Gulf War Vets More Likely To Report Illnesses

[Patricia Dines <73652.1202@CompuServe.COM>]

For your info - P. Dines

--- FORWARD ---

TIME Daily: November 26, 1996  6:36 PM ET

ATLANTA: Two new studies report that Gulf War veterans are more likely to have
serious health complaints than troops who did not serve in the Middle East.
Veterans contend their service in the war caused the sicknesses, ranging from
chronic diarrhea and joint pain to skin rashes and memory loss. The Center for
Disease Control and Prevention conducted one study and the Navy another. Matt
Puglisi, an American Legion official, said the reports are instrumental because
they provide scientific data, whereas all previous claims were purely anecdotal.
The CDC studied about 4,000 veterans, most from the Pennsylvania National Guard.
The Navy studied 1,500 sailors and will release its study along with the CDC's
next year. Despite the findings, neither investigation sheds light on the cause
of the illnesses, which has been under scrutiny since veterans began returning
home from the Gulf region. Earlier this month, a government study of one million
Gulf War soldiers concluded veterans are not much more likely to die or be
hospitalized than soldiers who did not fight in the region. The large number of
variables that could have been encountered on the battlefield may make it hard
for experts to single out a cause. - Daryl Richard

Copyright Time Inc. 1996. All Rights Reserved.

PD NOTE:  Hard to "single out a cause"? Let me see... So far we have:
combination of 3 drugs they were given to soldiers that are now found to be much
more harmful in combination but had never been tested that way prior to being
used (French soldiers refused them and haven't had these problems); and chemical
weapons (our side; their side; their side, bought from us?) in events that were
minimized by leaders who told soldiers they were false alarms and not to protect
themselves, and denied to press.  The possibility of multiple malfeasances don't
make me more comfy with the whole thing..... Notice they didn't mention any of
them....