Fahey reassures himself that kneejerk denial cancels hard evidence (on what basis does he claim this controversy has come to the final word stage?

From: Daniel Fahey [mailto:duweapons@hotmail.com]
Sent: 26 February 2007 23:26
To: duweapons@hotmail.com
Subject: Final word: NO uranium weapons used in Lebanon

Hopefully the people of Lebanon will sleep a little easier tonight now that an international group of credible scientists has completely debunked the claim made by Chris Busby and Dai Williams that Israel used weapons in Lebanon containing “enriched” uranium. Busby and Williams were initially fortunate that poor journalism at The Independent (UK) enabled their claim to get attention, but since it first emerged, it has become clear that their claim was either a grand hoax or a serious mistake. In November 2006, UNEP scientists stated that they found “no evidence of penetrators or metal made of DU or other radioactive material” in southern Lebanon (http://postconflict.unep.ch/press.php?prog=lebanon#leb_1). And today (Feb. 27, 2007), an article in the Lebanon Daily Star notes that a wide range of groups--including the Lebanese military and the Arab Atomic Agency--have confirmed that there is no evidence that depleted uranium or other form of uranium was used in weaponry during last summer's war in southern Lebanon (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=79896#).

Of course the news that no uranium was used in any weaponry comes just weeks after Chris Busby was on Al Jazeera telling the Arab world that Israel had used weapons that left southern Lebanon contaminated with enriched uranium (http://www.sana.org/eng/22/2007/01/31/99956.htm). To me Busby’s actions are both irresponsible and unethical, for he inserted himself into a highly volatile political debate by making a very serious claim that has now been shown by an international group of scientists to be lacking any merit. Busby and Williams will have to explain why their results were wrong or misinterpreted; they should also return any donations they received based on this false claim. Moreover, Busby should go back on Al Jazeera to apologize to the Lebanese people for falsely scaring them about a non-existent threat to their health.
Given their past actions, Chris Busby and Dai Williams will likely cry conspiracy and continue to sell this snake oil, supported by a small cadre of vocal net-based activists. In addition, given the nature of the Israeli-Lebanese and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, it is likely that Busby and Williams’ discredited claim will survive as propaganda, much like Yasser Arafat’s baseless claims about Israel using DU munitions were endlessly repeated. Fortunately, most people are too intelligent and savvy to believe any statements about depleted uranium or uranium weaponry appearing under the byline of Chris Busby or Dai Williams. No doubt Busby and Williams will spin more fantastic tales in the future, but like the boy that too often cried wolf, their claims will be ignored by rational people.
Dan Fahey