On January 16th, I read off the CNN.com website that, amid hyped up reports of a cancer-like "Balkans syndrome" among some residents of Kosovo, Vojislav Kostunica accused the NATO alliance of having a "depleted conscience" for its use of depleted uranium weapons in its 1999 air offensive. And it turns out that there exists an international body which can find and prosecute the entities responsible for poisoning the Serbian heartland with terrible radioactive weapons with a half-life of 10,000 years. We all know that this entity is the International Criminal Court. If the ICC decides to inveigle itself in this case -- as it has authority to do, since its charter considers it a "war crime" to use "poison weapons" -- then the DU episode will have serious consequences for American national security. Now that there's an alleged international uproar about possible cancer risks from depleted uranium munitions, a biased ICC prosecutor might justifiably indict U.S. officers for using DU and force a moratorium on the usage of DU until they get their studies done. Thus the ICC's actions can open up windows of opportunity to handicap U.S. forces in times of crisis.
Consider that the centerpiece of the U.S. Army's rapid deployment units is the 82nd Airborne Division. No unit can react more quickly to an international crisis than the 16,000 soldiers of the 82nd. Sending troops by air is the fastest way to get them to a trouble spot; it takes maybe 72 hours to get an Airborne Brigade of 7,000 troops to a crisis area. Unfortunately, sending troops by air means that they can't bring any tanks or armored vehicles with them. One aptly remembers how the 82nd Airborne units deployed to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War wryly referred to themselves as "speed bumps" for Iraqi armor. The term is appropriate because unsupported light infantry troops are toast when they come up against heavy units with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and heavy artillery. To defend themselves, the brigade will have 30 anti tank missile launchers plus eight attack helicopters, plus about 50 or so light systems with the line platoons.
In Aug. 1990, this brigade would face off against the Iraqi Republican Guard. Normally one expects a 3:1 ratio for attackers vs. defenders for an even fight. Thus we place this single brigade against a Republican Guard division (an unlikely situation since there were multiple Republican guard divisions in theater in August 1990). A single Republican Guard division is organized according to Western lines; thus there would be 750 tanks and 250 IFVs.
The overmatch of armor vs. anti armor systems is tremendous. Without the support of A-10 attack aircraft with their DU ammunition, any U.S force encountering large numbers of armored vehicles is in serious jeopardy. The depleted uranium slugs from the GAU-8 Avenger cannon can penetrate and destroy almost any armored vehicle and do it at 3900 rounds/minute. In a pass the A-10 can decimate a company of tanks; with its armor plating and long loiter time, the A-10 will survive, as it did in the Gulf War, to destroy tanks again and again and again. No other aircraft offers the ability to destroy so many tanks in such a short period of time as the A-10. And nothing is as organic to the A-10 as its cannon.
For the United States, the A-10s are the only aircraft with a credible anti-armor capability that can get to a conflict zone quickly enough. As a jet aircraft with an air-to-air refueling nozzle, the A-10 can self deploy alongside the transports of the 82nd to provide on call air support. As a nation the A-10s are a vital asset for the support of our troops. Should anything happen to reduce the potency of the A-10, U.S. forces would be in danger.
The survivability of the American rapid deployment forces is hindered significantly if they lose the A-10's cannon. The United States, as a signatory to the ICC, has opened up an opportunity for politically motivated foreign bodies to hamstring U.S. forces. Numerous studies have proven that the level of radiation given off by the DU rounds is less than the background. Yet a ICC prosecutor biased against the United States or even for Iraq might bring suit against the U.S., freezing the use of the weapons. This is not acceptable. The ICC's unreasonable conditions against U.S forces--the guarantors of security in the world--make the world a much more dangerous place. Let us dismiss the "Balkans syndrome" as ludicrous and unsubstantiated by evidence. We need only look at our 30 year fight with tobacco companies to know that any politically minded organization can produce numerous studies to show that tobacco was neither addictive nor unhealthy. Unbiased organizations such as the Federation of American Scientists acknowledge the nonexistent environmental effects of DU weaponry, yet the furor continues. Logic does not necessarily govern the law; when waiting for the law to reconcile itself with logic we may be faced with danger.
