This might seem a strange topic for me to address but I am doing some research today on telephony in the developing world for a contract I'm working on and I came across this article on the legacy of Agent Orange contamination that the US left behind in Vietnam.
Given that we are currently embroiled in Iraq (the "handover" notwithstanding) I think it might be fruitful to reflect on the effects of American intervention in other nations. Some 1 million Vietnamese were killed during the Vietnam War alone (and we really only lament the 50,000 American casualties) and we hear little or nothing of this.
Of course, there is also the legacy of the UXO (unexploded ordance) we left behind in that country that account for some 2000 deaths and mutilations per year.
The news on the BBC Radio these days is replete with stories of children mutilated by the ongoing conflict in Iraq. As John Kerry says (to paraphrase), "It's an elective war."
Posted by artandscience at June 28, 2004 11:36 AMAccording to something I recently read, someone in Afghanistan steps on a mine every day: mines don't have a "sell-by" date. The death we keep on dealing, to mangle a phrase . . .
Posted by: paul at June 29, 2004 04:45 PM