WASHINGTON — Gulf War illness is a real medical condition that has affected nearly a quarter of combat veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, according to a report released Monday.
But federal research into the cause of the mysterious malady that has affected at least 175,000 veterans has “not been effective.” The report by the congressionally mandated panel suggested that politics or financial concerns might have played a role.
“There is also a common perception that federal policymakers have not vigorously pursued key research in this area and that federal agencies have disincentives — whether political or fiscal — for providing definitive answers to Gulf War health questions,” said the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illness.
The report compared the foot-dragging and denials to the treatment of troops who claimed they had been exposed to Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides in Vietnam and to radiation in World War II. In both cases, the claims turned out to be true.
Committee members said troops were exposed to a “toxic soup” of chemicals. But they laid the blame for Gulf War illness primarily on two causes: pesticides sprayed on troops during deployment and pyridostigmine bromide, an anti-nerve agent.
The small white pills hadn’t been approved for nerve-agent protection at the time, but the Food and Drug Administration gave the military a temporary waiver for their use.
Other potential causes were the use of multiple vaccines and the breathing of thick, black smoke from the oil-well fires ignited by Iraqi troops as they fled Kuwait.
The Department of Veterans Affairs didn’t respond to the committee’s criticism but said VA Secretary James Peake had directed the agency “to review and respond to the committee’s recommendations.”
The report should be a boon to Gulf War vets who, for years, have been trying to get the VA to recognize their ills. Often too sick to work, many have been unable to get medical-disability payments because they couldn’t prove that their ailments were real and related to their service. Symptoms include chronic headaches, dizziness, memory loss, fatigue, skin rashes, joint and muscle pain, and respiratory problems.
