AMADO S. TOLENTINO, JR.

SINCE time immemorial, the devastation brought about by armed conflict extended beyond the battlefields and caused not only the destruction of lives, but the environment as well. In the recent past, damage to the environment featured much in “pocket wars” around the world as a necessary consequence of armed conflict. Among those: Gulf War — Millions of cluster bombs were dropped in the Persian Gulf and littered the desert with an estimated 320 tons of depleted uranium. Retreating forces set ablaze the oilfields of Kuwait causing pollution of incalculable damage; Kosovo conflict — A fertilizer, refinery and petrochemical plant complex in Pancebo was deliberately and repeatedly bombed because it was claimed that in addition to making products for civilian consumption, the Pancevo complex supplied gasoline and other essential materials to the Serb army and was therefore, a legitimate military target; Vietnam War — Aside from utilizing bulldozers to remove topsoil from thousands of hectares of land, a large-scale defoliation campaign using Agent Orange as a strategy to eliminate cover for enemy fighters in jungle areas was later traced as the cause of birth defects among children born after the war because of the indiscriminate use of the chemical. It turned out the Vietcongs had been well ensconced in an elaborate underground tunnel complex the whole time.

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