What do you think of Agent Orange?

Question

My uncle was in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange when they used it to clear out parts of the forest. It gave him cancer and he recently died. Who should be responsible? What's your opinion?

Answer 1

The government.Unfortunately they're a bunch of snakes.They will lie and say that certain diseases and birth defects are not caused from things used in war,to save a buck.I find it disgusting that our service members and their families are treated in such a disgusting manner.

Answer 2

Agent orange is not a chemical weapon, unless you drink it straight from the bottle. Angent Orange is a form of "Roundup" and is used to kill weeds. All I'll say about Agent Orange and the Vietnam war is this: if you want to win the war, once you have made your attack, you have to stay and hold the ground. A lot of Americans died because the South Vietnamese COULDN'T and America WOULDN'T commit to holding the ground. The US Army was allowed to win battles but not the war. Unfortunately General Giap understood this principle better than some people in the American public. About Iraq, I hope the Bush Administration and the American public have learned this basic lesson. Forget the idiotic talking heads, allow the Army to hold the ground this time. Our policy in Vietnam and Iraq is equivalent to if during WWII we landed on Normandy Beach fought our way off shore, then went back to Britian thinking the French can take it from here.

Answer 3

The government...without a doubt.

Side Note: Long story short. My father was in Nam and exposed to AO..he's has had lots of complications due to AO. I've been diagnosed with Cancer - stage 4. (It's proven that the offspring can also be affected from this). My father and I have both been "compensated" from the government b/c of this. I'm not saying this will change things or bring your uncle back, but something to look into.

Answer 4

The Government should have accepted accountability for agent orange ruining or causing the deaths of our servicemen immediately instead of balking as they did for some time regarding agent orange . As a vet myself I've met several veterans suffering the effects of it . It's quite obvious the damage it caused those I've met and it doesn't take a trained doctor to see it often times . The families of these gentleman who gave their lives or are now suffering should receive the highest honors and their respective families should receive a government monetary award to take care of the families of these service members in my opinion . Many still suffer now and so do their immediate respective families , it's a continuing going on right today problem not one in which you can't find a victim .

Answer 5

The government should be responsible. Ours and theirs.. a lot of the men in Vietnam were not there of their own free will, they are still paying the price. My father was drafted and was also sprayed. He ended his tour in a coma, woke up in MD at Army hospital. I was not alive then, but I have been told he was a completely different person. He gets informational packets on Agent Orange from the govt. in the mail to this day. Now they educate them? It's BS

Answer 6

I was there also: It sounded like a good thing at first. If someone has an idea and your forced to accept it due to their authority, and, something happens that's detrimental to your health, then the party that brought this material out, should be held responsible.

Of course this has been forty years ago but there's a lesson to learn here "lest we forget" history should not be allowed to repeat itself. We've made blunders in the past, some are willing to wipe the slate clean due to "wars the hurt everyone" but, we should learn our lesson from this.

Answer 7

I know a man who was over there as well for quite some time. When he came home to his wife, she became pregnant. He had come in contact with Agent Orange when he was in Vietnam as well, and as a result, (they were having twins), one twin was born dead, a month later the other died. Neither of them ever got over the ordeal, and later divorced because of it, they just couldn't accept it. sad, but sadly true. Neither ever had children with anyone else either. Sorry about your loss.

Answer 8

I think it is a scandal of no small proportion that our government has not done much for our soldiers who got sick,let alone died from
it. Our country sends billions to rebuild Iraq and our hospitalized veterans and those coming home from Iraq traumitized are obscenely ignored. It was covered up for a long time but finally forced the government to admit what it had done to the soldiers where it was used.I am so very sorry about the loss of your uncle. It should never have happened.

Answer 9

Well, the government that was in power *back then* should be responsible.

Think about it this way, I could easily rephrase your question to say "my great-great-great uncle was a slave and he died at the hands of his southern master. Who should be responsible?"

Well, if someone said "white southerners should be responsible," that wouldn't make any sense, since we had nothing to do with slavery! Our ancestors did, but not us. Same with your question. If we blame *our* government in 2007, that would be absolutely ridiculous, since our government *today* had absolutely NOTHING to do with Agent Orange, so why should they be blamed?

Yes, AO was terrible, and yes, it screwed over everyone and everything it came in contact with, but why should the government, 30-35 or so years later, be responsible for 'nam?

I mean, think back to the slavery example. Yes, my ancestors owned slaves. Should I be responsible for their actions? I don't think so. Should I have to pay restitution or whatever? Heh--no way! I had nothing to do with slavery (like our gov. in 2007 had nothing to do with AO), so why should I be held accountable (why should our modern gov. be held accountable for what happened in the Johnson/Nixon years)?

Answer 10

The government, of course. Did you know they used it here is the states as well, in the south and eastern states. To kill the kudzu. The government doesn't care who it hurts. It never did. I know a viet nam vet that just 2 years ago finally got 100% disability because he got agent oranged too. I'm really sorry about your uncle hon.