04/20/2004

Army is responsible for unsafe decisions

In Cris Barrish's April 14 article on the chemical weapons disposal program, Army spokesperson Jeff Lindblad said the Army was "damned if they do, damned if they don't" in choosing chemical weapons disposal methods, implying that citizen activists are putting the Army in a bad position.

Truth is, the only people responsible for the Army's quandary are Army officials and spokespersons who, year after year, stubbornly refuse to consider common sense approaches to chemical weapons disposal before determining and defending a unsafe, unrealistic, unpopular decision.

Since the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG) coalition was founded in 1991, we have consistently supported on-site disposal of chemical weapons and secondary wastes with safe, non-incineration technology. When the Army finally agreed to use non-incineration methods for the Indiana VX stockpile, the plan included on-site disposal of secondary wastes.

Nobody complained about that option; it was what we wanted. Then Army officials changed their minds on the secondary waste disposal plan, reverting back to that ill-fated "decide, announce, defend" position, and the trouble started all over again. The Army has now painted itself into a corner on the issue of VX secondary waste disposal, with eyes closed and ears plugged while the CWWG and others all over the nation are pointing out clear solutions that will rid our communities of these lethal weapons.

Until the Army starts listening to common sense, it will continue damning its own program and putting us all at greater risk.

Elizabeth Crowe, Chemical Weapons Working Group, Berea, Ky.