By Dr Paul Bundi Human beings are endowed with remarkable resilience, which can only be broken when they choose to give up. Says Viktor Frankl in his seminal book, Man's Search for Meaning; ''it is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future-sub specie aeternitatis. And this is his salvation in thd most difficult moments of his existence, although he sometimes has to force his mind to the task.'' Man's life is primarily driven by the desire for future, the unshakable belief that the future holds promise. We invariably cease to live when we think we have hit a dead end, or that there's nothing more to be had by living. Theoretically, there is no limit to man's achievement, and that is what drives men to wake up and strive day after day. The opposite is spiritual, psychological death, which manifests way ahead of physical death. Lesson? Losing today doesn't mean losing always. You can lose 10 times and win the 11th time. Or, you
US military in Iraq used depleted uranium weapons (DU) in civilian- populated areas during the 2003 military campaign, according to a new report of Dutch peace group Pax. This came in breach of official advice meant to prevent suffering in conflicts. Most of the DU rounds fired by the US-led coalition were in or near heavily populated areas, says the study. Samawah, Nasiriyah and Basrah are just some urban areas where ammunition was deployed - with around 1,500 anti-armor rounds fired directly at Saddam Hussein's troops. Most of the firing locations however remain unknown, as more than 300,000 DU rounds are believed to have been fired by the US-led military. But the group estimates there are more than 300 sites contaminated by DU. Wim Zwijnenburg, the author of the report, said the US Air Force knew of the consequences of using DU ammunition and intentionally breached their advised recommendation on the use of the weapon. "The use of DU against these targets questions the adherence of coalition forces to their own principles and guidelines. They should be held accountable for the consequences," Zwijnenburg said, citing Air Force Office of the Judge Advocate 1975 memo that restricted the use of such ammunition. "Use of this munition solely against personnel is prohibited if alternative weapons are available," the memo said, because of "unnecessary suffering and poison". The Dutch peace group got the GPS coordinates of DU rounds from the country's Defense Ministry under a freedom of information law. The ministry, in its turn, gained the information, worrying about the potential contamination of its own troops in the country. Among the key findings of the group is the reluctance of the coalition forces to extend their clean-up operations beyond their own bases, or to share information on DU with the Iraqi government. As a result, the contaminated waste filled city centres, towns and villages. And not local people are stripping them for valuable parts and children use them as playgrounds source: Voice Of Russia
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