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Comment by torstenvl | Hacker News Reader

> The use of illegal radioactive weapons in Iraq is resulting in deformities to this day.

Are you claiming there exists some kind of banned thorium weapon? And that Americans are using it? And that therefore Americans are responsible for these birth defects?

The article you linked does not contain any support for this claim of American use of radiological weapons. It describes thorium birth defects near Tallil Air Base.

I don't see how these thorium birth defects have anything to do with radiological weapons. There are no known thorium weapons.

Thorium is, however, used in making alloys for jet avionics, though. And it turns out the Iraqis buried a shitton of planes at Tallil AB.

https://web.archive.org/web/20170201130725/http://okwreckcha...

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I'm claiming the united states, in contravention of international law, used depleted uranium [1] as a weapon, and this depleted uranium is causing birth defects. We're getting side tracked, but you can do your own research on this topic and come to your own conclusions. The wikipedia page below is a good place to start.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium

And what treaty specifically bans using this metal in armor-piercing ammunition? Your claim that this is "in contravention of international law" seems a bit hand-wavy.

It's possible to google the answers to these things, and we're getting off topic. Here's something I found that may answer your question:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/19/us-depleted-ur...

You introduced the topic. Asking for you to support that position isn't off-topic. And the link you provided does not support your position. It says that the Air Force OJAG advised minimizing its use in order to prevent unnecessary suffering when other munitions were available and DU was not needed for armor-piercing. It doesn't say use of DU is "in contravention of international law."

My position is that the United States should de-escalate an arms race. I don't want to argue about details from examples that I use to support my point.

If you want to labour the point, here's the specific law: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul...

I'd consider birth defects to be "unnecessary suffering" (this exact wording was used in the Guardian article).

The topic is elaborated on here: Here's an additional link: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/VicULawJJl/2015/6.html

The link you added says "DU munitions are nonetheless legal under international humanitarian law." This is in contrast to your previous opinion that their use is "in contravention of international law."

Thanks for your time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

I agree, DU munitions are not illegal. Weapons that cause unnecessary suffering are illegal. The question is whether DU munitions cause unnecessary suffering, and whether the US knew that the caused unnecessary suffering.

Ultimately the question is not of great importance because no one actually enforces international law.

Have a nice day :) (said sincerely, without irony)

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