2 Of Every 5 Gulf War Vets Are On Disability

[thedrifter]

Of Every 5 Gulf War Vets Are On Disability
209,000 Make VA Claims
161,000 Receive Payments
2003 WorldNetDaily.com
1-28-3


As the U.S. contemplates another war on Iraq in the coming weeks, most
Americans expect relatively few casualties among the U.S. troops ? just like
the first Gulf War.

The Gulf War was remarkable, as U.S. conflicts go, for the strikingly low
number of U.S. dead and wounded ? 148 killed and 467 wounded.

But the truth is nearly two of every five of the approximately 540,000 Gulf
War vets are on disability as a result of illnesses they believe they
sustained during that conflict.

About 161,000 Gulf War veterans are receiving disability payments from the
U.S. government. About 209,000 have filed VA claims.

A report made public earlier this month details which chemical weapons Iraq
declared and the companies they claim supplied them. The disclosure is
providing ammo for vets who say they have Gulf War Syndrome ? a mysterious illness many believe is connected to the use of chemical weapons by Iraq.

More than 5,000 veterans are plaintiffs in a lawsuit that accuses companies
of helping Iraqi President Saddam Hussein build his chemical warfare
arsenal.

The plaintiffs are among the tens of thousands who came down with Gulf War Syndrome, a debilitating series of ailments that can include chronic
fatigue, skin rashes, muscle joint pain, memory loss and brain damage.

Now, plaintiffs' attorneys have acquired, for the first time, what they
believe is strong evidence of which companies supplied Iraq the chemicals
that might have been used to produce mustard gas, sarin nerve gas and VX.

The supplier list is included in Iraq's 1998 weapons declaration to the
United Nations, parts of which were resubmitted to weapons inspectors last
month. The Iraqi list names 56 suppliers of chemicals and equipment to
process them. A majority are based in Europe.

The lawsuit, originally filed by plaintiff attorney Gary Pitts in a civil
court in Brazoria County, Texas, in 1994, alleges that companies knew
"products and/or manufacturing facilities supplied ... were to be used to
produce chemical and biological weapons."

The suit seeks at least $1 billion in damages for medical expenses, lost
wages, pain and suffering.

Germany is home to the top suppliers listed in Iraq's 1998 U.N. declaration.
The Netherlands and Switzerland each are home to three companies on the
list. France, Austria and the United States each are home to two. The declaration says Singapore was the largest exporter of chemical weapons precursors.

Neither American company listed ? Alcolac International, based in Baltimore,
and Al-Haddad Trading, based in Nashville, are still in business. Alcolac
paid a fine in 1989 under U.S. law for one charge of exporting thiodiglycol,
a chemical that could be used to make mustard gas, but that shipment was
destined for another country.

If indeed that many U.S. soldiers were really sickened as a result of
exposure to chemical weapons in Iraq, U.S. casualties were nearly as high as those claimed by Iraq.

Baghdad put its losses at 75,000 to 100,000 soldiers killed in action and
35,000 to 45,000 civilians killed by allied bombing. U.S. officials
estimated 100,000 Iraqi soldiers killed and 300,000 wounded, and 2,500 to 3,000 Iraqi civilians killed by bombing.


Sempers,

Roger

United We Stand
God Bless America

Remember our POW/MIA's
I'll never forget!

[judyvillecco]

Sobering! I haven't forgotten either.

[Terry Cashatt]

I am also a Gulf War Veteran who stands a chance of going back. I have read the reports of the great number of Gulf War Veterans who are on disability from the first go around and I have to tell you it does not inspire confidence! I have also been reading about the "misplaced" medical records as well. Our veterans are going to have to look after each other!
TC

[colmurph]

Where are you getting your figures? I don't believe that 2 out of 5 are disabled. My kid was a grunt in the Gulf War as were most of his friends. He's not disabled and neither are any of his buddies. Where are these figures coming from? The same place that said that Blacks and the Poor were the ones who were killed in Vietnam?

[Terry Cashatt]

Sir, I for one have seen and heard those figures several times over the past few months. According to a VA report in April 2000, the VA had approved 183,037 claims from Gulf War veterans for service related injuries and illnesses of all kinds. That seems like a very high percentage of those who participated. That's not even counting those who have died since.
TC

[catman]

I don't know, think I would have to side with the COL on this. 40% is an extremely high rate. Of all the Gulf vets that I know, I am the only one receiving compensation.

Trav

[David]

It has a lot to do with were you were stationed at during that time. The government has released hot sheets of areas high in chemical concentrations. These sheets list the units affected. One of the items these sheets do not list are areas high in DU concentrations. Catman I think most Gulf War vets are not talking about their symptoms. Even if they are talking about them they may not be filing claims. I know several people in my unit that are having trouble and have met many others from other units that are having problems as well. These are not trivial problems either. One person in particular stands out. First he lost much of his hair. He also gets the rashes, urinates blood periodically and has red bumps on his skin that come and go. He has been diagnosed up one side and down the other and they cannot find out what is wrong with him. His symptoms come and go. He will not talk to me about his time in the gulf very much but I was able to get a small amount of information about his units drug use. As with our unit they were administered many different drugs in country that the news has never talked about. Our unit was given multiple sets of shots. We were also given pills of varying types for varying durations. I could really go into detail here but most don't want to hear it and I know that so I won't bore everyone. Suffice it to say at different points in time during our "treatments" people had odd reactions to the drugs administered. We also had constant chemical alerts going off. Top this all of with the fact that after three months in country they re-issued all of our chemical gear right down to the M-8 alarm paddles saying we had mistakenly been issued training gear. Kinda Jacobs Ladderish huh? Anyway that's the short version of the story, I have no doubt from what I know and from others I have met there are far more either now suffering in silence or heading for a disaster then have spoke up so far.

[catman]

David, I know people that are effected by GWS and some of them are from my old unit. I stated that I am the only one I know that is receiving compensation.

As you stated, we also received different meds for different things for different periods of time. That is until some of the guys started having problems and then we all refused to take anything.

Still 40%. There was roughly 550,000 troops in the theater in 1991, that means 220,000 are effected?

Please tell me what you know, could be I am way off base and would appreciate anything you are willing to teach.

Trav

[David]

PM'd you.