In November 2008, the Gulf War Veterans’ Diseases Committee submitted a 450-page report to Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake. The report stated that Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), previously dismissed as a psychosomatic disorder, is a very real illness that affects between 25 and 50 percent of the 700,000 US veterans who participated in the Gulf War from 1991.

GSI was likely caused by repeated exposure to toxic chemicals, including overused pesticides, drugs given to US troops to protect against nerve gas, smoke from oil fires, anthrax vaccines, and exposure to depleted uranium. Additionally, a 2004 British study found that Gulf War veterans (GWVs) were 40-50% more likely to be unable to initiate a pregnancy and 2-3 times more likely to have children with defects of birth

pesticides

According to the report, 62% of ground troops interviewed reported using some form of pesticide. Forty-four percent used pesticide sprays daily and 26% used pesticide lotions an average of 20 times a month. The most used compound was DEET, used by half of all staff almost daily. Permethrin was used by fewer staff but, on average, it was used daily.

The Cornell University Cooperative Extension Offices Pesticide Information Project states that “Everglades National Park employees who had extensive exposure to DEET were more likely to have insomnia, mood disorders, and impaired function cognitive than less exposed co-workers. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency has classified permethrin as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the oral route. This classification was based on two reproducible benign tumor types (lung and liver) in the mouse, equivocal evidence of carcinogenicity in the Long-Evans rat, and supporting structural activity relationship information.

Permethrin has also been shown to kill 1 in 10 cats exposed to permethrin, with 90% showing symptoms of twitching and seizures. Furthermore, a study conducted by the Predictive Toxicology Research Group in Inda found significant functional impairment of the blood-brain barrier following pesticide exposure during development in rats, even after a single exposure.

Depleted uranium

Depleted uranium, used in tank kinetic energy penetrating shells and large-scale automatic cannons in the Gulf War, has been recognized as a neurotoxin. Uranium is a heavy metal and toxic chemical with nephrotoxic (kidney), teratogenic (causing birth defects), and carcinogenic properties, and is commonly associated with a variety of diseases. In a study of UK troops serving in the Gulf, the risk of malformation among male-reported pregnancies was 50% higher in GWV, compared to non-GWV.

Depleted uranium has been shown to induce the development of cancer and genetic mutations, autoimmune diseases, and central functionality of T cells, which play a central role in cell-mediated immunity.

Chemical weapons

Many of the symptoms of GWS are similar to the symptoms of organophosphate, mustard gas, and nerve gas poisoning. GWV was exposed to a number of sources, including nerve gases and pesticides. More than 125,000 US soldiers were exposed to nerve gas and mustard gas when an Iraqi depot in Khamisiyah, Iraq, was bombed in 1991.

In addition, residual chemical agents from the Iran-Iraq war are speculated to have caused environmental contamination and chronic exposure to troops, consistent with the increased observation of birth defects among Iraqis during the Gulf War period.

Nerve gas protection

GWV used extensively pyridostigmine bromide (PB), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor intended to protect against nerve agents. According to the National Academy of Sciences, excess illness in Persian Gulf War veterans (GWV) may be explained in part by GWV exposure to carbamate and organophosphate acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEis), including pyridostigmine bromide ( PB), pesticides and nerve agents. Evidence pertinent to the relationship of AChEis to disease in GWV was evaluated. Many epidemiological studies have reported a link between AChEi exposure and chronic symptoms in GWV.

It has been suggested that intake of PB by GWV may induce a condition called bromism, a condition induced by excessive intake of bromide, with neurological, psychiatric, dermatological and possibly endocrine effects. Psychiatric symptoms may include, in the early stages, disinhibition, self-neglect, fatigue, slowness, impaired memory and concentration, irritability or emotional instability, and depression.

Symptoms of more advanced disease may include confusion, but occasionally schizophrenia-like behavior or hallucinations with clear consciousness. Behavior may become violent, especially at night or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and there may be severe auditory and visual hallucinations.

Anthrax Vaccines

During Operation Desert Storm, 41% of US combat soldiers were vaccinated against anthrax. This was a source of serious GWS-related side effects, as well as local skin reactions, some lasting weeks or months. Surprisingly, although it was approved by the FDA, it never went through any large-scale clinical trials, unlike almost every other vaccine in the United States. Even after the war, troops who had never deployed abroad developed symptoms of GWS after receiving the vaccine. The Pentagon also did not report 20,000 cases in which soldiers were hospitalized after receiving the vaccine.

A US federal judge ruled there was good reason to believe it was harmful and ordered the Pentagon to stop administering it in October 2004. The ban was lifted in February 2008 after the FDA re-examined and approved the drug again. The vaccine is the only suspect substance at GWS to which forced exposure has been banned.

Homeless and incarcerated veterans

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, as of 2001, 23% of the homeless populations in the United States are veterans, representing between 529,000 and 840,000 of the total homeless population. 33% of these were stationed in a war zone, 89% received a dishonorable discharge, and 75% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems. For comparison, in July 2008 there were 147,000 soldiers deployed in Iraq.

A 2000 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicated that an additional 225,000 veterans were held in Nation prisons or jails in 1998. 60% of incarcerated veterans had served in the Army. 35% of veterans in state prison were convicted of a violent crime, compared to 20% of non-veterans, and surprisingly, the average veteran’s sentence was 50 months longer than the average non-veteran.

Summary

Gulf War Syndrome profiles typically include a combination of chronic headaches, cognitive difficulties, widespread pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic diarrhea, skin rashes, respiratory problems, increased birth defects, sleep disturbances, memory loss, blurred vision, and a variety of other symptoms. To date there is no identified treatment for Gulf War Syndrome which affects a significant number of veterans 17 years after the war.

The Veterans Administration has been slow even to acknowledge the problem, let alone treat these veterans. Many have lost their families, are unable to hold down a job, or have even been imprisoned as an indirect result of illnesses caused during their Gulf War tour. It is time for the US government to take responsibility for exposing unsuspecting soldiers to a toxic soup that will kill Gulf War veterans for years to come.