Iraqi physicians studying Hiroshima's effects...

Interesting. Iraqi physicians are travelling to Hiroshima to learn about the long-term effects of radiation. Why? Because of the use of depleted uranium in warfare in Iraq, and the 8 fold increases in child leukemia between 1998 and 2002. Some say there may be a direct link between DU and increases in cancer rates, others deny a link. I guess time and more studying will tell. Unfortunately we've littered depleted uranium, AGAIN, in our recent war on Iraq.

And the lovely effects of sanctions post-Gulf War:

"We don't have any decent facilities in Iraq to check the amount of radiation in human bodies. But we can see the incidences of cancer increased greatly during the first four to five years of the 1990s," said Salih, now studying at Hiroshima University Hospital at the invitation of a Japanese civic group.

Under economic sanctions on Iraq that followed the war, Iraqi hospitals were prohibited from obtaining essential drugs as well as new medical equipment like tools for radio therapy because the international community feared they might be used for military purposes, he said.

In other news, as some folks reflect on the 59th anniversary of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings, others gather at a secret summit in Omaha, Nebraska, to strategize on expanding our country's nuclear arsenal. And rumor has it that VP Dick Cheney attended the summit. Bravo.

Is there a role or responsibility for U.S. physicians on this issue of nuclear arms? Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) are orgs that are dedicated to this cause. IPPNW has started an International Physicians Campaign for a Nuclear Free Century. Rock on...