1979 was a long time ago. Things have changed considerably since.
DU is highly radioactive with radiation level proportionate to the trace level of DU in the composition.
Since 1979, DU bullets and projectiles are illegal in arms trade not because of their lethality but because of the contamination of battle areas.
DU materials are not indispensable. They were used in manufacturing as a means to draw down the stockpiling of DU materials accumulating from refueling nuclear reactor cores.
White Phosphorus or WP is illegal in arms trade as well. It sizzles and burns everything it touches or impacts. Using it is a war crime on level with sarin gas.
These materials are illegal in arms trade period. But that doesn’t stop monsters from trading in them. The point is the Clinton camp through the Clinton Global Initiative were the center hub of this illicit arms trade. Because the Clinton have criminally controlled the US Government over 3 decades, it is difficult to arrest any of their minions on war crimes charges even when those minions are not US citizens due to the boomerang it would cause to the United States.
The bottom line is the Clintons have changed the view of the United States in the eyes of the world and it’s not a good view. They have lowered the prestige of the United States and severely tarnished its reputation.
Webb will chase down all the rat lines associated with the Clintons, Awans, and all this in their circle. He will unearth all of them and will not stop until they are exposed. He will also stop the murder cycle of the Clinton mafia and he expects to take a bullet at some point. He has shown more courage and daring than the entire dumbass media combined. He is the new investigative journalist that will be talked about in journalism for years to come.
Depleted uranium is widely used for its peculiar chemical properties, which were just starting to be discovered in 1979, and which exist in no other known substances. In particular, though technically inert (and extremely dense), it creates an instant conflagration upon impact, which is technically not an explosion. In addition, it has the unique property of being self-sharpening. It is also generally believed that the toxic effects of depleted uranium are not due to its radioactivity, but due to it being a chemically toxic heavy metal, similar to lead.
The bottom line: The US Armed Forces, as currently configured, would be crippled without using depleted uranium and white phosphorus — should we ban M-1 tanks and prohibit the A-10 from using its Gatling gun??? It would not be inaccurate to say that depleted uranium is the lifeblood of the military’s kinetic warfare capabilities and, with planned rail guns and the like, is a key element of the military’s future, also.
Suppose we come up with a plan to remove depleted uranium from all weapons and armaments. First of all, it would inalterably downgrade our ability to wage war, as there is no known substance with the same warfighting capabilities. There are dozens of weapons systems which are build around the peculiar characteristics of depleted uranium, which are not even fully understood by scientists. However, what research that has been done makes it abundantly clear that all known substitutes for “inert projectiles”, such as tungsten are dramatically less effective than depleted uranium munitions. Second, any such program, which could easily costs tens of billions of dollars, could easily take more than 20 years to implement. Wikipedia can give an overview of these particulars but, even then, much of the full details of depleted uranium munitions are highly classified. Even though I had a top secret clearance, I could not learn these details since I had no “need no know”. I would hazard to guess that no one outside the ordnance corps would be privy to these details.
The fact is, that under no scenario, would the US forces fight any war in the next 20 years without substantial use of depleted uranium (and white phosphorous, too). We should certainly be opposed to their use in the arms trade, but it is hypocritical to talk about violating international law for selling the same munitions that the US Armed forces are deploying every day in the field. The same should be said about the use of “prohibited” land mines, too.
Sure, we should be opposed to all covert arms deals. But to single out DU and WP is an exercise in futility and hypocrisy.