...about 6 percent of Gulf War veterans have reported an ailment they believe is linked to their service. The Pentagon found that 85 percent had ailments or diseases with known causes not linked to the Gulf War.
Further Defense Department research is focusing on the 15 percent, slightly less than 1 percent of all Gulf War veterans, whose ailments could not be diagnosed. Their problems included headache and memory loss, fatigue, sleep disorders, and intestinal and respiratory ailments. These have come to be known as the symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome.
Is this a real disease?
Probably not. Gulf War Syndrome appears to be a myth. The New England Journal of Medicine, so far, is one of the only publications that has taken a stand against the Gulf War Syndrome advocates. In November 1996 they published results disputing the existance of Gulf War Syndrome.
Gulf War Syndrome is, most likely, an unfortunate bi-product of a combination of things.
Tremendous media hype surrounding the threat of chemical and biological weapons during the First Gulf War.
The litigious nature of our society.
The fact that the United States Government is a target for litigation with very deep pockets, and
Those with anti-war sentiments would like to discredit and defame the United States and the global war on terror.
Make no mistake about it, the proponents of Gulf War Syndrome will stop at nothing less than a large monetary settlement with the United States government, at taxpayers expense; and an end to United States efforts to liberate oppressed peoples of the world.
If Gulf War Syndrome were actually caused by the release of chemical or biological weapons, the situation would be quite different. The less than 1% of Gulf War veterans complaining of symptoms were spread almost evenly throughout the Gulf War theater. No particular platoon or region shows any increased rate of occurance characteristic of the release of a real weapon. Even the accidental release of real chemical weapons would not spread in this manner.
The symptoms are almost identical to those of several other "mysterious" diseases not associated with the Gulf War: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia. You can read more about these three on the CO-CURE Page which I do NOT endorse. Many have already concluded that MCS is not a real illness, it's more of a modern version of hypocondria, but I can't speak to the other disorders.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine the rate of symptoms among Gulf War veterans is not significantly different among military who did not go to the Gulf War. This constitutes extremely strong evidence for what's called the "nul hypothesis" in scientific studies, the hypothesis that there is no Gulf War Syndrome. I have debated with spokesmen for Gulf War Syndrome organizations on local radio programs. They operate on fear and propaganda, rather than on a sound and objective debate of the facts.
The U.S. government may have exaggerated the threat to neighboring countries to get us into the war. They misjudged the effectiveness of Iraq's army. It's easy to conclude that they intentionally overestimated the threat of chemical and biological weapons to generate public support for the war. But, now we are asked, by the war's opponents, to believe in a mystery weapon so ingenious, it took years to even be discovered, and seems to strike randomly affecting only a tiny fraction of those exposed. Evidence to even believe in such a weapon would have to be extreme. Without insurmountable evidence, the only reasonable conclusion is that the disease does not exist. At best, there is no scientific evidence for a Gulf War Syndrome at present.
The New England Journal of Medicine article in November of 1996 disputing claims of a Gulf War Syndrome may not be available on the internet, but InSCIght has a summary of thier findings, it's called "Gulf War Syndrome Hits a Land Mine".
