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Some Gulf War records on chemical weapons missing
In this story:
- Missing records cover key period
- Logs kept for Schwarzkopf
- Veterans group request led to discovery
- Related stories and sites
December 5, 1996
Web posted at: 9:50 a.m. EST
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Eight days of military logs covering a period when U.S. troops might have been exposed to nerve gas and other Iraqi chemical weapons shortly after the 1991 Gulf War cannot be found despite an exhaustive search.
The missing documents cover a period when U.S. troops blew up an Iraqi chemical weapons depot and could be crucial to Gulf War veterans who believe their health problems are linked to chemical weapons exposure.
A search began earlier this year when the Pentagon acknowledged the documents were missing. On Wednesday, the Pentagon said it had failed to find any of the missing pages.
Other portions previously made public show that U.S. commanders disregarded several reports of chemical detections during the war.
Missing records cover key period
The logs, which appear to have been removed or lost, are from March 4 to March 11, 1991.
During that period, U.S. combat engineers blew up the sprawling Kamisiyah ammunition depot in southern Iraq, which may have exposed thousands of U.S. troops to nerve gas.
The Pentagon has said it only learned last year that U.S. troops may have been exposed to chemical weapons when the weapons depot was blown up.
Logs kept for Schwarzkopf
The logs, kept for Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, were supposed to have recorded any incident in which chemical or biological agents were detected.
"We're trying to determine how many more logs there might be, and how they might have been lost," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.
Veterans group request led to discovery
The Defense Department, which at one time had denied to Congress that such combat records existed, released them last year to a Georgia veterans group that sought them under the Freedom of Information Act.
When the veterans group noted several pages from the logs were missing for key dates, the Pentagon said it would investigate.
But the Pentagon on Wednesday said it had not turned up any additional pages that would fill the gaps.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- More evidence, more complaints on Gulf War illness - November 13, 1996
- Gulf War probe focuses on destruction of Iraqi weapons - November 13, 1996
- CIA to probe allegations it covered up evidence of Gulf War chemical weapons exposure - November 1, 1996
- Gulf War troops may have been exposed to chemical weapons - June 21, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window- GulfLINK
- DefenseLINK
- Gulf War Veteran Resource Page
- Gulf War Syndrome Cover up, from Covert Action Quarterly
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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