Veterans' Right to Know

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

There is established a commission to be known as the ``Veterans' Right to Know Commission'' (in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'').

(a) In General.--The duties of the Commission shall be-- (1) to investigate chemical or biological warfare tests or projects, especially such projects carried out between 1954 and 1973, placing particular emphasis on actions or conditions associated with such projects that could have contributed to health risks or been harmful to any United States civilian personnel or member of the United States Armed Forces who participated in such a project or who was otherwise potentially exposed to any biological or chemical agent, simulant, tracer, decontaminant, or herbicide as a result of such projects; and (2) to submit a report to Congress of its findings and recommendations. (b) Matters to Be Examined.--In carrying out this Act, the Commission shall specifically examine-- (1) classified and unclassified data, test operation plans, safety plans, test reports, test results, and any other materials related to a chemical or biological warfare test or project; (2) the types and dosages of any biological or chemical agent, including any simulant, tracer, decontaminant, pharmaceutical, or herbicide, used during each chemical or biological warfare test or project; (3) information relating to the personal protection of participants in each chemical or biological warfare test or project, including respiratory equipment, clothing, citadel systems, vaccinations, and safety and medical protocols; (4) the list provided to the Department of Veterans Affairs by the Department of Defense of names of individuals who participated in each chemical or biological warfare test or project, the method by which such names were provided, and any other information relating to the number of individuals who participated in such a project or who were otherwise potentially exposed to any biological or chemical agent, simulant, tracer, decontaminant, pharmaceutical, or herbicide as a result of such a project; (5) the date and location of any land, air, or sea test conducted as part of any chemical or biological warfare test or project and the dispersal area likely to have been affected by the release of a chemical or biological agent, simulant, tracer, decontaminant, pharmaceutical, or herbicide during the tests; and (6) any available data collected during health screenings or cause of death determinations performed on any individual who participated in a chemical or biological warfare test or project to determine any possible health consequences of such participation. (c) Chemical or Biological Warfare Test or Project.--In this Act, the term ``chemical or biological warfare test or project'' means any project or program carried out by the Department of Defense, including Project 112 and the Shipboard Hazard and Defense Project (Project SHAD), as a part of which any biological or chemical agent, simulant, tracer, decontaminant, pharmaceutical, or herbicide was tested or used.

http://www.washingtonwatchdog.org/rtk/documents/cong_bills/109/h/h109_4259ih.html

[the following is the text of a "guest opinion" column in the Kalispell, MT Daily Inter Lake, 11/30/05

Certainly every day we need to reflect on the blessings of the Liberty afforded us by the brave men and women sworn to protect and defend the God given rights enumerated in our Constitution. We gather with friends and family to celebrate the pleasures and plenty we enjoy as a result of their efforts. It’s fitting that Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day fall in same month. I encourage you to express the warmth and gratitude of this holiday throughout the year. Let Freedom ring!

You live in a country of great ease, opportunity, and comfort. Put aside the strident political fervor and whirlwind of self-serving proclamations of those desperately grasping at power for just a moment. You create the nature of life and quantity of joy around you by both action and inaction. You can choose to ignore the past. You do so at the risk of squandering our greatness as a nation on your apathetic disinterest. Regardless of its origin, please lay down your own personal socio-political agenda long enough to consider that it could all vanish in the flash of an instant.

In order to fully comprehend where you are in the world, you must first grasp how you got here. Whether you regard yourself as impotent in its path or so sophisticated that you are above it all, you cannot deny that you are the product of our collective history. Some pretend they can abandon that simple truth. They declare themselves “citizens of the world”, seeking to erase any debt to their forebears. Others cloak themselves in academia and politics in an attempt to impose the illusion that all this magically sprang from their blind existence. It’s as if hundreds of years of enterprise and millions of lives were expended to lull them into utter ignorance. This is nothing new. Early on, John Quincy Adams stated, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our beliefs, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of reality and evidence.”

Most would agree that what historians call the Cold War began with the partitioning of Germany at the end of WWII, ending with the destruction of the Berlin Wall during the Reagan Administration. Neither is true. The desire to either dominate or eliminate the human race arose long before. The tools necessary for what is called “mutually assured destruction” were indeed created and held in astonishing quantities during that time. However, you’ve been taught that this was largely theoretical, suited only for militaristic saber rattling and geopolitical brinkmanship. The illusion exists that the era of detante, perestroika, and arms reduction treaties made the world safe. You’re led to believe that there were little to no casualties caused nor lives extinguished by the Cold War. These are very deadly lies.

The danger that stems from this deception is the foolhardy belief that the Cold War ended in a static truce. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We now face a new enemy that has armed itself with the materials and technology produced by the former combatants. Their hidden strength lies in the knowledge that generations here and abroad have been trained to value the cozy complacency that materialism provides over the dreary process and immense sacrifices which created it. It’s much too convenient to simply deny both the existence of our dedicated, vicious enemies and the insidious dooms-day weapons they possess.

Since you are likely consequently fully embedded in the pursuit of this façade which produces merely a temporary illusion of satisfaction as long as the list of your trendy possessions is expanding, it’s necessary to falsely assure yourself that someone of greater substance will sustain your level of opportunity. They always have. You are privileged and you deserve it. It’s History. Too bad you haven’t read all the chapters.

God, I dread this season. I’m alone as I knew I would be. No size plate of turkey and dressing will suffice when your country has deserted you. The Navy discharged me on Veterans Day, 1970. My only daughter died at Thanksgiving in 1980 from the same causes. Never mind. Don’t worry about me. You go shopping. No sense in my ruining it for the rest of you. I hear the X-Boxes are cheap, new and improved. Perhaps you can get first in line for that bloody video game your boy wants or a really sexy outfit for your daughter to wear to church. The neighbors will surely envy you!

…If you think you have the courage and independence to leave something other than what I’ve described in your wake, then by all means prove me wrong. Urge your elected representatives to pass House Resolution 4259, “The Veterans Right to Know Act.” Pay very close attention to what the commission it mandates will reveal. I could tell you what to expect. You wouldn’t find it very palatable, but you may come away with a much more informed view of your past and potential future. Just be thankful it wasn’t you.

these paragraphs deserve a thread of their own:

You live in a country of great ease, opportunity, and comfort. Put aside the strident political fervor and whirlwind of self-serving proclamations of those desperately grasping at power for just a moment. You create the nature of life and quantity of joy around you by both action and inaction. You can choose to ignore the past. You do so at the risk of squandering our greatness as a nation on your apathetic disinterest. Regardless of its origin, please lay down your own personal socio-political agenda long enough to consider that it could all vanish in the flash of an instant.

In order to fully comprehend where you are in the world, you must first grasp how you got here. Whether you regard yourself as impotent in its path or so sophisticated that you are above it all, you cannot deny that you are the product of our collective history. Some pretend they can abandon that simple truth. They declare themselves “citizens of the world”, seeking to erase any debt to their forebears. Others cloak themselves in academia and politics in an attempt to impose the illusion that all this magically sprang from their blind existence. It’s as if hundreds of years of enterprise and millions of lives were expended to lull them into utter ignorance. This is nothing new. Early on, John Quincy Adams stated, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our beliefs, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of reality and evidence.”

Most would agree that what historians call the Cold War began with the partitioning of Germany at the end of WWII, ending with the destruction of the Berlin Wall during the Reagan Administration. Neither is true. The desire to either dominate or eliminate the human race arose long before. The tools necessary for what is called “mutually assured destruction” were indeed created and held in astonishing quantities during that time. However, you’ve been taught that this was largely theoretical, suited only for militaristic saber rattling and geopolitical brinkmanship. The illusion exists that the era of detante, perestroika, and arms reduction treaties made the world safe. You’re led to believe that there were little to no casualties caused nor lives extinguished by the Cold War. These are very deadly lies.

The danger that stems from this deception is the foolhardy belief that the Cold War ended in a static truce. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We now face a new enemy that has armed itself with the materials and technology produced by the former combatants. Their hidden strength lies in the knowledge that generations here and abroad have been trained to value the cozy complacency that materialism provides over the dreary process and immense sacrifices which created it. It’s much too convenient to simply deny both the existence of our dedicated, vicious enemies and the insidious dooms-day weapons they possess.

Since you are likely consequently fully embedded in the pursuit of this façade which produces merely a temporary illusion of satisfaction as long as the list of your trendy possessions is expanding, it’s necessary to falsely assure yourself that someone of greater substance will sustain your level of opportunity. They always have. You are privileged and you deserve it. It’s History. Too bad you haven’t read all the chapters.

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