EXPERIMENTAL DRUG TEST
Pentagon poisoned GIs
Reserves right to do it again
By
Hillel Cohen
A Pentagon-sponsored study has reported that Gulf War
Syndrome may have been at least partly caused by an
experimental drug that unsuspecting U.S. troops were ordered to
take. Before the 1991 invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon brass
ordered as many as 300,000 U.S. soldiers to take three pills of
the drug pyridostigmine bromide each morning.
An estimated 100,000 veterans of that war have reported
symptoms of what has become known as Gulf War Syndrome--chronic
pain and fatigue, nausea, memory loss, sleep disorders and
general neurological complaints. Some even died prematurely or
became permanently disabled, and some veterans have reported
severe birth defects among children born after the war.
The Pentagon paid for the study carried out by the Rand
Corp., a so-called Pentagon think tank. Study author Dr.
Beatrice Golomb concluded that, while PB was not necessarily
the cause of Gulf War Syndrome, "the possibility can't be
dismissed."
Even this indefinite conclusion is a huge admission. For
years, the U.S. government has denied that Gulf War Syndrome
even existed. Officials told veterans who filed for disability
benefits that they were imagining their illnesses and refused
to pay for testing or treatment.
After tens of thousands of complaints piled up and couldn't
be ignored, the Pentagon routinely rejected any responsibility.
Military officials have claimed that poor wartime record
keeping made definitive studies difficult.
The Pentagon claims it gave PB to GIs as a preventive
antidote against a chemical warfare agent known as soman.
Although PB is a known drug approved for a rare neurological
disorder, it was never tested for safety in wide-scale use, nor
is it proven to be protective against soman.
The U.S. government has never even suggested that Iraq might
have had soman. Yet it administered an untested drug against an
unanticipated agent. Was it a massive field test with GIs as
guinea pigs? Was it to condition GIs into believing they were
at risk of a deadly chemical attack in order to arouse more
fear and hostility toward the Iraqi people?
Neither the Rand report nor the capitalist media asks these
questions.
Not the only suspect
PB was one of several experimental drugs given to GIs. Other
factors may have contributed to Gulf War Syndrome, which is
composed of several ailments with overlapping symptoms. No one
can tell for sure the effects of the toxic smoke from the
thousands of oil and chemical fires that burned for months.
Almost a million anti-tank shells used by U.S. forces contained
depleted uranium--a radioactive, heavy metal recycled from the
toxic waste left behind after the processing of uranium for
nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants.
Since large numbers of Iraqi civilians who never had access
to the experimental drugs given GIs have also reported
illnesses and birth defects similar to those associated with
Gulf War Syndrome, it is likely that factors in addition to the
PB drug were involved. The Rand study also recognizes the
likelihood of other contributory factors, but steers clear of
addressing which ones.
The study itself was done only as a result of enormous
pressure from U.S. veterans' groups and anti-war activists.
Earlier Pentagon "studies" and reports denied the possibility
that PB, oil fires, depleted uranium or local viruses or
bacteria could possibly be linked to veterans' illnesses. By
focusing only on PB, the current report may be designed to
cover up other possible factors.
Because DU is such a substantial part of U.S. weaponry, an
admission about DU could lead to an international outcry
against the U.S. military, or at least to a campaign to ban the
use of DU weapons.
Nonetheless, the admission about PB after years of official
denials has major importance. Right now, the Pentagon is
forcing over a million GIs to accept vaccinations against
anthrax. U.S. troops who refuse the injections are subject to
court martial. Like PB, the anthrax vaccine was tested for
safety only for small numbers. It was designed to protect
against the agricultural form of the disease but has never been
tested for usefulness against the militarized version.
As a hysteria campaign is promoted over the risks of
bioterrorism, there will be more "initiatives" like the anthrax
vaccination program. The government may promote experimental
programs to guard against the alleged threat of biological or
chemical agents. The Pentagon, the CIA and the FBI want to
direct public-health policy making in the name of
anti-terrorism.
Of course, the people have the Pentagon's word of honor that
the programs are necessary for defense and safety--just like
PB.
Asked if the Rand report findings would alter Pentagon
policy about the use of PB, Dr. Bernard Rostker, an under
secretary of the Army assigned to oversee the investigation of
Gulf War Syndrome, said, "Its continued use is warranted."
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