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Article: The Agent Orange fiasco.(Vietnam War)
- Article from:
- The American Enterprise
- Article date:
- April 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The American Enterprise, a national magazine of politics, business and culture (TEAmag.com). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Everyone has heard of Agent Orange. How many know that it is basically identical to a commercial weed killer (2,4-D plus 2,4,5-T) that was used for decades in this country to dear brambles, poison ivy, and brush, improve visibility along roads, keep trees from growing into power lines, and promote healthy public forests and rangeland? Thousands of Americans applied this herbicide, and virtually every state and locality used it widely.
The environment in Vietnam posed many challenges to Allied Forces in waging a war against an elusive enemy, concealed in large part by heavy rainforest. Climatic conditions not only promoted rapid vegetative growth but also ...