War Profiteering Poisons American Soldiers

Or How Corporations Profited Billions on the Backs and Bodies of American Soldiers

By Renee Babcock and Grace Novak

http://www.opednews.com/articles/War-Profiteering-Poisons-A-by-Move-to-Amend-Corporate-Constitutional-Rights_Corporate-Personhood_Corporations-Military-Industrial-Complex_Military-Industrial-Complex-160524-884.html

During the Iraq War, several corporations made billions in government contracts, as more and more of the military's operations relied on private contractors. And while the public is told that these wars will protect us, all too many American service members have faced unspeakable abuses over seas at the hands of these careless war profiteers.

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Independent studies conducted on local civilian populations exposed to the burn pits revealed large increases in cancer, leukemia, birth defects, and other carcinogenic diseases. Veterans exposed to the pits are reporting the same health consequences, and according to the book, the rate of having a child with birth defects is three times higher for exposed service members. It is estimated that tens of thousands of soldiers were exposed to this toxic environmental hazard during the wars.

What's worse, the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and other agencies continue to deny any connection between the burn pits and the veterans' medical conditions. They claim that there is insufficient scientific data to conclusively link them. Yet, in 2015 Congress removed burn pits research from the DoD's research list, even as more veterans exposed to the pits come forward with rare respiratory illnesses, high blood pressure, and other ailments. The VA is denying medical treatment to the thousands of service members claiming illnesses related to burn pits. And like in the all too similar case of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam veterans, the soldiers and their families are coming together to create a burn pit registry to demand justice when rightful care is being denied. But for some veterans, like 1st Sgt. William Krawczyk, it is already too late.

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The problem can only be fixed through the amendment process. A number of bills supporting an amendment to overturn Citizens United are currently before Congress, but only one of them addresses the underlying issue of corporate personhood. As long as the 1886 decision stands, corporations can use the Courts to regain any rights lost. The We the People Amendment abolishes all corporate constitutional rights and the doctrine that money is speech. With its passage, We the People will regain our authority to govern and make laws that protect people and the planet, including inside war zones.

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Read the details revealed in the article at:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/War-Profiteering-Poisons-A-by-Move-to-Amend-Corporate-Constitutional-Rights_Corporate-Personhood_Corporations-Military-Industrial-Complex_Military-Industrial-Complex-160524-884.html