The 90-page report released Wednesday details 30 months of work
by the board President Clinton ordered to oversee Pentagon
investigations of illnesses reported by thousands of vets
from the war. Gulf war illness -- a series of veterans' ailments
-- remains unexplained 10 years after the war.
The board concluded that the Defense Department has "worked
diligently to fulfill the president's directive to 'leave no
stone unturned' in investigating possible causes" for illnesses,
which include memory loss, nervous system disorders, headaches,
joint pains and chronic fatigue.
It also found the department "made no effort to deliberately
withhold information," an allegation among critics who
believe the Pentagon is hiding data about Iraqi chemical warfare agents
or other toxins veterans may have been exposed to while serving.
"On the contrary, DOD has made an extraordinary effort to
publicize its findings through the publication of reports and
newsletters, public outreach meetings, briefings to
veterans," a website and so on, said the Presidential Special Oversight
Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical
and Biological Incidents.
The board repeated the main theme of all Pentagon findings so
far -- one that has frustrated veteran groups and contributed
to suspicions of a cover-up: "To date, research has not
validated any specific cause of these illnesses." It said
research must continue.
An estimated $300 million has been spent and scores of
studies have looked into such possible culprits as Iraq's chemical
and biological weapons, service members' vaccinations, oil well
fires, anti-nerve agent tablets taken by troops, desert sand and
stress.
Stress a 'primary cause of illness'
"The board concludes that stress is likely a primary cause
of illness in at least some Gulf War veterans," the report
said.
"It is likely a secondary factor in (making possible) other
causes of undiagnosed illnesses among some Gulf War
veterans," it added.
The board acknowledged that owing to misunderstanding "an
unfortunate reluctance" exists among the American public,
some members of Congress and veterans themselves "to
recognize the impact that stress can have on an individual."
But the board asserted that "stress can lead to genuine
illnesses ... The symptoms are indeed real; they are not
imagined and they are not 'all in the head.'"
During the Gulf War, the board said American military felt
stress from being in the war zone; coming under fire;
enduring the perception of a threat from biological or
chemical warfare; coming into direct contact with smoke from
Kuwait oil well fires or using insect repellent on a regular
basis; working under adverse conditions; and struggling with
family issues (like divorce, death, severe illness) far from
home.
The board urged that combat stress be investigated by the
private Washington-based Institute of Medicine "with the same
academic and scientific rigor that was used to evaluate other
Gulf War exposures whose investigation Congress mandated."
It found that department assessments regarding
environmental exposures were consistent with "available
evidence."
"Available evidence does not support claims that depleted
uranium caused or is causing the undiagnosed illnesses (or
diagnosed illnesses) from which some Gulf War veterans still
suffer," the board said.
It also agreed with a previous report that special
camouflage paint posed a health hazard only to about 200
personnel who participated in spray-painting operations.
Finally, the board found that contaminant concentrations in
smoke caused by oil well fires in Kuwait "were below those
known to cause short or long-term health effects."
It did recommend, however, that ongoing research must be
completed before there is a final determination on oil well
fires.
Board lacked independence, one member says
One of the board's seven members, immunologist Dr. Vinh Cam,
dissented with the report in a three-page letter. An
immunologist, Cam charged that the board -- largely retired military
brass -- lacked independence from the Pentagon office it was
overseeing, the Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses.
She also said it had no authority to suggest that stress be
studied further as a possible cause.
"At times (the board) acted more like an extension of
OSAGWI," Cam wrote in her dissenting letter.
"It's a whitewash -- exactly the kind of whitewash we were
expecting," said Pat Eddington of the advocacy group National
Gulf War Resource Center, criticizing what he called the board's
"cozy relationship with the Pentagon."
In a 1997 lawsuit still pending in federal court, Eddington
is seeking thousands of pages of Pentagon and CIA documents he
says could contain information on Iraqi chemical and biological
weapons and other information relating to troop health.
Wednesday's report is the final one by the oversight board,
which goes out of business this month.
Veterans' groups to continue fight
Steve Smithson of the American Legion said veterans'
organizations will continue to push for better medical
treatment and compensation for the sick.
"I'm not going to say there was a cover-up, but there have
been problems," Smithson said. "Ten years later we still don't
know any more, and in the meantime people out there are sick."
He noted that it was several years before the Pentagon
acknowledged troops had been exposed to nerve gas when they
blew up an Iraqi weapons stockpile in March 1991 at Khamisiyah.
Wednesday's report said that Khamisiyah remains "the only
known potential exposure" of troops to chemical warfare agents.
Officials have said about 100,000 troops were likely exposed
to sarin and cyclosarin nerve gases but that the exposure was
too low to cause health problems.
Officials have said that of the 700,000 troops who served in
the Persian Gulf War some 100,000 have registered with the
Pentagon or Veterans Affairs Department for free exams to look into
unexplained illnesses. The two agencies have said about 20,000 of those
were found to be ill.
Smithson said his group will work this year for changes in
the VA system. So far, only 3,000 veterans have been compensated.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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