Blowback

"Don’t use bug spray, don’t smoke and don’t drink alcohol."

That's the advice offered by scientists at Duke University who have confirmed that soldiers suffering from "Gulf War syndrome" were exposed to sarin gas in the 1991 war with Iraq. The Army Times has the details.

Research released in early May showed that 13 soldiers exposed to small amounts of sarin gas in the 1991 Gulf War had 5 percent less white brain matter — connective tissue — than soldiers who had not been exposed. A complementary report showed that 140 soldiers who were exposed had the fine motor skills of someone 20 years older — what researchers called a “direct correlation” to exposure.

Note that this sarin gas was not used in anger by Saddam Hussein against American troops. Rather, US forces "destroyed an Iraqi chemical weapons dump in Khamisiyah in March 1991."

Sometimes, those American bombers aren't bringing freedom.

As many as 300,000 US troops were exposed to sarin and 100,000 are at heightened risk of brain cancer.

If you are a vet of the Gulf War, the Pentagon has posted a list of units exposed to sarin gas.


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