CNN logo
Navigation

Infoseek/Big Yellow


Pathfinder/Warner Bros


Barnes and Noble






Main banner
rule

Report: Panel attacks Pentagon on Gulf illness study

graphic October 26, 1997
Web posted at: 2:31 p.m. EST (1931 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A panel that led the main congressional investigation into the illnesses of Gulf war veterans will recommend stripping the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs of their authority in the matter, The New York Times reported Sunday.

The report by the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight said the two departments had "demonstrated unwillingness and inability to overcome institutional biases and constraints" in examining thousands of veterans' reports of illness following their return from the Gulf.

The report, expected to be made public this week, also concluded that "a variety of toxic agents in the Gulf war," including Iraqi chemical weapons and pesticides, probably caused the health problems reported by veterans.

Since the departments handled the case so badly, the report said, Congress should create or designate an independent agency to coordinate research into the ailments' cause.

"Sadly, when it comes to diagnosis, treatment and research for Gulf War veterans, we find the federal government too often has a tin ear, a cold heart and a closed mind," Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican, said in the introduction to the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Times.

Shays, the chair of the subcommittee that prepared the report, went on to say that the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs investigations were "irreparably flawed" and "plagued by arrogant incuriosity and a pervasive myopia that sees a lack of evidence as proof."

The House report was expected to receive bipartisan support and be approved by the committee in a vote this week.

A White House panel report, expected to be made public some days after the House report, is also likely to be critical of the Defense Department.

A draft of the report from the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses found the Pentagon had "an institutional culture and pervasive inclination" to ignore evidence that American soldiers may have been exposed to Iraqi chemical weapons, the newspaper said.

Lawmakers interviewed by the Times said they hope that the combination of the reports will force President Clinton to remove the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs department from any further investigation of the veterans' complaints.

But if the White House fails to act, members of Congress could offer legislation to meet the same goal, possibly reassigning the investigations to the National Institutes of Health or some other federal agency.

A spokesman for the Pentagon said the agency would withhold comment on the congressional report until it received a copy.

Last month, Defense Secretary William Cohen acknowledged that the Pentagon had done an inadequate job for several years in studying the ailments. But in the last year, he said, the military had mounted a far more aggressive inquiry.

"I believe the Pentagon is fully capable of conducting an investigation," he said.

After more than five years of denials, the Defense Department acknowledged last year that many American troops may have been exposed to chemical weapons during or after the war.

 
rule

Related stories:

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.


Infoseek search  


rule
Message Boards Sound off on our
message boards


You said it...
rule
To the top

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.