The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America's Soldiers
By: Joseph Hickman / Narrated By: Noah Michael Levine
Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
Yeah I’ll say it: Dick Cheney got rich even as veterans and civilians sickened and died
I think it’s rather sad that I should probably preface this review by stating that yeah, I’m a bit left-of-center when it comes to politics. So I’m already peeved with the G.W. Bush White House years, especially as they’ve come off as looking quite Moderate nowadays.
So be prepared going into Burn Pits, if you’re Right, or right-of-center, because Dick Cheney is firmly and fearlessly pegged for what KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, did to American soldiers and Iraqi/Afghani citizens with their open air Burn Pits in Military bases in both countries. Author Joseph Hickman was asked by veterans to look into the health hazards of the pits, to write about them, to tell the stories of those who are suffering and dying because of them, and to make Congress and the public aware of what was going on.
And this he does. In an unwavering fashion.
It’ll make ya mad. Actually, it should outrage you.
About the only flaw of the book is that it rePEATedly, and I mean over and over and over, tells us what all was burned in those pits. Plastic, styrofoam, used medical equipment, medical biohazards, human corpses, animal carcasses, chemicals, etc. etc. freakin’ etc. All fires were started with jet fuel no less. Soldiers would breathe in the toxic smoke, breathe in the ash, and a reviewer who listened to it (and was stationed at two of the bases) called such pits “smoke whale”s—which is unnerving to say the least. Though burn pits are illegal in the U.S., and are most certainly frowned upon by the Department of Defense, KBR used them without regard, burning TONS of trash in open air pits every single day rather than use the more costly incinerators that the DOD would prefer. All without testing the soil of where these pits would be (Soil where chemical weapons were stored and were bombed, leaving toxic chemical residue).
The book tells the stories of young men and women who bravely served and who are now getting/dying from illnesses such as brain cancers, blood cancers, severe respiratory diseases, autoimmune disorders. And it shows how SHAMElessly the VA treats veterans. The illnesses are being disregarded as not coming through service, therefore claims are denied, and men and women are left to deal with catastrophic illness on their own, with their own small funds. Hickman, who delved into reports, also chronicles his attempts to get Congress members to care. ‘Twould appear that, while Republicans are Hawks who fearlessly deploy troops, it’s but a few Democrats who would fund care for those troops after their return. And by few, I do mean few. There aren’t many Democrat “heroes” in this tale; very few politicians take up the cause.
Major Biden, “Beau”, VP Joe Biden’s son, was one of those who was deployed, an extremely fit and healthy young man, and who came back to suffer strokes, deterioration, and eventual death from brain cancer. And if a Fortunate Son could be taken down, ANYbody can.
Burn Pits is narrated by Noah Michael Levine, and it’s a rather robotic performance. It’s one of those performances that lulls you in with a monotone, but the text itself wakes you up because what it’s saying is so deplorable, so horrific. Perhaps narration was cast with a military audience in mind? I dunno. All I know is that I’m glad I listened to it. It’s a sad, horrible education.
Unfortunately, it’s still going on, and men and women in their 40s, 30s, and even 20s died and are still dying.
And an entire Administration, an entire corporation not only got away with it. They got rich…
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