SCI/TECH: Scientist: Gulf War Illness May Never Be Explained

Professor Simon Wessely, of King"s College London, a leading scientist, has indicated that the cause of Gulf War Syndrome(GWS) may never be found. At a news conference, Wessely was quoted as saying "There is no shadow of a doubt that something has happened, something has gone wrong, There are huge areas that remain unclear and I am afraid I suspect they will always remain unclear".



Because victims of GWS were exposed to multiple vaccinations, exposure to pesticides, smoke from oil-burning fires, stress and organophosphates, it is difficult to narrow down the cause. Any or all of these can cause neurological changes. Studies have shown that people who served during the first Gulf war are 20% more likely to suffer from headaches, fatigue, and pain.

The New York Times got hold of a draft copy of a new scientific report a few days ago that lays the blame mainly on neurotoxins:

www.nytimes.com...

A federal panel of medical experts studying illnesses among veterans of the 1991 war in the Persian Gulf has broken with several earlier studies and concluded that many suffer from neurological damage caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, rejecting past findings that the ailments resulted mostly from wartime stress.

Citing new scientific research on the effects of exposure to low levels of neurotoxins, the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses concludes in its draft report that "a substantial proportion of Gulf War veterans are ill with multisymptom conditions not explained by wartime stress or psychiatric illness."

It says a growing body of research suggests that many veterans' symptoms have a neurological cause and that there is a "probable link" to exposure to neurotoxins.

The simple reason that the cause of GWI will never be found is simply money. Can you imagine the lawsuits if it was conclusively found that the cause was due to negligence of the United States Military machine?

Originally posted by kegs
The New York Times got hold of a draft copy of a new scientific report a few days ago that lays the blame mainly on neurotoxins:

Wouldn't that suggest the use of nerve gas? If it had been us that was using them, I imagine that someone would have come forward by now. Wouldn't that also suggest that Iraq had actually used WMDs on us? If that's the case then you can't necessarily place all of the blame on the US military. I've heard some nightmare stories about wearing all of that protective gear in the middle of the blazing desert. I'm sure that a lot of troops didn't always use that gear when they should have.

I've heard a lot of theories from GWS being caused by nerve gas to GWS being caused by experimental inoculations. None would surprise me.

I believe the GWS is mainly due to the combining factors that the above article mention and I do not think that a chemical weapon alone could do this to 20 % of the 700,000 troops that were involved in GW1, without anyone noticing. The Oil Fires is the most likely suspect IMHO.

My husband is one of the vet from the first gulf war, he said that while he was in the middle east they gave him all kind of pills to take he said that he took "these pills" in the begining but when he started to feel sick, he stopped, he said that the only mistake he made was not to keep the pills and have then analyzed in the US, he was told they were to help his body fight any biological attack.

Since the gulf war after he came back, he had various tests done because the syndrom but he never got any side effects since then, he also has a letter in his medical records that tells that he was in the gulf war and that they tested him for post war syndrom.

i cant find the link

but i read it was to do with the jabs they got before they went into combat.
and some soldiers have complained about ( dont know if its true )

veritas93, it's not me who said that; the reasons can be found in the article.

It seems I need to subscribe to the article it let me have for nowt earlier, so I'll quote from one that pretty much copies it:

www.theaustralian.news.com.au...

Among the potential sources cited were "sarin, a nerve gas, from an Iraqi weapons depot blown up by American forces in 1991; a drug, pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas; and pesticides used to protect soldiers in the region

I'm curious. Are there any cases of the symptoms of GWI spreading to others who were not in the Gulf? I too have heard of possible reasons for GWI ranging from experimental vaccines and combinations of vaccines to inhaling the oil smoke to being exposed to biological or chemical fallout after Sadam's bunkers of chemical, biological or other weapons were blown up. I believe there may be a combination of sources of GWI. My best hunch is the experimental vaccines.

[edit on 18-10-2004 by orionthehunter]

Hello all,
I just joined ATS, but I have been an avid reader for about the last six or seven months. This topic is what got me to join. I am a GW1 vet. I was with NMCB 74 in Al-Mishab in 90-91 attached to the 1st Marine Expiditionary Force. At the ripe old age of 34, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. Now mind you, I have, nor did I have any family history of ANY type of cancer, nor any major illnesses in my entire life. I often wonder if this is the result of any of the innoculations or medications I was given prior to or during my stay in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait during the First Gulf War. Any opinions or replys? I'm interested in knowing what to do from here.