Gulf War-Doha Incident Posted in The Halifax Herald, The Windsor Star, and The Pembroke Observer during the week of May 17, 2001
By Scott Taylor
On 11 July 1991, just three months after the Gulf War ended, an ammunition dump exploded in Doha, Kuwait ripping apart the U.S. 11th Armored (Blackhorse) Cavalry Regiment. Nearly 100 soldiers were seriously injured in the blast and an additional 400 required at least some form of medical treatment. Secondary explosions continued throughout the day disabling more U.S. armoured vehicles than the Iraqi Army had been able to destroy during Desert Storm. On hand to assist their American allies during this incident was a 50-man contingent of Canadian combat engineers. Under the able direction of Major Fred Kaustinen these “sappers” kept their composure and provided first aid to the panic-stricken Blackhorse troopers.
The heroism and professional conduct of the Canadian soldiers earned their unit - the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment - a letter of praise from the American Commander. In addition, Major Kaustinen’s outstanding personal leadership was recognized with a Chief of Defence Staff commendation from General John DeChastelain.
At the time, Canadians never heard about the Doha incident - or of our soldiers’ bravery - because National Defence Headquarters took the decision to cover the whole affair up. At the time, Kaustinen and his men had believed that the rationale behind the gag order was to prevent any additional embarrassment to our U.S. allies (their soldiers had panicked and fled in terror) and/or to prevent Iraqi intelligence from discovering the true extent of the damage inflicted upon the American Regiment. (The Blackhorse was temporarily rendered “hors-de-combat” following the blast.)
The story of the Doha blast was first broken in August 1998, by Esprit de Corps Magazine and the Ottawa Citizen. At that juncture, Defence Department Public Affairs officers had been unable to explain why they had covered-up this “good news” story of Canadian soldiers performing heroic deeds in the midst of a major catastrophe: “Things blow up all the time.”... “This was no big deal.”... “Soldiers get paid to take risks.”... “The messages must have gotten lost.” etc. etc.
Following on the heels of numerous other scandals and cover-ups, the Doha incident failed to gain much in the way of national media interest and the whole affair quickly and quietly faded back into oblivion.
Fast forward to January 2001 and the international press are suddenly caught up in a feeding frenzy over the health effects of depleted uranium on NATO soldiers returning sick from service in the Balkans. Over the next few weeks, startling statistics of the leukemia incident rate ballooning amongst these veterans were met with a barrage of official denials from military health officials - all claiming that DU posed “no risk” to servicemembers.
In the midst of this controversy, Esprit de Corps Magazine received a tip that the Doha ammunition dump had in fact contained DU tipped shells. A quick check with U.S. military sources confirmed the information and, with the help of the Ottawa Citizen, we broke the story of how the Canadian engineers had been exposed to vast quantities of toxic DU “aerosol” during the 1991 explosion. Canada’s senior military preventive health officer, Colonel Ken Scott, acknowledged that the Pentagon had only advised him of the DU exposure to Canadian troops in February 2000. Col. Scott had not advised these soldiers of the possible health risk (“it would only increase their stress levels”) out of consideration for their collective well being.
As a follow up to the initial story, the Ottawa Citizen, at considerable expense and effort, managed to track down 18 of the 50 combat engineers who had been in Doha. Of the 18 located, 10 reported that they now suffered from some form of immune deficiency-related ailments, while others stated that their children had been born with “congenital anomalies”. Such startling (albeit unscientific) numbers still failed to motivate Col. Scott into making any special effort to contact and examine the Doha sappers. They, like every other Canadian soldier who served in either the Gulf or the Balkans, are entitled to submit a voluntary urine sample; however, this can only determine the presence of soluble (and relatively harmless) DU if tested within the first few weeks after exposure.
Now comes word from an international expert that the Doha explosion produced “the worst DU contamination site on record”. Professor Albrecht Schott, a Berlin-based scientist specializing in the health effects of DU, claims that the Canadian Engineers were exposed to a “cocktail of cancer causing substances”. Schott explained that the heat generated by the blast was beyond what the U.S. scientists had believed possible, upwards of 2000 degrees Centigrade. Not only did the DU shells detonate, creating a radioactive aerosol, but the DU armour on the U.S. tanks also ignited and burned. Professor Schott says that the resultant “high temperature chemistry” created “new” substances which are completely uncharted in modern science. “These particular Canadian soldiers weren’t just exposed to DU, they were exposed to DU plus,” said Schott.
Over the next few weeks, Schott will be examining the effects of depleted uranium on the Iraqi population. Hit by over 30 000 DU rounds during the Gulf War, the civilians in Iraq are currently suffering from a massive outbreak of leukemia and congenital anomalies among their children. Up until now, the United States has prevented any initiatives by the World Health Organization to conduct a full scientific survey of DU related illnesses in Iraq. “The Pentagon and NATO officials all purport to have conducted exhaustive studies on DU, yet no one has ever studied the effects at ground zero,” said Schott. “The key to assessing DU’s harmful potential and finding a cure will only come from a thorough examination of the Iraqis and survivors of the Doha blast.”
Unfortunately for Dr. Schott and his scientific research, Colonel Ken Scott is still far too concerned with the “well-being” of our soldiers to be of any assistance. To date, Scott and his medical officers have made no effort to advise the combat engineers of 1CER what they were exposed to.
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