Libya-Tomahawks-DU

My observation on the "No Fly Zone" is that the coalition has bombarded Libyans with huge amounts of depleted uranium and that if it was done to the USA we would by screaming "WMDs", a la Jose Padilla. Link to Tomahawk warhead included.




"< Applications >"
"While the US Navy claims that they have replaced the MK149-2 Phalanx round with a DU penetrator by the MK149-4 Phalanx round with a tungsten penetrator (with the DU round remaining in the inventory) [89], new types of DU ammunition are being developed for other weapons systems, such as the M919 rounds for Bradley fighting vehicles. Depleted uranium is also placed into the tips of the BGM-109 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles (TLAM) during test flights to provide weight and stability [24]. The TLAM missile has a range of 680 nautical miles (1,260 km) and is able to carry a conventional warhead of 1000 lb. (454 kg). Older warheads were steel encased. In order to increase the missile range to 1,000 nautical miles (1,850 km), the latest Tomahawk cruise missiles carry a lighter 700 lb. (318 kg) warhead WDU-36 developed in 1993, which is encased in titanium with a depleted uranium tip [47], [74], [92], [74].

3.5 Heavy Tank Armor
Depleted uranium is also used to reinforce the armor protection of M1 series tanks. US Army publicly revealed the use of DU armor in March 1987. As of 1993, the US Army acquired about 1,500 Abrams M1A1 tanks fitted with DU armor, with plans for 3,000 more [24]. When used in armor, DU is inserted into a "sleeve" in the regular steel armor of a tank, then welded shut. Tank turrets containing Abrams Heavy Armor (AHA) are marked by a "U" (for uranium) near the right side grenade launcher as part of the turret serial number [35].

3.6 Proliferation of DU Weapons
The United States is no longer the only country with DU munitions. Depleted uranium weapons have been acquired by 17 countries including Britain, France, Russia, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Pakistan, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, and other countries which the Pentagon will not disclose for national security reasons. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) export licenses reveal the United States to be a major supplier of DU for military systems [33], [54], [88].

DaveFagan said:

My observation on the "No Fly Zone" is that the coalition has bombarded Libyans with huge amounts of depleted uranium and that if it was done to the USA we would by screaming "WMDs", a la Jose Padilla. Link to Tomahawk warhead included.

Click to expand...

Interesting post. We've had an opportunity to study effects of this DU in Bosnia. Their ground water has been contaminated by DU, as has their soil. The WHO claims that adverse effects cannot be substantiated because of lousy reporting systems. I guess time will tell.

Thought-provoking. 'Cause I know....everybody lies.