Monday, August 7, 2017

Death By Burn Pit

The long, sad story of burn pits has included years of US veterans facing major health ramifications from being stationed near the pits, breathing in the toxic fumes from them. With studies showing the open burning of munitions and waste was wildly dangerous, you’d think this would be a slam dunk for a lawsuit.

That’s not the case, however, as US District Court Judge Roger Titus has dismissed a lawsuit by veterans and family members related to the health problems, and even deaths, caused by the burn pits, saying there was no way to hold anyone accountable for it.

The burn pit problem has been well documented for several years, but Titus insisted the lawsuit against KBR could not proceed, because the military contractor which ran the burn pits didn’t get to decide where to position them, that being a military decision.

The military’s off the hook too, Titus insisted, because the decision to put the pits dangerously close to soldiers’ housing was made in a time of war, and it would “not be appropriate” to question the military’s decisions in a time of war.

You can read the rest @
http://news.antiwar.com/2017/08/06/federal-court-dismisses-us-veterans-lawsuit-over-burn-pits/

I don't buy the judge's rationale. Using Agent Orange also was a military decision which had tragic consequences, and the government eventually was held accountable ... although it took forever.

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