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Clinton announces new money for Gulf War syndrome research

Gulf War

Advisory report calls for independent oversight

November 8, 1997
Web posted at: 9:51 p.m. EST (0251 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The federal government will spend $13.2 million on new research to try to find the cause of mysterious illnesses reported by veterans of the Persian Gulf War, President Clinton announced Saturday.

The president also announced that Warren Rudman, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire, will lead an advisory board that will monitor the government's efforts to investigate what has come to known as Gulf War syndrome.

Clinton's actions came in response to a new report from a presidential advisory panel on Gulf War syndrome, which was released Saturday morning.

The report called on the government "to reinforce and renew its commitment to Gulf War veterans in order to begin erasing the perception of government inattention to them."

"The men and women of our armed forces put everything on the line for us. I am determined that we show the same resolve for them," Clinton said in a statement released in conjunction with the report.

Report calls for independent panel

vxtreme CNN's Marsha Walton reports.

The report also recommended that Congress set up a permanent, independent oversight committee, possibly in conjunction with the National Academy of Sciences, to periodically review scientific evidence related to Gulf War syndrome.

"The legacy of the Gulf War should be a recognition by all Americans that the government acknowledges and honors its obligation to care for Gulf War Veterans, not the perception the government cannot be trusted to candidly address their health concerns," said Dr. Joyce Lashof, who chaired the advisory panel.

Clinton announced that he would also ask Congress for a new benefits system that would give veterans treatment for illnesses linked to service in the Gulf War, even if the direct cause of their ailments cannot be determined.

Gulf veterans gather in Atlanta

In the six years since the war, Gulf War veterans have complained that the Pentagon hasn't done enough to investigate their claims of illness and pin down possible causes, including the possibility that Iraqi chemical agents could be responsible.

Many veterans are still dealing with a wide range of health problems.

"This is the only thing in my life that's ever kicked my butt," said Gulf War veteran Paul Lyons. "I started developing photosensitivity. I'm clinically sterile now. I have chronic fatigue, chronic pain in my joints. I have a sleep disorder."

About 200 affected veterans gathered this weekend in Atlanta at a conference sponsored by the Gulf War Resource Center, a coalition of support groups for veterans.

What has angered veterans the most may be the Pentagon's long denial that the destruction of a large Iraqi chemical weapons depot could have exposed soldiers to toxic agents. The Pentagon later admitted that up to 100,000 military personnel may have been affected.

"You have to remember that the Pentagon lied for five years and said no one was exposed to chemical warfare agents. Only as the result of veterans, the press, and Congress did the truth come out," said Paul Sullivan, the executive director of the resource center.

Some older veterans say they've been amazed that the government hasn't learned from similar experiences in the past, such as exposure of soldiers to nuclear fallout after World War II and to the pesticide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

"They've learned absolutely nothing," says George Duggins, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America. "I think the government position should be (to) give the veteran the benefit of the doubt. He's the one that put it on the line for this country."

Dan Haney, a member of the resource center's board, said the organization wants the Pentagon to take steps to prevent future combatants from being exposed to potential toxins.

"If there's a war tomorrow, a lot of the same mistakes that happened in the Gulf War are going to happen again," he said.

Correspondent Marsha Walton and Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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