Report: US troops exposed to chemical agents in Iraq are dying — and the Pentagon is covering it up

Barbara Koeppel |Newsweek | Raw Story | March 27, 2015

During and immediately after the first Gulf War, more than 200,000 of 700,000 U.S. troops sent to Iraq and Kuwait in January 1991 were exposed to nerve gas and other chemical agents. Though aware of this, the Department of Defense and CIA launched a campaign of lies and concocted a cover-up that continues today.

A quarter of a century later, the troops nearest the explosions are dying of brain cancer at two to three times the rate of those who were farther away. Others have lung cancer or debilitating chronic diseases, and pain.

More complications lie ahead.

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Researchers Find Biological Evidence of Gulf War Illnesses

Rebecca D’Angelo for The New York Times

Ronald Brown, a veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf war, has had health problems since 1992.

JAMES DAO | New York Times | June 14, 2013

In the two decades since the 1991 Persian Gulf war, medical researchers have struggled to explain a mysterious amalgam of problems in thousands of gulf war veterans, including joint pain, physical malaise and gastrointestinal disorders. In some medical circles, the symptoms were thought to be psychological, the result of combat stress.

But recent research is bolstering the view that the symptoms, known collectively as gulf war illness, are fundamentally biological in nature. In the latest example, researchers at Georgetown University say they have found neurological damage in gulf war veterans reporting symptoms of the disease.

Using magnetic resonance imaging to study the brains of gulf war veterans before and after exercise, the researchers discovered evidence of damage in parts of their brains associated with heart rate and pain. Such damage was not evident in the control group, which included nonveterans and healthy veterans.

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Epidemiologists Testify About Serious Research And Ethical Failures In Veterans Administration Epidemiologic Studies

Epimonitor.net | March 31, 2013

Epidemiologists           Testify About Serious Research And Ethical Failures In Veterans           Administration Epidemiologic Studies   “…if the studies               produce results that do not support OPH’s (Office of Public               Health, Department of Veterans Affairs) unwritten policy, they do               not release them…On rare occasions when embarrassing study results               are released, data are manipulated to make them               unintelligible…Anything that supports the position that the Gulf               War illness is a neurological condition is unlikely to ever be               published.” These accusations are not your general run of the               mill statements about flaws in a study. Nor are they minor               violations of informed consent or breaches in protecting               confidentiality. Instead they are accusations of serious failures               in the responsible and ethical conduct of research, possibly               including deaths, made by Steven Coughlin, former senior               epidemiologist for the Office of Public Health at the Department               of Veterans Affairs, in testimony before the Veterans Affairs               Committee of the US Congress on March 13, 2013. According to our               sources, fellow researchers at the VA think Coughlin has been                “very courageous” in making his stand on these issues. Second               Epidemiologist Also testifying               with Coughlin was Baylor University epidemiologist Lea Steele               who has worked on Gulf War Illness for many years and served as               Scientific Director for the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf               War Illnesses. In her testimony, Steele said, “…in some sectors               within VA, there appears to have been backward movement, with               actions that seem intended to ignore the science and minimize the               fact that there is a serious medical condition resulting from               military service in the 1991 Gulf War.” She also stated that                “Together, VA’s poor representation of the Gulf War illness               problem, and failure to apply current scientific knowledge to               develop a focused, state-of-the-art research program, have led to               relatively little in the way of tangible benefits for ill Gulf War               veterans. From my perspective as a scientist who has worked in               this area for many years, it is time to get this right…” Case Definition Gulf War Illness is the term commonly used for the               symptomatic condition that affects military personnel who served               in the 1990-91 Gulf War. At least one in four of the 700,000               military personnel who served in the war are affected, according               to the Department               of Veterans Affairs. VA Testimony At the same               session, Dr Victoria Davey, Chief Officer, in the Office of               Public Health and Environmental Hazards at the VA did not address               in her testimony the statements made by Coughlin and Steele.               However, she told the Committee “We remain committed to providing               evidence-based, compassionate care for these Veterans, and for all               of the Veterans it is our privilege to serve. VA intends to               continue our ongoing efforts to improve our abilities to provide                health care for Gulf War Veterans; to better educate our health               care providers; and to expand the evidence basis for the               treatments we provide Gulf War Veterans, and all Veterans.” Ethical               Failures In an email to               epidemiology colleagues following his testimony, Coughlin wrote               about another concern of his, namely the responsibility               of VA researchers to provide access to               care for medical problems they encounter in the course of               doing their research. Coughlin has tangled with the VA on that               score as well. According to               Coughlin, “the VA currently has ongoing large scale epidemiologic                              studies that involve hundreds of thousands of US               service men and women and US Veterans; the safeguards for ensuring               that vulnerable men and women who are experiencing pronounced               psychiatric distress receive appropriate follow-up care by a               trained mental health professional varies widely across these               studies.  For example, in the National Health Study for a New               Generation of US Veterans, which reached out to more than 60,000               US Veterans (20% women), only about 5% of nearly 2,000 men and               women who self-reported suicide ideation ever received a call back               from a study clinician.  Some of those research participants are               now homeless and deceased.  The Cooperative Studies Protocol CSP               Biorepository and Gulf War Survey initiative is currently reaching               out to 100,000 Veterans who served in the first Gulf War.                                               Although the majority of US Veterans are not “vulnerable,” it is               clear that many do have profound life challenges due to neurologic               illness or injury, and other medical and psychiatric conditions.                As a               former Principal Investigator and co-investigator on large-scale,               national epidemiologic surveys involving tens of thousands of US               Veterans, I can tell you that 9 to 10% self-report that they are               having thoughts that they would be better off dead, and that               much more needs to be done to help these men and women who fought               in a war, came home, and are now unemployed, sick, at-risk of               homelessness, and in many cases “falling through the cracks.”               Call for Consideration               Coughlin told colleagues that the Gulf War Veterans advocates who               attended the Congressional panel stated that they feel that the               epidemiology profession should examine these important issues and               look inwardly about what happened and how to improve the situation               in the future.  I agree with that viewpoint which is why I am               writing to you with this summary information, so that you can               share it with potentially interested colleagues.” Steele told the Monitor that the scientific research and results               produced by Coughlin’s former  office at the VA corroborate some               of his  individual allegatons, specifically in relation to Gulf               War illness research.  For example, a current national survey               targeting 30,000 Gulf War veterans dos not include a symptoms               inventory that would permit the study of Gulf War Illnes in a               survey involving 30,000 veterans. A committee which had reviewed               the study protocol had been very critical of the study and had               advised the VA to include such an inventory. It was not done. In               interviews with media, Coughlin was even more outspoken about the               deficiencies he says he witnessed. For example, in an interview               with the Daily Beast, Coughlin said his bosses intimidated him               every time he spoke about any alleged unethical activity.  When he               went over their heads, “that’s when all hell broke loose,” he told               the Daily Beast. “My supervisors tried to remove me from the               study, and I received a written admonition. It was shocking. All I               was trying to do was help ensure the safety of veterans               participating in our study.” The               VA is reportedly investigating and says that all allegations of               malfeasance are taken seriously and investigated fully.

Iraq: War’s Legacy of Cancer

Dahr Jamail | Al Jazeera | Reader Supported News | March 26, 2013

ontamination from Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions and other military-related pollution is suspected of causing a sharp rises in congenital birth defects, cancer cases, and other illnesses throughout much of Iraq.

Many prominent doctors and scientists contend that DU contamination is also connected to the recent emergence of diseases that were not previously seen in Iraq, such as new illnesses in the kidney, lungs, and liver, as well as total immune system collapse. DU contamination may also be connected to the steep rise in leukaemia, renal, and anaemia cases, especially among children, being reported throughout many Iraqi governorates.

There has also been a dramatic jump in miscarriages and premature births among Iraqi women, particularly in areas where heavy US military operations occurred, such as Fallujah.

Official Iraqi government statistics show that, prior to the outbreak of the First Gulf War in 1991, the rate of cancer cases in Iraq was 40 out of 100,000 people. By 1995, it had increased to 800 out of 100,000 people, and, by 2005, it had doubled to at least 1,600 out of 100,000 people. Current estimates show the increasing trend continuing.

As shocking as these statistics are, due to a lack of adequate documentation, research, and reporting of cases, the actual rate of cancer and other diseases is likely to be much higher than even these figures suggest.

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US Still Paying Billions in Benefits to Deal With Psychological Effects of War

Shan Li | The Los Angeles Times | Report | Truthout | March 24, 2013

The U.S. government is paying billions to war veterans and their families, including monthly payments to the children of Civil War veterans.

More than $40 billion annually is being paid out to soldiers and survivors of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War in 1898, both World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.

Two children of Civil War veterans — one in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina — are each receiving $876 a year. Another 10 are getting benefits, averaging about $5,000 a year, connected to the 1898 Spanish-American War.

The spouses of soldiers who die in wars can qualify for lifetime benefits, while children who are under 18 can also receive payments. Kids who are disabled before the age of 18 may also get those benefits extended through their entire life.

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The Iraq Retrospective We Deserve

Anthony DiMaggio | Counterpunch | Op-Ed | Truthout | March 24, 2013

U.S. Soldiers from Echo Company, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade prepare to clear a room in a joint training exercise near Bahbahani, Iraq, on June 4. (Photo: Kim Smith / US Army)

March 19, 2003 marked the 10^th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.  For those who remember those polarizing days, it doesn’t seem like so long ago, although I’m constantly reminded of how much time has passed every day when I lecture with my 18 year old students who were just eight years old at the time of the invasion.  Sadly, the youngest generation of American adults remembers little about this war in light of the failure to promote critical awareness in our K-12 educational system.  University professors have hardly fared any better from what I’ve seen, as most seem preoccupied with esoteric research of limited practical utility.  When it comes to teaching, most professors avoid controversy or engagement in real world politics like the plague.

America’s critical awareness of the Iraq war hasn’t been helped along by the mass media either, which prefers to remember Iraq as a noble mistake.  This much was apparent in the New York Times’ March 19 retrospective news analysis and editorial.   One the one hand, the memory of Iraq has been nearly erased from political-media discourse.  In a news story titled “Iraq War’s 10^th Anniversary is Barely Noted in Washington,” the Times reported on the “conspiracy of silence” in which “Republicans and Democrats agreed” in in the run-up to the anniversary “that they did not really want to talk about the Iraq war.  Neither party had much interest in revisiting what succeeded and what failed, who was right and who was wrong.  The bipartisan consensus underscored the broader national mood: after 10 years, America seems happy to wash its hand of Iraq.”

This point is true.  Americans from what I’ve seen do seem happy to move on from the terrible, criminal affair that was the invasion and occupation of Iraq.  But the wrong lessons were being drawn from the New York Times’ story, as it merely focused on the failure to assess “what succeeded and what failed.”  This limited criticism in retrospect was reaffirmed in the New York Times’ March 19 editorial, in which the paper wrote that “none of the Bush administration’s war architects have been called to account for their mistakes, and even now, many are invited to speak on policy issues as if they were not responsible for one of the worst strategic blunders in American foreign policy.”  It’s not that I disagree with the Times’ assessment of the war.  This had to be one of the most incompetent occupations in world history, considering the colossal ignorance that was at play in invading a country on the brink of collapse after decades of war and sanctions imposed and supported by the United States.  It was extraordinarily naïve to assume that the government, military, and police forces of Iraq could be dissolved under “de-bathification,” and that there would be little to no security risks associated with this action.  Quite the opposite was true, as the dissolution of Iraq sparked a civil war and terrible ethnic-sectarian violence.  The U.S. disenfranchisement of former government and military officers – coupled with the continuation of an unwanted and extremely violent military occupation – meant the remnants of Saddam Hussein’s government and military apparatus would have plenty of time to target and kill American forces.  Coupled with the deterioration of Iraq after years of sanctions and criminal U.S. bombing of Iraq’s military infrastructure during the first Gulf War in 1991, the dissolution of any recognizable government carried with it very real dangers considering the latent ethnic-sectarian tensions that had built up during the Hussein years.  As part of the Sunni minority in Iraq, Hussein had long favored this group and violently suppressed and terrorized the Shia majority, as well as the Kurds.

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‘Falluja Babies’ and Depleted Uranium — America’s Toxic Legacy in Iraq

Dahr Jamail | Al Jazeera English | March 18, 2013

Fallujah, Iraq – Contamination from Depleted Uranium (DU) munitions and other military-related pollution is suspected of causing a sharp rises in congenital birth defects, cancer cases, and other illnesses throughout much of Iraq.

Many prominent doctors and scientists contend that DU contamination is also connected to the recent emergence of diseases that were not previously seen in Iraq, such as new illnesses in the kidney, lungs, and liver, as well as total immune system collapse. DU contamination may also be connected to the steep rise in leukaemia, renal, and anaemia cases, especially among children, being reported throughout many Iraqi governorates.

There has also been a dramatic jump in miscarriages and premature births among Iraqi women, particularly in areas where heavy US military operations occurred, such as Fallujah.

Official Iraqi government statistics show that, prior to the outbreak of the First Gulf War in 1991, the rate of cancer cases in Iraq was 40 out of 100,000 people. By 1995, it had increased to 800 out of 100,000 people, and, by 2005, it had doubled to at least 1,600 out of 100,000 people. Current estimates show the increasing trend continuing.

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Whistleblower: VA Hiding Veteran Health Data

Bryant Jordan | Military.com | March 19, 2013

A former epidemiologist for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs told lawmakers on Wednesday that the agency’s Office of Public Health buries or obscures research findings on veterans exposed to environmental toxins and hazards going as far back as the Persian Gulf War.

Steven Coughlin, who had worked more than four years for the VA before quitting over “serious ethical concerns” in December, said in testimony that leadership in the agency’s public health office did not want to find or reveal evidence that Gulf War illness and other sicknesses were linked to troops’ military experience.

“On the rare occasions when embarrassing study results are released, data are manipulated to make them unintelligible,” he told the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Coughlin said his former office never released findings of a $10 million study that produced data on 60,000 Iraq and Afghan war vets – of which up to 30 percent were Gulf War vets – that revealed exposures to pesticides, oil well fires and more.

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Depleted Uranium Contamination is Still Spreading in Iraq

Mike Ludwig | Truthout | Report | March 19, 2013

In 2012, European researchers visited a scrap metal site in Al Zubayr, an area near Basrah in southern Iraq. A local police officer told them that the site had at one time held military scrap metal from the bloody battles waged during the American invasion. A local guard told the researchers that children had been seen playing on the scrap during that time, and both adults and children had worked disassembling the military leftovers. At one point, the guard said, members of an international organization with equipment and white suits showed up, told guards that the site was very dangerous and “quickly ran off.”

The researchers, working with the Dutch peace group IKV Pax Christi, with funding from the Norwegian government, visited areas in Iraq where depleted uranium contamination had been reported by Iraqis and international observers. Depleted uranium is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal produced as a waste product of the nuclear power industry. Depleted uranium was used in armor-piercing munitions fired by US and Coalition forces during both the 2003 invasion and the 1991 Gulf war in Iraq.

There are between 300 and 365 sites where depleted uranium contamination was identified by Iraqi authorities the years following the 2003 US invasion, with an estimated cleanup cost of $30 million to $45 million, according to a report recently released by IKV Pax Christi. Iraqi authorities are currently cleaning up the sites, mostly located in the Basrah region, and 30 to 35 sites still need to be decontaminated.

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The Iraq War – 10 Years Later

Micah Sifry | The National Memo | Reader Supported News | March 16, 2013

en years ago, as President George W. Bush took the final, fateful steps to launch the United States’ invasion of Iraq, Christopher Cerf and I were pulling all-nighters, feverishly putting the final touches on our anthology The Iraq War Reader. Having done a previous well-received anthology on the Gulf War, the campaign led by Bush Senior to push Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait back in 1991, we felt we had no choice but to offer a sequel. After all, we joked to ourselves, if Junior thought he had to “finish the job,” we did too.

Both of our books were designed to be comprehensive, readable guides to the history, documents and opinions that swirled around these events. We took care to provide a fair and balanced mix of points of view, to let readers make up their own minds about what they thought about the wisdom and justice of these wars.

But truth be told, both Chris and I were deeply skeptical of the proponents of war, having seen with our own research how often government and military officials lie. And so we made sure to include in our second book plenty of evidence from the first Gulf War of how we had been lied to about things as small as the supposed efficacy of the Patriot Missile (it mostly failed to shoot down Scuds) to the monstrous and false claim that Saddam’s troops had ripped babies out of Kuwaiti hospital incubators.

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