Even more criminal is the scope of contamination that is endangering the health of the people of Yugoslavia. Radioactive shards of ammunition remain scattered throughout Kosova, contaminating water supplies, pastures and farmland, and towns. This shines a spotlight on the real character of the U.S.-NATO military assault against Yugoslavia.

U.S. government officials have denied that the spent munitions are linked to the illnesses reported by NATO soldiers deployed in the Balkans. But the persistent reports of leukemia and other diseases affecting the soldiers have forced many European capitalist governments to begin to respond.

These actions by the U.S. rulers show their callous disregard for the health and safety of human beings and underscore the fact that, despite their propaganda, the U.S.-led war had nothing to do with protecting the people of Kosova. Washington's barbaric bombing campaign, which destroyed factories, bridges, roads, and other vital necessities in the country, was aimed against the workers and farmers of Yugoslavia, whom the U.S. wealthy class ultimately must take on and militarily defeat in order to achieve its goal of reimposing capitalist property relations there and in other workers states. Washington also sought to use its military superiority to assert its political and military dominance in Europe.

The U.S. rulers and their imperialist allies, who are also their rivals, have no concern for the soldiers deployed in the Balkans. The soldiers are mostly workers and farmers in uniform, used as cannon fodder to advance the interests of the billionaire classes of the imperialist countries.

All soldiers potentially affected by the "Balkans Syndrome" should be tested for radiation contamination, with all medical expenses funded by the U.S. and other imperialist governments. Working people the world over need to demand that all NATO troops get out of the Balkans now. Washington should be held fully responsible for cleaning up the environmental disaster it has caused in Kosova and all of Yugoslavia.
 
 
Related article:
Uranium shells poison Kosova, NATO troops  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home