Imagine a soldier
that is willing to die for his country in the Persian Gulf region, so that
Americans could pay less for petroleum products in the Gulf, the soldier serves
his country, with honor, loyalty, and dignity.
In an attempt to win the war, Saddam Hussein launches a chemical attack
on American troops, leaving some soldiers with a lot of incurable
symptoms. Such symptoms include
headaches, diarrhea, bleeding gums, chronic fatigue, joint and muscle pain, and
rashes which are being grouped as Gulf War Syndrome (Fischer 148). Then the soldier receives a good old American
welcome back home from supporters of the troops. After the parades and ceremonies are finished
the veteran experiences recurring headaches and chronic fatigue. The veteran seeks treatment at a VA hospital,
saying his illness is a result of serving in the Gulf. Instantly, he is denied benefits and services
for making a claim that he cannot prove.
Why would the US government want to deny combat veterans of his
claim? What is American government
trying to hide? I believe that Gulf War
Syndrome is a side effect of low-levels
of chemical and biological warfare agents the troops were exposed to during
their service in the Persian Gulf. I can
justify my belief by the number of ailing vets and Saddam's stockpile of
chemical and biological weapons.
The use of
chemical warfare in the Gulf is a reality.
First there was the Iraqi Arsenal, they possessed several weapons of the
death. They were building nuclear
weapons and already had chemical and biological weapons. Iraq owned 1500 gallons of anthrax which were
in 50 bombs and 10 missiles, and 100 bombs and 15 missiles were loaded with the
toxin agent Botulinum that destroys the nerves and eventually chokes the
inflicted to a horrible death. Also Iraq
possessed a nerve agent called Ricin that could kill with only a single drop
(Hedges and Cary 41).
Classified
reports from the Pentagon also support the veterans claim that they were
exposed to chemical warfare. The
documents reported that chemical agents were detected and that some chemical
weapons were left on the battlefield.
Also our allies, the Czech and French forces detected chemical agents
with their detection devices in Northern Saudi Arabia during the beginning of
the Gulf War, but US commanders ordered that any warning coming from the Czechs
were to be ignored. When the Marines
first landed in Kuwait, chemical detection devices sound (Hedges and Cray
43). Also a former CIA analyst, Patrick
Eddington, revealed records from the 101st Airborne division that showed the
division detected exposure to chemical agent. (AP 5)
Besides the
alerts and chemical warfare arsenal there were also Saddam's orders and
threats. Iraqi papers that were
intercepted by US intelligence reveals that Saddam ordered that chemical warfare was to be used
on Allied targets, but his orders were not to be followed through. Saddam did this so he would not be
responsible for the chemical attacks.
Within other documents were instructions on how and when the chemical
and biological weapons were to be released.
The initial attack would come when troops invaded Iraq. Saddam had drawn defense lines across Kuwait
and if that the final line were crossed the Iraqi were ready with a chemical or
biological attack on the Allied Forces (Timmerman 14).
A chemical attack
is not the only possibility on how the troops were exposed. The second possibility is that the troops
could have been exposed when the Allied forces conducted installation bombings
raids on Iraqi targets. "Considering the above factors [concentration of
agent, the elevation of the agents plume, and environmental factors such as
wind speed and inversion conditions and wind direction] many thousands of fatal
casualties could be realized in neighboring countries such as Syria, Saudi
Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Iran and the Soviet Union,"
(Timmerman 14). A 100 kilograms of anthrax could drop entire
communities of people. After the bombings, chemical and biological weapons were
found. In one site near Baghdad,
"75 tons of sarin, 60 to 70 gallons of tabun, 250 tons of mustard gas and
stocks of throdiglycal, a precursor used in mustard gas." (Fisher 151).
"And then on
the morning of January 17, 1991, the
first day of the Gulf War, the official government newspaper in Baghdad
announced that Iraq would unleash a secret weapon threat would 'astonish our
enemies and fascinate our friends and release an unusual force'" (Fischer
151). This "unusual force,"
was predicted to be chemical and biological weapons by US experts and
officials.
What more proof
does one need? You have the weapons, the
motive, and the chemical detection alarms ringing. If this were a criminal case, a guilty verdict would have already
been passed down. We were at war with
Iraq, Saddam had the weapons, the one question how why didn't he launch a full
chemical attack? I believe the answer is
he did not want the Allies to launch a nuclear attack.
If a full
chemical assault were to happen on American Troops, less than half would
survive according to Army chemical experts.
This is due to their outdated and obsolete chemical gear. American
troops have had to use the same model of gas masks since the 1960's and even
back then the masks were not safe. The
main problem is leakage (Sherwood 11).
In order for the mask to function proper an airtight seal is a
must. The problem lies in the mask
because the seal does not fit some face shapes and sizes. This problem would cause leakage, when
subject to a chemical attack in up to 50 percent of the masks. When the General Accounting Office conducted
exercises to test the effectiveness of the gear, seven of twenty-three soldiers
neglected to get the proper airtight seal, without the air tight seal, the mask
would leak and thus be ineffective. The main reason why the soldier could not
put on the mask properly is that the soldiers never did receive the proper
training, which is four hours in full chemical gear (Sherwood 12).
Some flaws were
also associated with the chemical protected suits worn by the army. The gloves were thick which made pulling the
trigger of their guns difficult. The
boots could "protect long enough to escape after an attack, but not long
enough to stand and fight" (Sherwood 11).
Both boots and gloves were so chunky, they took 15 minutes just to get
them on. Also with the extreme heat in
the Gulf region added to that the thick, bulky chemical suit this caused heat
stress among the troops (Sherwood 11).
Nick Roberts of
Alabama is one of the 70,000 veterans that are afflicted with Gulf War
Syndrome. After realizing that the War
caused his ailments, became an advocate for the vets ailing from Gulf War
Syndrome. Roberts had always wanted to
serve his country. He enlisted in the
Navy at the end of the Vietnam war, he did not have a chance to go over. The
threat of war in the Gulf was growing and now was his chance to serve his
country, but he was almost 40, almost too old to serve in combat. Roberts' Lieutenant told him he could be
excused because of some training he had missed but Roberts had to "set
him[lieutenant] straight: 'I'm going[to serve in the Persian Gulf] and that's
that.'"(Fischer 148)
Roberts was
stationed 200 miles outside of Kuwait where he saw the effects of war. His unit's well had been poisoned with
arsenic and cyanide. "On other
occasions, his comrades related to him that they saw hundreds of dead animals--
sheep, goats, and dogs-- lying along the highways. Curiously, some animals had blue bags over
their heads" (Fischer 140) Blue
bags are the NATO signal for biological and chemical warfare.
On January 20,
1991, Roberts was awakened by the sound of explosions. The message of "'Confirmed gas
attack. Go to full Mopp-4.' Panic set in as troops were ordered in full
chemical gear," (Fischer 148).
Roberts skin burned and lips were numb and his nose ran followed by the
taste of a copper penny in his mouth. Later that night Roberts went to Harold
Edwards, a decontamination officer, who told Roberts that he detected mustard
gas and lewisite in the area. (Fischer
148). Roberts just received his first
dose of chemical warfare. The next day
Roberts commander told his troops the explosions were sonic booms and the
claims were false. And Robert was now
experiencing flu-like symptoms accompanied with a rash. "He reported to sick bay every few
days. Each time, the medic made a second
of his complaints gave him Motrin and told him what the military doctors would
tell him over the next two years-- he was just stressed out."(Fischer
150).
"When it
came to compensation, the department adopted the same stance toward these vets
as it had taken with Vietnam Veterans in the late Seventies: no proof, no
compensation." (Fischer 151). The VA had denied because there was no
numerical code in VA diagnostic book.
Without a code for the symptoms, the VA would not help the vets.
Tired of not
receiving treatment, Roberts decided to see a private doctor, paying the
medical bills out of his pocket. His
doctor treated him and discovered that Roberts had developed non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma or cancer. "In another six
to eight weeks, the doctor told him, the tumor would have shut down his kidneys
and thrown him into a coma--or killed
him. The close call made it clear to
Roberts that 'had I relied on the VA, I'd be dead now' "(Fischer 152).
Besides chemical
warfare, there are two more remote possibilities that explain Gulf War
Syndrome. The first is the depleted
uranium coating that is on artillery tips.
The coating made the tips harder, which then could penetrate stronger
targets. When the shell explodes it
releases radioactive dust, this which in turn would cause the troops to become
ill. (Fischer 150).
The second
explanation comes from possibility of multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome. The oil fires, pollutants,
petrochemicals were too much for the soldiers immune systems. The chemicals
broke down their immune systems. Instead
of not being unaffected by common chemicals, they are extremely sensitive to
them. The symptoms of gulf war syndrome
are present.(Fischer 150).
In my opinion
Gulf War Syndrome is comparable to the Agent Orange Scandal in Vietnam. Both instances troops were afflicted with
pain and suffering from chemicals, and the government was unwilling to pay the
veterans the benefits they deserve.
After a decade of the Vietnam veterans pleading their claims to the
government, the government finally caved in and paid the benefits to the vets. The vets in Vietnam were sprayed by a
chemical defoliant called Agent Orange which caused a wide variety of illnesses
like the Gulf War vets are experiencing Gulf War Syndrome (Fischer 151).
Why does the
government cover-up these kinds of topics?
Is it so they will not have to pay millions of dollars in benefits? I think the answer is no. In my opinion the government wants to keep
the topic of chemical warfare a secret.
The American government wants to be seen as an invincible super power. Imagine if the threat of chemical warfare was
a part of everyday life. We would be living in a nightmarish world. Chemical warfare is a threat to America's
status as an invincible superpower. One
drop of chemical agent could kill or injure thousands. I believe the reason why America covers up
this type of situation so that the citizens can believe that they are safe at
all times. Also I believe that the
politicians who sent the troops into war do not want to take responsibility for
their actions. We helped Iraq injure
some of our troops. In the Iraqgate
scandal we aided Saddam in beating the Iranians by selling them strains of
chemical agents. In turn with these
strains the Iraqis could grow their own chemical agents (Fischer 203). With the ability of to make chemical agents,
they could load the agent in weapons and use them against American troops, thus
the problem of Gulf War Syndrome in the troops arise.
Works Cited
"Ex-CIA
analyst accuses Pentagon of hiding data on Gulf War illness." Kansas State Collegian 31
Oct. 1996: 5.
Fischer,
Mary. "Dying for Their Country." Gentleman's Quarterly May 1994:
147-153, 203- 206.
Hedges, Stephen
and Peter Cary. "Baghdad's Dirty
Secrets." U.S. News and World
Reports 11 Sept.
1995: 41-43.
Sherwood,
Ben. "Toxic Shock." The New Republic. 6 May 1991:
10-12.
Timmerman,
Kenneth. "The Iraq
Papers." The New Republic. 29 Jan. 1996:
12-15.
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