Greed and Guinea Pigs: Risking the Health of the US Military Al Capone would have been proud.
Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm.
William J. Crowe Jr. was part of the crew that sold Saddam Hussein the
deadly means to wage war with anthrax germs. That's when the United
States wanted the "Butcher of Baghdad" to use anthrax on Iran.
Now the admiral, who shocked political observers by
endorsing Bill "I loathe the military" Clinton in 1992 and was
rewarded the following year with the post of ambassador to Great
Britain, gets a "sweetheart deal" from the Pentagon to produce a
questionable "vaccine" that is supposed to "protect" the nation's
military from the deadly organisms.
Not only does Crowe and his mysterious pal Faud El-Hibri
get an exclusive multi-million dollar contract to produce anthrax
vaccine, but the Government agrees to pay triple the original cost in
the contract, from $3.50 a dose, to over ten dollars! This, after the
company Crowe and El-Hibri partly own - Bioport of Lansing, Mich. -
was temporarily shut down by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
after it failed an inspection in November.
Nothing too good for our troops! So what if some of them
may get sick and die? Remember "Agent Orange" (Dioxin) from Vietnam?
We were told: "Not to worry. This stuff only kills the foliage, not
people." Of course, we know better now. Especially the families of
Vietnam vets whose wives gave birth to deformed babies.
How about Gulf War Syndrome? When the first GI's
returned to the United States and came down sick, they were given the
run-around by the VA. The doctors said they were "imagining" their
rashes, diarrhea, coughing spells and rapid weight-loss. "It's all in
your head," they were told as they were shuffled off to the psycho
ward. Now we know better.
Once again the Government and the Pentagon are playing
that old tune: "Trust Us." Only this time, the stakes are higher than
they've ever been before. This time, the inoculations are mandatory.
At first, the brass hats tried to intimidate the military into
silence. "You will take them, on pain of court martial and
dishonorable discharge." And hundreds - if you believe the Pentagon
"spinmeisters" - or several thousand officers and service members,
have voted with their feet.
Many have been punished severely and seen hopes and
dreams dashed because of a genuine fear that their Government once
again is lying. And at stake is the health of the entire U.S. military
force.
WIDESPREAD MISTRUST AMONG THE RANKS PFC
PFC Matthew Baker who was stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga.
went AWOL after his first sergeant threatened to have him strapped to
a gurney and forcibly injected with the anthrax vaccine.
MAJ Sonnie Bates, USAF, one of many pilots at Dover, AFB
Del. was headed for a court martial and up to five years in prison
until he went on "60 Minutes" and told what was going on. Soon the Air
Force scrapped their hard-line tactics and Bates was allowed to leave
the service.
More than a dozen members of Bates' squadron came down
sick with a variety of illnesses. Thyroid and liver damage, memory
loss, bone and joint pain, fevers, dizziness, infected cysts and
lesions. The only common thread was these maladies immediately
followed anthrax injections.
In a letter to the Air Force, Bates stated his position
was a matter of principle.
"I'm doing what I've always been trained and taught to
do. If you know it's right, you stand up for it. And likewise, if you
know it's wrong, you have to challenge it, no matter what the
consequences.
"After 13 years of exemplary service to my country, I am
willing to give up my job, my rank, and everything I have worked for
to avoid taking an unsafe drug."
Army SPC Kevin Edwards started to feel sick a few weeks
after his third anthrax shot. He nearly died. Bleeding sores covered
the soldier's entire body. Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina said he
could barely keep his composure after seeing pictures taken of Edwards
at an Army hospital. Jones is one of three dozen congressmen calling
for a halt in the forced anthrax immunization program.
Texas Army National Guard CPT Jody Grenga, a medical
operations officer with nearly 18 years service, was kicked out of the
Army for refusing the anthrax shots on religious grounds. The highly
respected officer said she also refused the immunizations because of
her medical history of adverse reactions to medications.
PFC Jemekia Barber, an African-American Army soldier who
was forced out of the service with a less-than-honorable discharge
after she refused the shots, has filed suit in U.S. District Court in
Colorado. Her lawyers contend the mandatory shot order violated
Barber's Constitutional rights. Herbert Fenster argued that because
his client is of child-bearing age, ordering her to take the anthrax
vaccine injections could subject her to risk of bearing a child with
birth defects.
Two former Connecticut Air National Guard pilots, MAJ
Russell Dingle and MAJ Thomas "Buzz" Rempfer said they concluded the
Pentagon's use of the vaccine was illegal because of serious questions
about its safety and effectiveness. They said they were ordered not to
talk to the press, but refused, and with seven other pilots in their
unit, the 103rd Fighter Wing, resigned.
More than thirty pilots and 17 KC-10 tanker crew-members
at Travis AFB in California quit rather than take the shots. So did
pilots in the Wisconsin Air National Guard. And Air Force Capt.
Clifton Volpe, assigned to a VIP transport squadron at Andrews AFB
Maryland, is getting the boot for refusing to take the controversial
injections.
Perhaps the most eloquent of the military opponents of
the mandatory anthrax inoculation program is retired Air Force Lt.
Col. Redmond Handy. Named the "most outstanding officer" in 1996 by
the Reserve Officers Association, Handy was a full colonel on "the
fast track to stars" when he quit his Pentagon job and decided to
speak out. Because he didn't have the minimum time in grade
requirement as a full colonel, Handy put principle ahead of pay and
left the Air Force as a light colonel.
"It is appalling that Admiral Crowe, who was a key
player in the effort to let all U.S. citizens sleep better at night by
leading our defenders of freedom to defeat communism, now keeps these
same defenders and their families awake at night wondering if their
health will be defeated by his company's product.
"And it's even more ironic that Crowe recently received
the Medal of Freedom from President Clinton at the White House," Handy
told MilitaryCorruption.com. The admiral's vaccine is forced on our
troops without their consent and he even had the gall to advocate that
all Americans should get his vaccine during Congressional hearings
last October. This highly decorated sailor has turned into a vaccine
salesman!"
Handy said this tragic story didn't start with the
vaccine, but with the sale of anthrax to Iraq which the admiral would
have known about in his military position at the time. "How
convenient" that Crowe is now the "purveyor of the solution" to the
anthrax "problem," the colonel said.
QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
Why is it that here in our country we have "forced"
implementation of anthrax vaccine? It's voluntary in all other
countries, including our coalition partners. Why isn't it voluntary in
America?
Why are we experimenting on our nation's military with a
vaccine that has not once been tested as to the long term effects it
might have on an individual's health? When the drug was approved by
the FDA in 1970, it was tested on only 26 human subjects!
Why is it that members of the armed forces face fines,
jail time and loss of military careers, while the U.S. State
Department, which often operates in places where the threat of
terrorism is high, has a "voluntary" anthrax program for its
employees?
Defense Secretary William Cohen has curtailed the
anthrax injection program - he says - to cover only military personnel
considered "most at risk?" Did any "political considerations" enter
into that decision? President Clinton, desperate to get Al Gore
elected President and thus ensure a much-needed "pardon" once he's out
of power, certainly doesn't need the specter of a series of highly
publicized court martials of service members - especially minority
females - who sincerely fear the vaccine.
Why is the vaccine being forced on the military when its
effectiveness against an actual biological attack hasn't been proven,
and the vaccine may not protect against all strains of anthrax?
If the anthrax vaccine is so safe and all is well, why
has the Army, which administers the mandatory inoculation program for
all the services, indemnified Bioport against lawsuits that may arise
from adverse reactions or other problems related to the controversial
vaccine?
Why did 600,000 vaccine doses in government stock fail
potency tests? And what danger could that pose to troops if they were
forced to be injected with it?
Why has the Pentagon "fronted" Bioport with millions of
dollars in taxpayers' money when the troubled manufacturer has
experienced continued failures? Does that have something to do with
who some of its owners and investors are? Did Clinton pass the word to
his defense secretary, William Cohen, to "take care of" his favored
political supporter Crowe?
The portly admiral has publicly stated he has "never
solicited any official in the Clinton administration to install or
promote a mandatory inoculation program." That's kind of like Claude
Rains, who played French Police Capt. Louis Renault. Remember the
famous line at Rick's Café in "Casablanca?" "I'm shocked, shocked that
gambling is going on here!" swore the crafty cop with feigned piety as
he grasped fistfuls of money.
by Maj Glenn MacDonald, USAR (Ret)