Guest Author - Taisha Turner

The U. S. Court dismissed the Vietnam plaintiffs’ civil court case against Agent Orange makers. The plantiffs vow not to give up. Thousands of Vietnamese allege serious health problems and severe birth defects in babies. Vietnam war survivors suffer with various cancers. Children are born missing eyes and internal organs.

The defense’s stance is that corporations are not liable for following the directions of the Commander in Chief. The pharmaceutical firms including Monsanto, Dow Chemical and Hercules Incorporated produced agent orange and other herbicides which were used by the U. S. during the Vietnam War.

Agent Orange was named by the orange container which contained it. Thousands of gallons were sprayed as defoliation which stripped the Vietnamese of hiding places in the bush.

U.S. District Court Judge Jack B Weinstein stated, “There is no basis for any of the claims of plaintiffs under domestic law of any nation or state or under any form of international law. The case is dismissed.”

The Vietnamese and their lawyer, William Goodman, plan an appeal. They say the judge was wrong in deciding Agent Orange was not a poison.