Major Doug Rokke, Ph.D, arrived in Iraq in 1990 as an expert in nuclear weapons. There, he witnessed Operation Desert Storm, one of the most impressive displays of American military might in recent history. In less than four months, a U.S. led coalition annihilated the Iraqi army, thanks in part to the use of weapons and armor containing depleted uranium (DU). Fifteen years later, Rokke still suffers from war wounds – not shrapnel scars or burn marks, but a persistent cough and cataracts. Like other veterans of the war, Rokke blames DU exposure for his unexpected health problems. The former head of the US Army Depleted Uranium Project, Rokke has since left the military to become one of the compound’s most outspoken critics. He believes that the United States should abolish DU munitions.

So far, no one seems to be listening. Rokke told P.H. that his advocacy has made him “persona non grata” with the Army. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains that its uranium superweapons pose no health risk. Reputable institutions ranging from the World Health Organization to the British medical journal Lancet support their view. Yet Rokke and others tell a different story, one that the U.S. military would do well to take seriously.

With vocal protesting at home and continuing diffi culties on the ground, many critics label the current war in Iraq as Vietnam for a new generation. Divisions between red and blue states aside, the U.S. Army’s depleted uranium arsenal leaves many veterans seeing a particular shade of orange. Ever since the Army introduced armor and munitions containing DU during the first Gulf War, scientists and soldiers have reported increased rates of cancer and birth defects. These serious claims lead many to dub this radioactive waste product the “Agent Orange of the 90s.” In the case of Agent Orange, veterans and the government clashed for nearly two decades before the VA finally recognized the infamous herbicide as a problem. Now, a similarly paralyzing debate rages over the health effects of depleted uranium. In the meantime, this so-called “silver bullet” remains lethal in more ways than intended.