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"Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Chemical warfare."
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The Invention of Ecocide
As the public increasingly questioned the war in Vietnam, a group of American scientists deeply concerned about the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides started a movement to ban what they called \"ecocide.\"
David Zierler traces this movement, starting in the 1940s, when weed killer was developed in agricultural circles and theories of counterinsurgency were studied by the military. These two trajectories converged in 1961 with Operation Ranch Hand, the joint U.S.-South Vietnamese mission to use herbicidal warfare as a means to defoliate large areas of enemy territory.
Driven by the idea that humans were altering the world's ecology for the worse, a group of scientists relentlessly challenged Pentagon assurances of safety, citing possible long-term environmental and health effects. It wasn't until 1970 that the scientists gained access to sprayed zones confirming that a major ecological disaster had occurred. Their findings convinced the U.S. government to renounce first use of herbicides in future wars and, Zierler argues, fundamentally reoriented thinking about warfare and environmental security in the next forty years.
Incorporating in-depth interviews, unique archival collections, and recently declassified national security documents, Zierler examines the movement to ban ecocide as it played out amid the rise of a global environmental consciousness and growing disillusionment with the containment policies of the cold war era.
eBook
Agent Orange
Taking on what one former U.S. ambassador called “the last ghost of the Vietnam War,” this book examines the farreaching impact of Agent Orange, the most infamous of the dioxincontaminated herbicides used by American forces in Southeast Asia. Edwin A. Martini’s aim is not simply to reconstruct the history of the “chemical war” but to investigate the ongoing controversy over the short and longterm effects of weaponized defoliants on the environment of Vietnam, on the civilian population, and on the troops who fought on both sides. Beginning in the early 1960s, when Agent Orange was first deployed in Vietnam, Martini follows the story across geographical and disciplinary boundaries, looking for answers to a host of still unresolved questions. What did chemical manufacturers and American policymakers know about the effects of dioxin on human beings, and when did they know it? How much do scientists and doctors know even today? Should the use of Agent Orange be considered a form of chemical warfare? What can, and should, be done for U.S. veterans, Vietnamese victims, and others around the world who believe they have medical problems caused by Agent Orange? Martini draws on military records, government reports, scientific research, visits to contaminated sites, and interviews to disentangle conflicting claims and evaluate often ambiguous evidence. He shows that the impact of Agent Orange has been global in its reach affecting individuals and communities in New Zealand, Australia, Korea, and Canada as well as Vietnam and the United States. Yet for all the answers it provides, this book also reveals how much uncertainty—scientific, medical, legal, and political—continues to surround the legacy of Agent Orange.
eBook
Chemical Warfare during the Vietnam War
Chemical Warfare during the Vietnam War documents the use of antipersonnel chemical weapons throughout the Vietnam War, and explores their effectiveness under the wide variety of circumstances in which they were employed. The short, readable account follows the US program as it progressed from a focus on the humanitarian aspects of non-lethal weapons to their use as a means of augmenting and enhancing the lethality of traditional munitions. It also presents the efforts of the North Vietnamese to both counter US chemical operations and to develop a chemical capability of their own.
Chemical Warfare during the Vietnam War is a comprehensive and thoroughly fascinating examination of riot-control agents during the Vietnam War.
Chemical Warfare during the Vietnam War will be of interest to those studying the war or the history of tear gas use in military and police operations. It should be in the library of any institution with programs involving chemical weapons and defense. – H-Net Reviews
D. Hank Ellison has served in the US Army as an enlisted infantry soldier and a commissioned officer in the Chemical Corps, responsible for nuclear, biological, and chemical defense for infantry and artillery battalions. He is a hazardous materials instructor for Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Prelude
Chapter 3: Operation Stomp
Chapter 4: Tunnels
Chapter 5: Escalation
Chapter 6: Niches
Chapter 7: Urban Combat
Chapter 8: Communist Operations
Chapter 9: Conclusion
Appendices
eBook
Toxic War
The war in Vietnam, spanning more than twenty years, was one of the
most divisive conflicts ever to envelop the United States, and its
complexity and consequences did not end with the fall of Saigon in
1975. As Peter Sills demonstrates in Toxic War , veterans
faced a new enemy beyond post-traumatic stress disorder or
debilitating battle injuries. Many of them faced a new, more
pernicious, slow-killing enemy: the cancerous effects of Agent
Orange.
Originally introduced by Dow and other chemical companies as a
herbicide in the United States and adopted by the military as a
method of deforesting the war zone of Vietnam, in order to deny the
enemy cover, Agent Orange also found its way into the systems of
numerous active-duty soldiers. Sills argues that manufacturers
understood the dangers of this compound and did nothing to protect
American soldiers.
Toxic War takes the reader behind the scenes into the
halls of political power and industry, where the debates about the
use of Agent Orange and its potential side effects raged. In the
end, the only way these veterans could seek justice was in the
court of law and public opinion. Unprecedented in its access to
legal, medical, and government documentation, as well as to the
personal testimonies of veterans, Toxic War endeavors to
explore all sides of this epic battle.
eBook
Agent Orange : history, science, and the politics of uncertainty / Edwin A. Martini
\"Taking on what one former U.S. ambassador called \"the last ghost of the Vietnam War,\" this book examines the far-reaching impact of Agent Orange, the most infamous of the dioxin-contaminated herbicides used by American forces in Southeast Asia. Beginning in the early 1960s, when chemical defoliants were first deployed in Vietnam, Edwin A. Martini looks for answers to a host of still unresolved questions. What did chemical manufacturers and American policymakers know about the effects of dioxin on human beings, and when did they know it? How much do scientists and doctors know even today? Was the use of Agent Orange a form of chemical warfare? What can, and should, be done for U.S. veterans, Vietnamese victims, and others around the world who believe they have medical problems caused by Agent Orange? Martini draws on military and government records, scientific research, visits to contaminated sites, and personal interviews to disentangle conflicting claims and evaluate often ambiguous evidence. Yet for all the answers it provides, this book also reveals how much uncertainty-scientific, medical, legal, and political-continues to surround the legacy of Agent Orange.\"--Back cover
eBook
Veterans and Agent Orange
Because of continuing uncertainty about the long-term health effects of the sprayed herbicides on Vietnam veterans, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991. The legislation directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to request the Institite of Medicine to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam to be followed by biennial updates. The 2010 update recommends further research of links between Vietnam service and specific health outcomes, most importantly COPD, tonsil cancer, melanoma, brain cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and paternally transmitted effects to offspring.
eBook
Disposition of the Air Force Health Study
The Vietnam War was fought in a jungle environment that provided cover to the enemy and made battlefield observations difficult, so military strategists used herbicides to remove foliage along key roads and waterways, defoliate areas surrounding enemy bases and supply and communications routes, and improve visibility in heavily canopied forests. The last three decades have seen an ongoing debate about the effects of this military use of herbicides and the potential adverse long-term health effects on those who may have been exposed to these herbicides.
In response to these concerns, the Air Force Health Study (AFHS) was created to investigate the potential relationship between the herbicides used and the health problems of those exposed. Disposition of the Air Force Health Study assesses the scientific merit of the AFHS operations and procedures, and makes recommendations for improvement.
eBook