AS usual, the first casualty in war is truth and this war in Yugoslavia is no exception. Not only is truth a casualty but it is followed by lies and misinformation, or no information, according to what the Government and media feel we should know.

This war has nothing to do with protecting the people of Kosovo, any more than the war and continued bombing of Iraq was to get rid of Saddam Hussein. It is about German and American control of the Balkans and its mineral wealth and is a step further along the road to getting access to the oil in the Caspian Sea.

There is also another sinister aspect to these wars and that is the use of shells and bombs tipped with depleted uranium. They were used in Iraq, and now they are raining down on the people of Yugoslavia.

When these missiles explode, uranium oxide particles are released into the atmosphere to be inhaled not only by battlefield personnel, but also by civilians. These particles cause lung cancer and damage any unborn foetus.

Messrs Cook, Robertson and Blair do not talk about the use of depleted uranium weapons and neither Whitehall nor Washington has accepted the link between depleted uranium and what is known as "Gulf War Syndrome". All requests for information on these questions have been met with a wall of silence.

Every depleted uranium Cruise missile costs one million pounds. How easily billions of pounds can be found for war, but not for health, education, housing or pensions.

ELIZABETH TEBBS,

secretary,

Prestwich & Whitefield CND.

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