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Wrongdoing: Agent Orange In The Vietnam War

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Wrongdoing: Agent Orange

The Vietnam War was the longest scramble in American history, but yet it is the most unpopular American war of its century. (Digital History) It occurred between 1954 and 1973, and the U.S. basically directed the war from 1965 to 1968 with the help of the largest foreign military presence, even it was the only war American ever lost. (HistoryNet, 2016) “Agent Orange is a defoliant famously used by the British military during the Malayan Emergency and the U.S. military period of the Vietnam War.” (Science 2.0, 2016) It means that Agent Orange not only used in the Vietnam War, but it was literally one of the most important factors that didn’t do a disservice only during the war, but also the following years. “The loss …show more content…

In the Vietnam War, Agent Orange was one of the factors that led to the death of innocent people. The U.S. was arguing that Agent Orange is not a chemical or a biological weapon because it was considered as a herbicide and a defoliant. Americans put forward such a claim in order to justify themselves, and said that their main aim was to destroy plant crops to debar the enemy from cover and they didn’t mean to target human beings. (Schuck, 1987. p.19) Nevertheless, an estimated 4.5 million Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were exposed. (Make Agent Orange History) Birth defects have seen in the wives of U.S. servicemen who were exposed to Agent Orange in America. (Griffiths, 2005) That means, they didn’t just harm the enemy side, but also their own soldiers. The question ‘Will it ever end’ comes to mind. It really won’t. The bad effects of Agent Orange still affect millions of Americans and Vietnamese, directly and indirectly. It causes cancers, birth defects and other disabilities such as Parkinson disease. Approximately 2 million people are still suffering. (Make Agent Orange History) “And victims yet unborn.” (Agent Orange Record) Results of this chemical may skip a generation and reappear in subsequent generations. So, Agent Orange will continue to poison unborn generation. What is their fault? To be born in that land? Americans have no right to hurt the present

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