Al Jazeera has reported that an alarming increase in birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah may be caused by the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Many of the babies with birth defects are being born with cleft pallets, deformed limbs, cancers, and atrophy brain to name a few.
Dr. Samira Alaani conducted a year long survey where she found 147 incidents of congenital malformation in 1000 births. Which is 5x the international average.
Iraqi Baby with birth defect Image from Flickr Creative Commons Karen Eliot
The birth defects could be related to white phosphorus powder which was used to light up the battlefield at night. It is legal to use in war as long as it is not used against civilians.
In 2005, General Peter Pace confirmed that the United States had used the White Phosphorous after initially denying the usage of the powder.
Pace said white phosphorus was mainly used to mark targets for air strikes and to create smoke screens for moving forces around a battlefield unseen.
So far very little research and data has been compiled from American service members who have noticed an increase in birth defects, or disease as a result of chemical’s such as white phosphorus or Uranium. For more on the story from check out Al Jazeera.
