Col Naughton on the issue of the DU weapons:
"In the last war, Iraqi tanks at fairly close ranges - not nose to nose - fired at our tanks and the shot bounced off the heavy armour... and our shot did not bounce off their armour," Col Naughton told the briefing.
"So the result was Iraqi tanks destroyed - US tanks with scrape marks."
He questioned the motives of those who challenged US use of depleted uranium.
"Who's asking the question? The Iraqis tell us 'terrible things happened to our people because you used it last time."
"Why do they want it to go away? They want it to go away because we kicked the crap out of them, OK?"
"I mean, there's no doubt that DU gave us a huge advantage over their tanks. They lost a lot of tanks."
"Their soldiers can't be really amused at the idea of going out in basically the same tanks with some slight improvements and taking on Abrams again."
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US rejects Iraq DU clean-up:
The US says it has no plans to remove the debris left over from depleted uranium (DU) weapons it is using in Iraq.
It says no clean-up is needed, because research shows DU has no long-term effects.
It says a 1990 study suggesting health risks to local people and veterans is out of date.
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Extreme birth deformities caused by DU weapons in Iraq