Israel using Gaza as 'test laboratory' for new weapon: Nowegian medics
Johnny Asia
OSLO (AFP) - Israel is testing a new "extremely nasty" type of weapon in
Gaza, two medics charged as they returned home to Norway Monday after
spending 10 days working at a hospital in the war-torn Palestinian
territory.
"There's a very strong suspicion I think that Gaza is now being used as a
test laboratory for new weapons," Mads Gilbert told reporters at Oslo's
Gardermoen airport, commenting on the kinds of injuries he and his colleague
Erik Fosse had seen while working at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
The two medics, who were sent into the war zone by the pro-Palestinian aid
organisation NORWAC on December 31, said they had seen clear signs that
Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME), an experimental kind of explosive, were
being used in Gaza.
"This is a new generation of very powerful small explosives that detonates
with an extreme power and dissipates its power within a range of five to 10
metres (16-98 feet)," said Gilbert, 61.
"We have not seen the casualties affected directly by the bomb because they
are normally torn to pieces and do not survive, but we have seen a number of
very brutal amputations... without shrapnel injuries which we strongly
suspect must have been caused by the DIME weapons," he added.
The weapon "causes the tissue to be torn from the flesh. It looks very
different (from a shrapnel injury). I have seen and treated a lot of
different injuries for the last 30 years in different war zones, and this
looks completely different," said Fosse, 58.
"If you are in the immediate (vicinity of) a DIME weapon, it's like your
legs get torn off. It's an enormous pressure wave and there is no shrapnel,"
he explained.
Gilbert also accused Israel of having used the weapon in the 2006 Lebanon
war and previously in Gaza, and referred to studies showing wounds from the
explosive could cause lethal forms of cancer within just four to six months.
"Israel should disclose what weapons they use and the international
community should make an investigation," he said, stressing the amount of
damage apparently caused by the new form of explosive.
"We are not soft-skinned when it comes to war injuries, but these
amputations are really extremely nasty and for many of the patients not
survivable," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090112/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazanorwayweapons_newsmlmmd
--
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Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
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HHW
Here's a better description of the weapon. It's origin seems to be the
United States.
CANCER WORRIES FOR NEW U.S. BOMBS
The U.S. military is working on a small, precise bomb that could hit
targets "previously off limits to the warfighter." The problem is, it
might cause cancer.
Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) is one of the Air Force Research
Laboratory’s responses to the challenge of fighting in an urban
environment without hurting innocent bystanders in the process.
Recent news about an airstrike which may have killed civilians, as
well as Taliban fighters, highlights the problem. Similar situations
have occurred repeatedly in Iraq and Afghanistan; sometimes targets
could not be engaged, because of the risk of harming nearby civilians.
One option is to use smaller weapons. Another is dropping inert bombs,
filled with concrete rather than explosives, to minimize collateral
damage.
But what's really required is something which is just as lethal as a
standard bomb, but keeps its lethal zone to a minimum. This is exactly
what DIME delivers.
DIME is used in the Low Collateral Damage version of the Small
Diameter Bomb currently under development. This has a carbon fiber
casing which turns into dust rather than creating dangerous fragments.
The bomb is filled with explosive mixed with tungsten powder, which
becomes micro-shrapnel. The small-sized tungsten particles drag to a
halt at about 40 charge diameters. In the case of the SDB, that gives
a destructive radius of about 25 feet.
The result is an incredibly destructive blast in a small area, what
the Air Force Term "Focused Lethality." The AFRL Munitions Directorate
provided this picture of a DIME test, but were unable to discuss the
topic. However, I talked to others who have worked in this area. They
were consistently awed by the destructive power of the mixture, which
causes far more damage than pure explosive within the near field. The
impact of the micro-shrapnel seems to cause a similar but more
powerful effect than a shockwave.
Early blasts even destroyed test instruments:
Unfortunately, the high-velocity, high temperature inert metal
particles found in DIME fills have proved to be extremely damaging to
traditional pressure measurement instruments. Hence, new measurement
diagnostics had to be developed to investigate DIME formulations.
Because there are no large fragments, Focused Lethality Munitions
should not cause a hazard at any great distance. The standard Small
Diameter Bomb is claimed to be lethal out to 2,000 feet or more, the
Focused Lethality version will have a smaller but deadlier footprint -
a 12-gauge compared to a rifle.
Little has been released on the exact effects of DIME explosives, but
it’s interesting that a presentation on future munitions illustrates
focused lethality with a tank which had been turned on its side by
blast. Aimed accurately, it looks like it would be capable of
destroying a building completely without damaging the rest of the
neighborhood.
Metal powders -- typically aluminum -- have been added to explosives
for many years. But those are reactive metals, making the blast even
stronger. Tungsten, on the other hand, is inert. So it remains in
metallic form and absorbs some of the energy of the explosion. DIME
originated in work to increase the density of the explosive mixture,
improving the penetrating power of bunker busting bombs. But the bonus
effect of the micro-shrapnel proved to be more significant than the
increased density.
The Air Force's focused lethality munition had an enthusiastic write-
up in the Wall Street Journal. The US Navy's Surface Warfare Center at
Dahlgren is also working on DIME munitions.
According to the Air Force’s FY 2007 Unfunded Priority List, the
focused lethality munitions "will be able to prosecute targets
previously off limits to the warfighter."
This suggests that they will be used in close proximity to civilians
or friendly forces. The only collateral damage may be stray tungsten
particles – clumping, or larger particles in the mix might mean some
effect outside the focused zone. Would grains of inert tungsten
present a problem? According to New Scientist magazine:
In a study designed to simulate shrapnel injuries, pellets of weapons-
grade tungsten alloy were implanted in 92 rats. Within five months all
the animals developed a rare cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, according
to John Kalinich's team at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research
Institute in Maryland.
92 out of 92 - "tumor yield was 100%" - is a significant result. The
full report is here.
I checked with University of Arizona cancer researcher Dr. Mark
Witten, quoted in the New Scientist story, to see how things have
developed. Dr. Witten is investigating links between tungsten and
leukemia, and is concerned about its possible use DIME or other
munitions:
"My opinion is that there needs to be much more research on the health
effects of tungsten before the military increases its usage."
We don’t know whether a Focused Lethality Munition is likely to result
in tungsten particles striking anyone outside the lethal area. Nor do
we know the possible environmental impact tungsten powder left
afterwards. But given that the Focused Lethality munition will be used
in situations which are likely to produce media attention and
political repercussions, these should be addressed.
The aims of the Low Collateral Damage program are worthwhile. But
unless the issues around tungsten are resolved we could see a repeat
of the depleted uranium story. Instead of decreasing controversy, the
new weapon might create even more.
-- David Hambling
UPDATE 05/22/06 1:45PM: Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at
Human Rights Watch comments:
While Human Rights Watch is supportive of the US military's commitment
to reducing civilian casualties, collateral damage as they call it, it
is unfortunate that these weapons are being developed specifically for
use in densely populated areas which may negate the intended effect.
drahcir
> Israel using Gaza as 'test laboratory' for new weapon: Nowegian medics
>
> OSLO (AFP) - Israel is testing a new "extremely nasty" type of weapon in
> Gaza, two medics charged as they returned home to Norway Monday after
> spending 10 days working at a hospital in the war-torn Palestinian
> territory.
>
> "There's a very strong suspicion I think that Gaza is now being used as a
> test laboratory for new weapons," Mads Gilbert told reporters at Oslo's
> Gardermoen airport, commenting on the kinds of injuries he and his colleague
> Erik Fosse had seen while working at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
>
> The two medics, who were sent into the war zone by the pro-Palestinian aid
> organisation NORWAC on December 31, said they had seen clear signs that
> Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME), an experimental kind of explosive, were
> being used in Gaza.
>
> "This is a new generation of very powerful small explosives that detonates
> with an extreme power and dissipates its power within a range of five to 10
> metres (16-98 feet),
Time for whoever wrote this to go get his high school equivalency
diploma. I think it's 10th grade where they teach basic unit
conversion.
" said Gilbert, 61.
>
> "We have not seen the casualties affected directly by the bomb because they
> are normally torn to pieces and do not survive, but we have seen a number of
> very brutal amputations... without shrapnel injuries which we strongly
> suspect must have been caused by the DIME weapons," he added.
>
> The weapon "causes the tissue to be torn from the flesh. It looks very
> different (from a shrapnel injury). I have seen and treated a lot of
> different injuries for the last 30 years in different war zones, and this
> looks completely different," said Fosse, 58.
>
> "If you are in the immediate (vicinity of) a DIME weapon, it's like your
> legs get torn off. It's an enormous pressure wave and there is no shrapnel,"
> he explained.
>
> Gilbert also accused Israel of having used the weapon in the 2006 Lebanon
> war and previously in Gaza, and referred to studies showing wounds from the
> explosive could cause lethal forms of cancer within just four to six months.
>
> "Israel should disclose what weapons they use and the international
> community should make an investigation," he said, stressing the amount of
> damage apparently caused by the new form of explosive.
>
> "We are not soft-skinned when it comes to war injuries, but these
> amputations are really extremely nasty and for many of the patients not
> survivable," he said.
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090112/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictga...
drahcir
Is it just me, or does the above sentence make no sense?
dsharavi
It's just bureaucratese.
You know what following sentence sounds like it's describing?
> > "This is a new generation of very powerful small explosives that detonates
> > with an extreme power and dissipates its power within a range of five to 10
> > metres (16-98 feet)," said Gilbert, 61.
Israeli Superfarts.
Deborah