John M. Miller

About the Author: John M. Miller is coordinator of the International Clearinghouse on the Military and the Environment, an organization in Brooklyn, New York, that collects and distributes information on the environmental impact of military activities,

"Unfortunately, war is not a clean business, everybody knows that," General H. Norman Schwarzkopf said at a briefing. The Gulf war is proving to be dirtier than most. While the full extent of Iraqi casualties is still unknown, they will continue to mount throughout the region as the environmental impacts unfold, long after the end of the fighting. Spilled and burning oil threatens Gulf ecosystems and human populations. Allied bombing of Iraq's chemical, nuclear and biological warfare facilities has released highly toxic materials.

In one of the worst oil spills ever, an estimated three...