U.S. researchers confirm that "Gulf War Syndrome" was caused by Sarin nerve gas

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Anyone find it a bit odd for this story to break...



It was covered up by the Bush White House for political reasons as they wanted a "clean" victory in Desert Storm.

The bombing of Saddam Hussein's chemical weapon arsenal could be to blame for tens of thousands of British and US soldiers being struck down with the mysterious Gulf War syndrome, scientists say.

Puzzled researchers have spent decades searching for the root cause of the illness, which has left veterans battling fatigue, memory problems and chronic pain.

Now, a US Government-funded study claims to offer the 'most definitive' proof that the destruction of Iraq's cache of chemical weapons is responsible.

January 1991's explosions, centered around cities Muthanna and Fallujah, released sarin — a lethal nerve-agent — into the air.

Original theories over the cause of the illness centred around debris from depleted uranium munitions, but evidence has since built up to suggest sarin is to blame.

Dr Haley and colleagues examined 1,016 American soldiers who served during the conflict.

Half the participants had Gulf War syndrome symptoms — which can also include difficulty finding words, diarrhoea and sexual dysfunction. The others did not.

They had blood and DNA samples taken and were quizzed about whether they had heard chemical nerve gas alarms during their deployment.

Soldiers' samples were tested for a gene called PON1, which break down chemicals in the body.

One variant — called PON1Q — generates an enzyme that breaks down sarin.

Another variant — called PON1R — helps the body break down other chemicals but is not efficient at destroying sarin.

Everyone carries two copies of PON1, giving them either a QQ, RR or QR genotype.

The findings, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, show Gulf War veterans with the QQ genotype who heard nerve agent alarms – a proxy for chemical exposure – were 3.75-times more likely to have the syndrome than those who had not heard the alarm.

For those who had a QR genotype, hearing the alarms raised their chance of having Gulf War syndrome by 4.43 times.

And for those with two copies of the R gene — which is inefficient at breaking down sarin — the chance of the condition increased by 8.91 times.

The researchers said the gene data provides a 'high degree' of confidence that sarin causes the condition.

Dr Haley said: 'Your risk is going up step by step depending on your genotype, because those genes are mediating how well your body inactivates sarin.

'It doesn't mean you can't get Gulf War illness if you have the QQ genotype, because even the highest-level genetic protection can be overwhelmed by higher intensity exposure.'

The strong 'gene-environment interaction is considered a gold standard for showing that an illness' is caused by a particular environmental toxic exposure, he added.

Dr Hayley noted the finding 'doesn't rule out' that other chemical exposures could be responsible for some ill soldiers.

But he said the team's extensive genetic analysis did not appear to identify any other contributing chemicals.

Sarin, which can be a colourless liquid or gas, was first developed as a pesticide by Nazi Germany.

It was banned from production in 1997 but has since been used in chemical warfare, including in Syria and during a terror attack in Japan.

The research was funded by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.

The US military has confirmed sarin was detected in Iraq during the Gulf War, which lasted for six months.

Dr Haley said: 'As far back as 1995, when we first defined Gulf War illness, the evidence was pointing toward nerve agent exposure, but it has taken many years to build an irrefutable case.'

Daily Mail

Although started by the Bush administration, the coverup was bipartisan lasting through many administrations. No administration wanted to pay the billions in health care costs for vets exposed to Sarin gas, so they invented a "Gulf War Syndrome" story & stuck with it for decades.

According to the article which has a map embedded, many of these chemical sites were on Saudi soil. And just a few days ago the US establishment is now linking the Saudis for the post 9/11 Anthrax attack, due to Saudis enabling Putin.

[727Sky]

Probably cheaper declaring that than admitting the shots the troops took caused the syndrome ?? They want you to believe in their good graces and never disparage the shots you were forced to take, IMO.

[ChiefD]

It’s good to know the truth, but someone needs to be held accountable for the cover up. Absolutely appalling and disgusting for the PTB to not give two shits about the military.

[Brotherman]

In my era of the war in Iraq I can’t wait to find out what nifty and interesting things are going to come of the chemical weapon burnings and toxic shit from bombings I’ll develop in the next few years. I’m actually excited to learn about all the pain and suffering I’ll go through again.


FTW

[727Sky]

It was agent orange that the government fought against admitting any cause of the troops sickness for many years avoiding any money for the sick.  A friend by the name of Bickel whom we helped get a job with the Airline died at age 43 after his nails turned to mush and his liver failed.. That was another low point in my life when I once again realized troops fight for their fellow troops and units while all are just useful pawns to those who control the money and send young people to fight their wars with empty promises.

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

It was agent orange that the government fought against admitting any cause of the troops sickness for many years avoiding any money for the sick.  A friend by the name of Bickel whom we helped get a job with the Airline died at age 43 after his nails turned to mush and his liver failed.. That was another low point in my life when I once again realized troops fight for their fellow troops and units while all are just useful pawns to those who control the money and send young people to fight their wars with empty promises.

No surprise. "The" government, has always viewed the people as tools of limited value.

We still to this day choose to believe the lie that we control the government and that voting is some magic super power, as we line up for mandatory vaccines, wear mandatory items, from face masks, to identification papers, or risk jail, lockdown, or punitive actions.

It is not a matter of waking up, most people today are no longer sleep walking, they have just become so comfortable with the paradigm that they fear true freedom, so they embrace slavery.

[Snarl]

It was agent orange that the government fought against admitting any cause of the troops sickness for many years avoiding any money for the sick.  A friend by the name of Bickel whom we helped get a job with the Airline died at age 43 after his nails turned to mush and his liver failed.. That was another low point in my life when I once again realized troops fight for their fellow troops and units while all are just useful pawns to those who control the money and send young people to fight their wars with empty promises.

I think every vet reaches that conclusion sooner or later.  It's worse if you're doing it for almost no coin at all.  It's also sad so many bonds you'd think would last a lifetime ... dissolve when you're not looking.

My time in the Middle East and Africa (as a contractor) shed a different light on the USA's wars.  Being able to walk away, if the money or working conditions aren't right, isn't what military service is all about though.  Contractors changed the battlefield.

Had an encounter with a very angry LTC over there.  He told me we were making relationships with the local pop impossible.  I always thought we kept the local pop from making him dead (or a POW).  I see him around here time-to-time.  I don't know if he remembers me exactly or not.  Don't much care.

[beez]

As a tech (I was never a gun-firing, hill-charging type) part of my job was the constant calibration of NBC detectors.

My exposure was always secondary, yet the Doc at Landstuhl verified me with Gulf War Syndrome.

I aways knew.  COuldn't say much, but I always knew.

[ABNARTY]

That's how you do it. 

Deny everything for a few decades. Then a "maybe". Then, after a pile of medical costs are averted because many of them are dead, you can claim there is a real cause. 

Before this, they were crazy vets. Loons. Fakers.