Turncoat Sen Jim Webb’s Attempt to Take Down Shinseki Over Agent Orange Advocacy

– Sen. James Webb, D-Va. has made it perfectly clear that he is NOT a friend of the Veteran, nor an advocate for us –

By Chuck Palazzo Salem-News.com

(DA NANG, Vietnam) – Vietnam Veterans aren’t surprised by people turning on them and being generally against them; it began when the war was still raging and it has been an uphill battle for many who survived. It hurts the most however when those dolling out the punishment are fellow Vietnam Vets.But there are those who have stood fast; who dug in and fought for Veterans rights the way they or their loved ones fought in the blazing and sweaty jungles of SE Asia.

One person who appears to be on the side of Vietnam Veterans contaminated with the deadly Monsanto chemical Agent Orange, is Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. Perhaps he is one who knows that no amount of compensation could ever be enough. His victories in championing funds to assist Veterans and their families affected by Agent Orange, is now leading to a Senate hearing he didn’t want.

An example of his VA leadership is the decision to begin automating part of the cumbersome system that has resulted in so many thousands of veterans waiting for years, sometimes until the end of their lives, for compensation from their war injuries.

Shinseki said, “Veterans whose health was harmed during their military service are entitled to the best this nation has to offer.” He added, “We are undertaking an unprecedented modernization of our claims process to ensure timely and accurate delivery of that commitment.” ^[1]

It goes back to Sen. James Webb, D-Va., who has made it perfectly clear that he is NOT a friend of the Veteran, nor an advocate for us^[2].

He is forcing The DVA, namely, The Secretary himself, to explain why three more illnesses are being recommended for the list.

Webb says he’ll use a Senate Veterans Af­fairs Committee hearing set for 23 Sept., to have Shinseki explain his decision to compensate Vietnam veterans, and many surviving spouses, for three more ailments including heart disease.

As the Montgomery Advertiser reported, “Shinseki announced last Octo­ber that ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-Cell leukemia will be added to the list of illnesses presumed caused by exposure to defoliants, including Agent Orange, used to clear jungle in combat areas during the war.” ^[3]

Why Mr. Webb? You of all people know the struggle, the fact that this reckless chemical defoliant approach to fighting a war was wrong on the first place, you know how many died of cancer, from Agent Orange, and how many children have suffered. What of the children of Vietnam? Why after so many are gone, when there is hope, do you want to take the red marker to our lives?

There are those today with a brazen sense of greed, who seek to minimize the plight of the Vietnam Veteran and Agent Orange^[4].

There is no credible way to do this, the loss is too severe and the governmental mistakes are too personal. The notion that Veterans were never compensated and yet Monsanto was allowed to go no, is insulting to all Americans. They are no friend of America, and their desire to force all American farmers and ultimately consumers, to adopt genetically modified (GM Food) products, could well lead to even more horrible problems. We as a nation never learn, and politicians are very lacking in real human integrity^[5].

Right here in the comment section of Salem-News.com, Monsanto’s trolls of advocacy have been busy at work. One person using the name “Barney” wrote, “For you others, MONSANTO does not just make Agent Orange, they have improved the quality of life for the entire planet with their agricultural research and products. If you want to blame someone about AO, then go dig up LBJ and give him your concerns.”

But then a former U.S. Marine who uses the name G 2/3 who is a longtime friend of Salem-News.com’s Tim and Bonnie King, who served in Vietnam in the war’s most heated period, wrote:

“Barney, your statements are completely contradicting scientific evidence. I went back several times and along the DMZ all the way to the Laotian border there are still “clearcut” looking areas, vast areas in the frontier from defoliants from the war as well as multiple deaths yearly from unexploded ordinance, at the time I was doing this they’d stack the retrieved dud artillery rounds on the sides of the roads or trails to sell to the Japanese scrap metal industry. The birth defects recorded in villages near Khe Sahn were identical to the results on test animals during corporate research into dioxins. I don’t want to argue, go back yourself and head on down Hiway #9 in Quang Tri province, or Tay Nihn province near Saigon where the Army’s 25th Div. was located in Cu Chi. Or Tu Du hospital in Saigon where the people ruined by this agent are cared for. If it doesn’t break you heart you haven’t got one. Semper God Damn Fi!” ^[6]

Jim Webb is a decorated U.S. Marine combat Veteran, that should mean something, but examine the plight of Camp Lejeune Marines fighting the political system for their lives over contaminated water on that Marine base. Who is fighting the Marine Veterans and their families seeking compensation? A bunch of decorated higher echelon Marines, that is who. Don’t forget the Department of Defense and the Department of the Navy, but above and beyond that, the Marines have issued the statements, many false, for years in fact, and the AP proved that

I URGE you, please – contact your local US Senate and Congressional offices. Make it clear to them that you SUPPORT The Secretary’s recommendation. You DO NOT support the delay tactic that Sen. Webb is conducting.

 Senator Jim Webb’s Website:

 http://webb.senate.gov/

 Phone number to his office in Washington D.C. (202) 224-4024

Semper peace

^[1] Mar-09-2010: New VA Program Should Speed and Simplify Process for Agent Orange Veterans – Salem-News.com Staff Report

^[2] Jun-06-2010: Jim Webb, D-Va: Not a Friend of Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange – Chuck Palazzo Salem-News.com

^[3] June-20-2010: Sept. hearing set on Agent Orange – Column by Tom Phillpot • Special to the Advertiser

^[4] Apr-12-2010: Documentary Recounts Struggle of Agent Orange Veterans – Chuck Palazzo Salem-News.com

^[5] Apr-26-2010: GM Food… Feeding the Hungry or Population Control? – April Scott Salem-News.com

^[5] Jun-07-2010: Victims of Victims – Chuck Palazzo Salem-News.com

 Chuck Palazzo is a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran, the Interim Editor for Agent Orange, and a longtime Vietnam Veterans Against the War Member. Chuck Palazzo has spent years since the war studying the impacts and effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant chemical sprayed by the U.S. govt. on the jungles of Vietnam. He says Dioxins have been re-discovered to cause all sorts of damage to humans. These include Heart Disease, Parkinsonism, Diabetes et cetera. Dioxins are already known to produce serious birth defects and a variety of cancers. The chemical is still sold in Third World Countries and is causing the same problems.