1 in 4 Gulf vets has syndrome

It's easy to remember the yellow ribbon stickers hanging on the windows of businesses and the words "Support the Troops" or "Pray for the Troops" while they were trying to get the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. People were determined to not repeat the same mistake of blaming those who serve for where they are sent to go. While the majority of the nation was behind helping the people of Kuwait, some in this country were against using our troops on foreign lands when our security was not threatened. Still, the mood of the country was that the troops deserved full support and we managed to prove it. Or so we thought we did.

Yet when the parades were over, we thought our obligation to them was over as well. We didn't pay attention to them suffering the usual wounds of war and the unique wounds of what happened in Kuwait or the oil fires. There really isn't much we did pay attention to other than the fact they won.

Today we see yellow ribbons and the words "support the troops" all over the place but do any of the people hanging these messages ever really stop to think was supporting the troops really means? Do they know it has to include taking care of them when they come home from where they are sent? This report shows exactly how little the men and women serving this nation, fighting the battles they are sent to fight actually do receive the support we claim to provide.

1 in 4 Gulf vets has syndrome
Neurotoxic exposures from first Iraq invasion rears widespread illness.
Panel finds widespread Gulf War illness


11/16/08
ANNE USHER/Cox News Service
Respond to this story
Email this story to a friend

WASHINGTON - At least one in four U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffers from a multi-symptom illness caused by exposure to toxic chemicals during the conflict, a congressionally mandated report being released Monday found.

For much of the past 17 years, government officials have maintained that these veterans -- more than 175,000 out of about 697,000 deployed -- are merely suffering the effects of wartime stress, even as more have come forward recently with severe ailments.

“The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that ’Gulf War illness’ is real, that it is the result of neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time,” said the report, being released Monday by a panel of scientists and veterans. A copy was obtained by Cox Newspapers.

Gulf War illness is typically characterized by a combination of memory and concentration problems, persistent headaches, unexplained fatigue and widespread pain. It may also include chronic digestive problems, respiratory symptoms and skin rashes.

Two things the military provided to troops in large quantities to protect them -- pesticides and pyridostigmine bromide (PB), aimed at thwarting the effects of nerve gas -- are the most likely culprits, the panel found.

click link for more