'Gulf war syndrome' starts to haunt America
By James Politi in Washington
Published: March 28 2003 23:05 | Last Updated: March 28 2003 23:05
When Saddam Hussein's army was kicked out of Kuwait in 1991, it was hailed as one of America's greatest military successes. But with the US embarked on another war with Iraq, the Pentagon has been under pressure to avoid reproducing the one enduring blemish on operation Desert Storm - "Gulf war syndrome".
Burning oil wells, the potential use by the US of weapons containing depleted uranium, and evidence that Iraq might be preparing to use chemical weapons have further heightened concerns over troops' health.
Senators, veterans' groups and senior officials in the Bush administration have called on the US military to prove that lessons learned from the 1991 Gulf war had been acted on.
Their concern is that US troops are facing the same shortfall in equipment and information that is said to have cost many Gulf war veterans both their health and, later, disability benefits. "The mistakes of 1991 are still present today," said Steve Robinson, executive director of the Maryland-based National Gulf War Resource Center, which represents Desert Storm veterans.
The controversy revived post-Vietnam war worries that the US was neglecting its obligations towards discharged servicemen and women.
Last month Anthony Principi, secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), wrote to Donald Rumsfeld pleading for more information on potential health risks in Iraq. He asked the Pentagon to give his agency access to any unclassified information on US troops' exposure to chemical, biological or radiological weaponry.
"Much of the controversy over the health problems of veterans who fought in the 1991 war with Iraq would have been avoided had more extensive surveillance data been collected," Mr Principi wrote.
Eight Senate Democrats added their voices by saying: "We are concerned that, as thousands of active duty and reserve troops are deployed to the Gulf region each week, training and preparedness for confronting the harrowing threat of chemical and biological warfare lags behind the pace of deployment."
In 1998, the Pentagon established a new "Force Health Protection" programme aimed at avoiding a replay of the Gulf war syndrome scandals. According to Mr Robinson, much of its mandate has not been fulfilled.
The Pentagon has given an assurance that the health of troops in the Gulf this time around would be better protected, and better monitored, than in 1991. Commander Donald Sewell, a spokesman for the Pentagon's health programme, says new protective suits, better-fitting gas masks and new chemical and biological weapons detectors have been key improvements in the protection of troops.
Better equipment should also be complemented by better communication between VA and the Pentagon. After years of acrimony, VA officials said the department now has "good working relations" with the Pentagon.
The two agencies have established a task force to negotiate what parts of a veteran's classified medical file can be declassified in the event of a post-war illness. Troops' medical records will be updated daily, sometimes via satellite laptops or handheld digital organisers. The agencies have also been co-operating on the introduction of mandatory predeployment health screening questionnaires and the drawing of blood samples from servicemen and women before their departure.
But veterans' advocates such as Mr Robinson are not lowering their guard. He says: "The Pentagon has been less than honest over the last 50 years when it comes to testing and exposures that occur in war. Veterans are paying attention. They read the science and understand the issues. They don't want to see the same mistakes."
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