Kosovo update

NATO unleashes DU

by Ben Geman

You probably won't find it repeated in USA Today, but foreign wire services reported Wednesday that NATO has confirmed that it's using controversial depleted-uranium (DU) munitions against Serbian forces in Kosovo.

Bullets made with the dense and slightly radioactive metal were first used in the Gulf War, where they proved astonishingly effective at ripping through tanks. But critics charge that dust created when the rounds burn up may have caused health problems for American soldiers and poisoned the ground in the Middle East. (See "Loose Cannons," News, April 9.)

Activists and veterans' groups who are pushing for a ban on the bullets have wondered since the Kosovo crisis started whether A-10 "Tankbuster" planes would fire 30mm DU rounds in the current conflict. The French wire service Agence France Presse -- citing a report in a Japanese newspaper -- reported Wednesday that a NATO spokesman said the weapons were in use.

Pentagon officials say there's little chance that the inhalation of DU particles is linked to Gulf War Syndrome. A RAND Corporation report reached the same conclusion, and other studies are pending. DU critics, however, say the Pentagon is biased; they cite their own research showing that vets were probably sickened by DU exposure.

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steve Campbell, reached by the Phoenix Wednesday, could not confirm NATO's acknowledgment that DU is being used in Kosovo, but he hinted that it would not surprise him. "We have the capability and we have DU rounds in the inventory, and if it's determined that's the best weapon to use against the target, it will be used," he said.

According to one military expert, the wire-service reports are probably on the money. "They feel the efficacy of the weapon rules out the impact of any potential side effects," says Chris Hellman, an analyst with the Center for Defense Information, a group that monitors Pentagon policy. "They do a risk-benefit analysis, and blowing holes in tanks wins."