The U.S. Military used many herbicides/defoliants during the Vietnam War, including Agent Blue, Agent Green, Agent White, Agent Purple, Agent Pink, and Agent Orange. Agent Orange, however, has become the most infamous of this group because it was later shown to have toxic dioxin contaminants which have been blamed for various health problems and birth defects among both the general Vietnamese population and U.S. soldiers who were exposed to recently sprayed areas. The stated purpose of Agent Orange was to defoliate or remove the leaves from trees in heavily wooded areas in order to limit cover for guerrilla fighters who might be hiding there. Due to the controversy surrounding it, however, the use of Agent Orange by the U.S. military was discontinued in 1971. 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic), a component of Agent Orange, has since been banned in the U.S. and many other countries.