thanks, River! (and Gazzy too, heh heh heh!)

my brother is a Gulf War I veteran, and suffers from being downwind when the military blew up Saddam's underground bunkers and facilities at Khamisiyah, containing who knows WHAT vile substances... (he was with the 1st Armored Division, as a scout),

In 1997, the US Government released an unclassified report that stated, "The US Intelligence Community has assessed that Iraq did not use chemical weapons during the Gulf war. However, based on a comprehensive review of intelligence information and relevant information made available by the United Nations Special Commission, we conclude that chemical warfare agents were released as a result of US postwar demolition of rockets with chemical warheads in a bunker (called Bunker 73 by Iraq) and a pit in an area known as Khamisiyah."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_syndrome

also, some troops were given *many* untested vaccinations at the same time, when the shots should have been SPREAD OUT over time, not given all at once. (due to possible interactions, and cumulative effects)

in addition, the troops were given pyridostigmine bromide.

Used in particular during the first Gulf War, pyridostigmine bromide has been implicated as a causal factor in Gulf War syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyridostigmine

when you add in the exposure to depleted uranium to the mix of insecticides, vaccinations, and exposure to unknown biochem agents, you have one big fat MESS.

my heart aches for our vets, treated so shabbily, and their plaints mostly ignored for almost EIGHTEEN years now, it makes me want to CRY.

my brother has made it his life's work to assist fellow Veterans, first with the Gulf War Veterans of Georgia, then National Gulf War Resource Center, then with the VBA (the benefits division of the VA), and later with Veterans for Common Sense, and other advocacy groups.

"After 17 years of official government delays and denials, VA's Research Advisory Committee should be commended for their work providing facts about Gulf War illnesses," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of VCS. "Veterans for Common Sense is concerned that there are up to 210,000 Gulf War veterans who remain ill after serving the 1991 Gulf War, and these veterans still need healthcare and disability benefits."

http://www.truthout.org/111808A

and if you made it this far, and are still interested... here's my brother's 1999 testimony before the House, on GWI:

http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/s...16-99/ngwr.htm