Armed Conflict and Environmental Damage by U. C. Jha

Author:U. C. Jha [Jha, U. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Political Science, World, Security (National & International)
ISBN: 9789382652779
Google: jV3SoQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 22960171
Publisher: VIJ BOOKS INDIA
Published: 2014-01-15T06:26:58+00:00

Post-conflict

Recovery from the environmental damage caused by wars has often proven to be very slow, extremely costly, and in some cases impossible. Modern lethal weapons, particularly depleted uranium and chemical weapons containing persistent toxic chemicals, such as dioxins and radio-active substances can have an impact over generations. Another major concern relates to landmines and unexploded ammunition and ordnance, which are “hidden killers.” Many of the battlefields of World War I and II and the Vietnam War 56 for instance, are still unfit for cultivation today, and dangerous to people and animals due to unexploded devices and projectiles embedded in the soil.

One study estimated that 70 per cent of the conventional bombs dropped by the US over Iraq in the Gulf War missed their target, and that of the 88,500 tons of bombs dropped on Iraq, 17,700 tons never exploded.57 Some of the ordnance used by the US contained depleted uranium. After the war, many rounds of this ammunition remained in the ground causing radiological contamination. Uranium can become airborne and may be inhaled or ingested. Unexploded ordnance can remain undetected for many years. Mines have been used routinely in wars for nearly two centuries, and today, 80 percent of mine victims are civilians. Discarded materials including radioactive debris, trash and explosives can present environmental hazards long after battles have ceased. The destruction of endangered species, poisoned water supplies, soil pollution, deforestation, and desertification are some other grave environmental problems.

During the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran War, mines were used extensively on the high sea, involving even non-belligerent ships. Iran dispersed mines in the path of neutral shipping in the Gulf water. Iraq planted more than half a million mines in Kuwait in order to seal off Kuwait’s coastline. It also mined the Gulf with thousands of explosive devices that had to be detonated by Allied naval forces in order to permit them to manoeuvre. These mines still pose a threat to the marine ecosystem of all Gulf waters.58

War debris and abandoned military equipment pose another serious threat to the environment. In 1991, during Gulf War II, the Allied forces bombarded Iraqi military locations, destroying about 3,000 tanks and about 2,100 artillery pieces. In Kuwait, the “Highway of Death” was covered with thousands of vehicles, cans, tanks, damaged military hardware as well as dead bodies.59 In addition, sanitary waste, including leftover food for more than half a million troops, littered the Northern Saudi desert. Organic waste of barbed wire and material used to maintain military vehicles were dumped in battlefields. Spent lubricating oil was collected and burned and its residue was buried, resulting in soil contamination.60

Since 2001, the US military has generated millions of kilograms of hazardous, toxic and radioactive wastes in Afghanistan. 61 The US military has not revealed details of its waste disposal systems; and it appears that wastes have been buried, burned or secretly disposed into the air, soil, groundwater and surface waters of Afghanistan. When the US forces withdraw from Afghanistan, the toxic chemicals they leave behind will continue to pollute for centuries.

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