues to live and speak the lie!
Thank you Len Aldis! Please continue to keep up the wonderful work you continue to do for so many MILLIONS of victims. Living the lie
Agent Orange activist confronts Monsanto
Len Aldis, Secretary of the Britain -Vietnam Friendship Society, wrote to Nguyen Anh Thi, director of Monsanto Vietnam, asking him to discuss Agent Orange, which Monsanto manufactured and the US government sprayed in Vietnam, poisoning millions.
Aldis asked for a meeting, but Thi said he was out of town and replied with a pre-written statement from Monsanto:
“During the Vietnam War, the US government, using its authority under the Defence Production Act, directed seven companies to manufacture this material [Agent Orange].The government specified how it would be produced and controlled how it was used in the field, including application rates…
“…The research on the issue of Agent Orange has gone on more than 30 years and continues today… all of this study has not conclusively demonstrated a cause-and-effect link between spraying of Agent Orange and the diseases that were evaluated.”
On October 19, Aldis wrote back to Thi:
“Mr Nguyen, the danger of dioxin was known at the time of manufacture. The companies knew but shamefully kept silent.
Due to the US government requirement for more supplies of Agent Orange, the process of manufacturing was speeded up, so leading to yet more dioxin being produced. I repeat the companies knew of this but remained silent.
If the speed of manufacturing had remained as it was, the production of dioxin would have been much less. The companies that knew this – and I include Monsanto – must therefore share part of the blame along with the US government for the horrific consequences of the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
I must take issue with you when you write ‘All of this study has not conclusively demonstrated a cause-and-effect link between spraying of Agent Orange and the diseases that were evaluated.’ Mr Nguyen, this is an incredible statement that flies in the face of international research carried out by scientists from a number of countries.
The National Academy of Science has published lists of illnesses and disabilities due to the use of Agent Orange. These illnesses and disabilities are on record and cannot be denied.
US Veterans succeeded in their lawsuits against the companies that manufactured Agent Orange for the effects it has had on them, and their children, this is on record. In 1984 Monsanto was one of the companies involved in the out of court settlement of US$180 million. Mr Nguyen, if Agent Orange does not cause illnesses or disabilities, why did the companies agree to pay $184 million?
Let me remind you that 80 million liters of Agent Orange were sprayed over areas of Vietnam, not areas of the US. More reason surely for the companies, and the US government to make a financial settlement to the Vietnamese victims, and to their families.
I hope that you will make that visit to the Peace Village at Tu Du Hospital and see the children and teenagers, victims of Agent Orange, that I have seen. Look at the glass containers in the special room that contain the babies, stillborn due to the horrific abnormalities caused by Agent Orange. Look carefully at them Mr Nguyen, you will then perhaps understand the anger felt by thousands of people like me who will continue to seek justice for these tragic victims of the products produced by Monsanto.
Look also at the living youngsters in Tu Du, they are just a few of the many thousands of victims born years after the use of Agent Orange ended. Victims, Mr Nguyen, that need 24 hours attention day in day out, year in year out. These are the results of the product manufactured by the company you represent.
The New York Times on October 13 reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs had recognized three new afflictions as linked to Agent Orange exposure. The VA will now start providing free care to any of the 2.1 million Vietnam-era veterans who can show that they might have contracted any of those diseases by their exposure to Agent Orange.
Mr Nguyen, surely you must now agree that this report shows beyond any doubt that Agent Orange has had serious effects on the lives of US veterans and their families. I must also remind you again that 80 million liters of Agent Orange was sprayed over South Vietnam and not the US. In Ho Chi Minh City, at Tu Du Hospital, you can see the young living victims affected by Agent Orange.”
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=9481
Posted by Chuck Palazzo on Nov 22 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Yea well you can see the victims here to you know or have you forgotten already, you know “MoveOn.Org” .
Not sure what your point is – If you have read anything I have written about previousley, and continue to do so, I always state that the US Vet, their offspring are number 1 on the priority list. If you are suggesting that I have ignored them, ignored myself, you are way off base.
This post was a quote by a very respected colleague who fights the chemical companies on behalf of ALL those affected by Agent Orange. I repeat – ALL.
If I am off base with my reply to you, my appologies – but I hope this clears things up for you. By the way, I am a former US Combat Marine, was sprayed with the crap, and who knows what my future holds for me. I do know, the US and the VA has much more funding and medical experise to take care of its own – even though they do not acknowledge they committed a war crime – not only against the Vietnamese, but to the US Veteran as well. With our new Secretary of The VA, I see progress – but look how many years it has taken.
Thanks for reading and I always invite debate. It means people are paying attention!
Semper Peace!
Chuck
The quoted statement below needs to be re-written to say–
“The VA will eventually get around to providing “free care” and “compensation as provided by law” — .
Exactly when may be several years. The VA is undoubtedly in the process of figuring out how to limit the number of veterans actually receiving “free care” and “compensation”. An example of such limits might be the VA reg limiting compensation for cloracne to those veterans that were diagnosed with it within one year of leaving active duty in Vietnam, and even then for just a few years. (Even though the effects may persist or actually get worse over time.)
Another example is the VA’s attitude towards “complications” of Diabetes II.
The VA M-21 “Bible” contains a “flow chart” that directs the “rating officer” to deny claims for diabetes if they were diagnosed before Diabetes II was diagnosed, in spite of the known fact that such complications are often the first signs of Diabetes II, and, according to the VA’s own medical documents, may occur on the average of up to ten years before Diabetes II is formally diagnosed.
“The VA will now start providing free care to any of the 2.1 million Vietnam-era veterans who can show that they might have contracted any of those diseases by their exposure to Agent Orange.”
Thanks Charlie, and I dont disagree with your comments. I wanted the quote to appear verbatim and not modify – but I will pass on your info to Len.
Chuck
I have a question. Why did the Defence Production Act apply to all the 2,4,5-T produced by Canadian chemical companies, including the Canadian subsidiaries of Dow and Monsanto in 1967? That year, every Canadian drop of this chemical warfare weapon was seized and sent to Vietnam. I understand that President Johnson ordered the entire manufacturing capacity of Agent Orange in the USA to be appropriated and sent to Vietnam because of pressure from the military, but why did this include Canada?
Could it be that the answer is contained in the question Mr. Aldis asked? Americans spell Defense with an S while Canadians (and the British) spell Defence with a C. Maybe Canada has its own version of the U.S. Defense Production Act in some long-standing secret treaty between Washington and Ottawa. This would explain several things: why the uranium for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombs came from Canada and also why Canada sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange and Agent White on Canadian Forces Base Gagetown prior to and during the Vietnam War. The field-testing of U.S. chemical warfare weapons for the Vietnam War took place in Canada. My country probably has a lot to do with providing the raw material for Depleted Uranium ammunition as well.
This question begs an additional one. If an estimated one-fifth of all the Agent Orange sprayed on Vietnam came from Canadian factories, who was monitoring the level of contaminants like 2,3,7,8 TCDD? The Uniroyal chemical plant in Elmira Ontario is rumoured to have been dumping its chemical waste products into the Agent Orange it sold to the USA during the Vietnam War. One internationally-known Canadian firm tested an old sample of Canadian-made commercial-grade 2,4-D + 2,4,5-T and found it contained thousands of times the 2,3,7,8 TCDD said to exist in the Agent Orange sprayed on Vietnam. Where was the oversight for this Canadian contribution to the war effort? Is it possible much of the contamination in Vietnam arose from Canadian chemical companies frantically spiking and cooking their toxic products at higher temperatures than those allowed by their counterparts in the USA?
Kelly Porter Franklin
Nanaimo, BC, Canada