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Thesis: DOW Chemical and Monsanto Company must compensate for the Vietnamese Victims
of their mass produced Agent Orange.
I.
Introduction
A. Attention Getter Sentence: Imagine someone was blind and deaf for one day.
That is what happened to thousands of Vietnamese people now. Suffering under
the effects of Agent Orange, even forty years after the Vietnam War ended, the
chemical is causing harm to many Vietnamese victims.
B. Statement of Stance: To gain justice for these victims, DOW Chemical,
Monsanto, and other companies that produced Agent Orange must pay for their
war crimes.
C. Summary of Reasons: It is against moral reasons and international laws.
II.
First Reason
A. Examples (contention): The spraying of Agent Orange is immoral because of its
murderous effects.
B. Evidence (facts, statistics or real world examples): Babies die every day because
of Agent Orange’s effect. Babies that survive can suffer various types of cancer,
spinal bifida, sarcoma, type 2 diabetes or many other serious diseases.
C. Counter: Companies though had foreseen the effects but they did not intend to
produce and use Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.
D. Rebuttal: Even though Agent Orange was not intended to be used, why would it
be used in the war, knowing the potential harm?
III.
Second Reason
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A. Examples (contention): It violates the international laws in the use of biological
and chemical weapons during war time.
B. Evidence (facts, statistics or real world examples): Resolution 1540 of United
Nations affirms the wrongdoing of the companies. Also, the production and
usage for military purpose of Agent Orange is against the 1925 Geneva Protocol.
C. Counter: The companies claimed that the chemicals are under the control of the
American Government and they shall not hold any responsibility on the negative
legacy.
D. Rebuttal: It is a war crime. The companies knew what would happen if the
chemical was sprayed but didn’t inform the U.S. Government until the war
ended. They permitted the chemical to be spray for military purposes.
IV.
Conclusion
A. Restate opinion: To gain justice for these victims, DOW Chemical, Monsanto, and
other companies that produced Agent Orange must pay for their war crimes.
B. Restate reasons: It is against moral reasons and international laws.
C. Closing statements- persuasive techniques: The severe diseases and human
wreckages in Vietnam are caused by Agent Orange. Those companies that
produced these defoliants must pay for their crimes.
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Theresa Phan
Set 4
Dr. C. Pfeifer
16 May 2011
Compensation for Vietnamese Victims
Imagine a beloved one being blind or deaf for the rest of their life. How would he be
able to bear the darkness that seems to block him from any feeling but sadness, pain and
desperation? However, that is not all of what millions of Vietnamese suffer after the American
Army sprayed nineteen million gallons of Agent Orange onto the country. People and their
following generations live with cancers, disabilities, and physical and mental defects.
Nevertheless, justice hasn’t been done. DOW Chemical and Monsanto Company, who produced
this poison, still haven’t responded to the victims’ call for compensation. These companies must
pay for their crimes because what they did was against international laws as well as moral
reasons.
The spraying of Agent Orange on the Vietnam land is immoral. This war legacy is still
there, written on the bodies and minds of millions of Vietnamese children and adults, causing
them to live in pain and desperation. Babies die every day, before their mothers can look at
them, not because of abortion, but because of Agent Orange. Life was not granted to them.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who
murders will be subject to judgment.”(The Bible) What Agent Orange did was the same as
murder. Those babies are usually unborn fetuses of twins or triplets. The 4.7 million victims that
were reported by the Vietnamese Government are those babies fortunate enough to survive
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from birth, but they either die at a young age or continue to endure painfulness for the rest of
their lives (Martin). Normal people were taught that they are lucky for having a completed
body, with no physical or mental illnesses. Especially when they look at themselves and
compare themselves to those three millions victims, they know it is an incontrovertible truth.
According to research, there are sixty five percent of students who have never heard of the
making of Agent Orange of DOW Chemical and Monsanto, which describes the lack of
knowledge and teachings about Agent Orange to young people in America. After being told
about Agent Orange, about fifty nine percent of them disagreed with the government and the
companies, considered the action as murdering people and destroying the environment (Phan).
While the companies claim innocence, babies affected by Agent Orange are still being
conceived. After thirty years passed, Agent Orange has moved to the third generations, the
grandchildren of the first victims. No one knows how long it will last. Will it be fifty years, one
hundred years, or even longer? Companies that produced Agent Orange claim that they didn’t
intend to produce and sell it to the Government in the Vietnam War, though many of their
documents and researchers knew about the effect but only revealed when the war had nearly
ended. Even though Agent Orange was not intended to be used, why would it be used in the
war, knowing the potential harm? What they were doing was making money on the
Government regardless of the damage done.
Moreover, the production and permission of the use of Agent Orange by these
companies are against many international laws. For example, Resolution 1540 of the United
Nations states that “it is to eliminate or prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or
biological weapons and the importance for all states parties to their treaties to implement them
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fully in order to promote international stability.”(Nicholson) Also, the Geneva Protocol in 1925,
which was signed by the United States, prohibits the use of chemical weapons and biological
weapons (Fawthrop). Furthermore, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and the 1992
Chemical Weapons Convention covered the prohibition of producing, storing and transferring
chemical weapons, such as poisonous gases like Agent Orange.
However, DOW Chemical gave out an evasive answer, and denied any responsibility on
their actions. “We believe that it is the role of the U.S. Government and the Government of
Vietnam to resolve the issue related to wartime activities”, states the representative of Dow
Chemical. The Monsanto Company also claimed that they are protected under U.S. laws from
liability. What matters is that these feckless companies had permitted the U.S. Government
without informing them about the negative effects of the defoliants, not until the war was
almost over. They used to claim that these chemicals are harmless to people and only cause
minor impacts on the environment. Later though, more than five thousand scientists in America
disputed these claims and signed a petition to stop the use of Agent Orange. Unfortunately, it
failed to stop the action. The scientists had uncovered the truth of Agent Orange. It contained
dioxin, one of the most dangerous poisons known to humans. One trillionth of a drop of dioxin
exposed to the parent can cause severe deformities and metal, physical and psychological
disorder in a child. Moreover, the impact of it will be greater as it passes to next generation.
Even though recognizing these facts, the companies still allowed the Government to use it for
military purposes, which is a war crime.
Agent Orange is not a legacy. It is an issue of today and tomorrow because more and
more human beings are being affected by it. That is why justice must be done quickly to help
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these victims gain their hope of life. The severe diseases and human wreckages in Vietnam are
caused by Agent Orange. Those companies that produced these deleterious defoliants, which
was used in the Vietnam War, must pay for their crimes.
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Works Cited
Fawthrop, Tom. "Vietnam's war against Agent Orange." Editorial. BBC News. British
Broadcasting Corporation, 14 June 2004. Web. 20 May 2011.
Martin, Michael F. "Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange and U.S.-Vietnam Relations.
"Congressional Research Service.Congressional Research Service, n.d. Web. 5 May 2011.
Nicholson, Anne Maria. Agent Orange. Journeyman Pictures. Vietnam. 21 Jan. 2008. Address.
Phan, Thuong. Personal Research. "Should Agent Orange Victims should be compensated by
DOW and Monsanto Company?" 2011.
The Bible. New International Version. Top Verses. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2011.