Gulf War Syndrome
Source: Nexus Magazine August-September 1997
©1997 by David G. Guyatt Already, more than 10,000 are dead and 250,000 are sick
from Gulf War syndrome. What secret is so terrible (or
embarrassing) that necessitates a cover-up of the facts?
TRUTH IS THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR
The air raid siren went off." Former Royal Air Force
Corporal Richie Turnbull wheezed and coughed as he spoke.
He is one of tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans who have been
diagnosed with a fistful of illnesses attributed to service in the
Gulf War. These include emphysema, angina, asthma, arteriosclerosis,
arthritis, short-term memory loss, muscle wasting, cough syncope and
numerous other debilitating ailments. Before deployment to the Gulf,
Turnbull was an accomplished and superbly fit sub-aqua diver. Today,
he walks with the aid of canes, slowly.
With understandable pride he told me how he had "proved
Soames to be a liar three times". The reference was to the former
Conservative Minister of State for the Armed Forces,
the Honourable Nicholas Soames, MP. Many vets uncharitably
call the former minister "Fatty Soames", owing to his handsome girth.
The appellation reflects the seething contempt of an individual whom
vets regard as one of the principal architects of a monstrous
transatlantic cover-up.
Turnbull was an RAF Senior Electrician in a Nuclear,
Biological & Chemical (NBC) unit and an experienced
instructor on NBC equipment. He was stationed at the giant
military base located at Dhahran on the night of 20 January
1991, when air raid sirens began wailing madly. Incoming
Scud missiles were detected and a nearby US Patriot battery
fired off intercept missiles. One of the missiles downed
the Scud which landed a mere 400 yards from Turnbull. The
impact left an eight-foot-deep crater but, curiously, the
giant ground-to-ground missile did not explode.
"All the nerve agent detectors sounded the alarm,"
Turnbull recalls. As an NBC expert he ran three tests which
confirmed the presence of "G agent", otherwise known as
Sarin-the deadly nerve agent developed by the Nazis in
World War II. Turnbull ran a further three "residual vapour
detector tests" which also showed the presence of nerve
agents. In all, he says, "thirty-three items of equipment
showed that chemical weapons had been detected".1
"NBC Condition Black" was sounded and everyone on the
base rushed to don their NBC "Noddy" suits. Incredibly, 20
minutes later an all-clear siren ("NBC Condition White") sounded and
troops removed their protective clothing accordingly. Twenty minutes
later "NBC Condition Black" sounded again, and remained in force for a
further eight hours.
Turnbull, who says he is "absolutely certain it was a
chemical weapon attack", is understandably angry. Sounding
the all-clear when nerve agents were shown to be present
was, he says, "the biggest cock-up in history". Hundreds of
troops were needlessly exposed to Sarin, he believes.2
Turnbull continues to be a thorn in the side of
Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the US Department of Defense
(DoD). Both maintain that chemical weapons were not
intentionally used by Iraq's Saddam Hussein. A spokesman at
the MoD had earlier told me that he was a Royal Navy officer and was
"in theatre" during the Gulf War. He went on to assure me personally
that had the Iraqis intentionally used chemical and biological (CB)
weapons "we would have retaliated in kind"-an allusion to US President
Bush's threat to retaliate with a nuclear strike if Saddam Hussein
unleashed his prodigious chemical armoury on coalition troops.
In the event, it was an empty threat-old-fashioned
political rhetoric dished out for the folks at home.
CHEMICAL ATTACK OR COCK-UP?
Faced with mounting evidence of chemical weapons
exposure by coalition troops, both the British and US governments
belatedly acknowledge that chemical weapons dumps were bombed, or
otherwise destroyed, by coalition forces. They even acknowledge that
the resulting plume of toxic material, blown by the wind, is likely to
have exposed many thousands of coalition troops to these deadly
agents. In other words, it was an unforeseen accident. This admission
is known in intelligence parlance as a "limited hangout"-a technique
designed to show that they are now telling the truth. They are not.
Pat Eddington, a former CIA intelligence analyst, in his
book, Gassed in the Gulf, scathingly uncovers the
institutionalised dishonesty within the CIA and the DoD over Gulf War
Syndrome (GWS).3 Reasonably, he argues that based on the increasing
number of vets prepared to speak of their experiences, it is clear
beyond all doubt that coalition forces came under a series of Iraqi
chemical and biological weapons attacks.4 Like Admiral Nelson placing
a telescope over his blind eye, then exclaiming he can "see no ships",
the Mandarins in Whitehall and Washington are wilfully blind to what
they don't care to acknowledge. Yet, the evidence is overwhelming.
Ray Bristow had served 20 years with the Territorial
Army. When not involved with his TA duties, Bristow was an operating
theatre technician at his local hospital. He was
mobilised on 27 December 1990, promoted to a Warrant Officer, and sent
to the 32 Field Hospital located at Wadi al Batin, just a few
kilometres away from the town of Hafar al Batin.5 On 19 January 1991
he and other personnel watched as a Scud missile roared overhead and
exploded in an airburst. He could clearly see a cloud of vapour
discharge from the Scud. The NBC alarms (known as NAIADS), scattered
around the base, wailed loudly, alerting the troops of "NBC Condition
Black". "We were Scudded," Bristow
said, and the specialised equipment detected the presence of chemical
agents.6
Also present at Wadi al Batin that evening was former
Sergeant Shaun Rusling. Previously with 23 Para Regiment's
5 Airborne Field Ambulance, Rusling was an experienced Special Forces
medic. His duties were to attend to the sick and wounded of Britain's
One Armoured Brigade. This soon grew to encompass caring for other
coalition forces and Iraqi casualties, too. He watched the Scud
explosion and saw the cloud of vapour bloom overhead. He also believes
the unit came under artillery attack with rounds containing chemical
weapons.7
Numerous boxes of 155-mm chemical ammunition were
secretly recovered by coalition troops in the Kuwait Theatre of
Operations (KTO) during the ground war and subsequent mopping-up
operations. Made in the USA, they had been supplied to Iraq via
Jordan.
Nor were Scud and artillery bombardments isolated
incidents. Terry Walker was a Corporal with the Royal Army Ordnance
Corp and detached to a "Forward Repair Group" of an armoured workshop.
He was present at Al Jubayl when two Scuds exploded above them.8 No
prior warning was sounded. This, he recalls, was "the worst morning
with two almighty explosions above the Port". Immediately chemical
detectors madly sounded "NBC Condition Black", and this was "followed
by sheer panic with hundreds of guys running for cover". Walker hid
among the rocks of the Port "for about four five hours". Later, "an
officer came along saying we've been hit with chemical agents". The
next day he and the other personnel on the base were told the cloud
vapour was nothing more than aircraft fuel leaking from a damaged
plane-an explanation he and the others disbelieve. Aviation fuel does
not trigger the NAIAD detectors. Today, Walker suffers from a number
of illnesses and strongly believes there has been a massive cover-up.
"My wife is ill and my little girl is ill, too," he said during a
telephone interview, then added that his "medical notes from the RAF
hospital have gone missing".
The Al Jubayl attack was also witnessed by
Sergeant-Major Paul Grant who commanded a team of Royal Army Ordnance
Corp specialists. In the early hours of 19 January 1991, Grant was
awoken by a distinctive overhead explosion. He is in no
doubt whatsoever that this was an airburst, not a ground explosion.
NAIADS detectors began sounding "NBC Condition
Black". The first explosion was followed by a second
airburst explosion. Around the base loudspeakers warned,
"This is not a drill!" His story corroborates those of
other vets I have interviewed. However, Scud chemical
attacks were not limited to Al Jubayl.9
COALITION COMPLICITY
Yet despite this testimony, these and other vets
continue to be treated with official contempt. As recently as
January 1997, the Countess of Mar posed a parliamentary question in
the House of Lords which asked if the MoD had any "documentary
evidence of chemical warfare" in the Gulf conflict-a curious question
which was limited only to chemical attack. Questions regarding the use
of biological weapons remain unutterable. In his reply, the Earl Howe
stated that research conducted by the MoD "does not indicate any
confirmed use of chemical warfare agents during the conflict"-which is
an even more curious answer.
Who, conceivably, could confirm the use of chemical
weapons other than those trained soldiers present during a chemical
attack? Likewise, the tens of thousands of "detections"
triggered by chemical agent detectors throughout the conflict are
simply categorised as "alleged detections" which were "uncorroborated
at the time". Again, a careful and deceitful choice of words.10,11
But behind the intentional use of chemical agents by
Iraq lurks a far more sinister story which hitherto has not
being told in any detail. Biological weapons, unlike chemical agents,
don't just kill on the battlefield: survivors returning home carry
with them the potential seeds of destruction. These, in turn, can
infect the families of Gulf War vets-a situation that is now
occurring.
Importantly, the British and US governments were well
aware of the potential use of both chemical and biological
weapons by Saddam Hussein. They had, after all, supplied him with the
wherewithal to develop his ferocious CB armoury. This included
sophisticated equipment together with the necessary chemical
precursors and biological cultures.
This knowledge led the British and US governments to
vaccinate their troops with a 'cocktail' designed to protect them
against both chemical and biological attack. Vaccines given to
coalition troops included, amongst others, anthrax, botulism and
bubonic plague. Cultures for all three were supplied to Iraq by the US
Government during the middle/late 1980s for use in Iraq's CB weapons
program.12
BIO-WEAPONS AND "THE SECRET TEAM"
"British personnel were infected with anthrax spores,"
spoke Angus Parker with quiet certainty. I had interviewed a number of
Gulf War veterans who recounted their
experiences of coming under CB attack from the Iraqis. All
are angry and frustrated at the stonewalling attitude of
Britain's Ministry of Defence regarding their numerous
illnesses which fall under the catch-all banner of Gulf War
Syndrome. Eventually, one vet gave me a telephone number,
saying, "You should speak to Angus."
Initially, Angus Parker was cautious, but after a few
minutes he warmed to his story. Methodically, he first
outlined for me the existing Soviet battlefield doctrine associated
with Scud missiles armed with chemical and biological weapons. This is
known, Parker said, as "a mixed load". The Scud warhead would
typically consist of a deathly combination of explosives and chemical
and biological agents of mixed intensities. The quantity of explosives
would be small, but sufficient to ensure that the CB mixture would
form a wide vapour plume over the target.
A former soldier in the Territorial Army, Angus Parker
operated for a top-secret British unit. He has never before gone on
record with his story, but frustration mixed with
growing anger has led him to "blow this wide open".
Following the injection of 12 vaccines in one morning,
Parker suffered an adverse reaction. As a result he was
hospitalised and his deployment to the Gulf delayed. "I was
left behind and got out on the last days of the ground war," he said.
This and his civilian occupation as a technician in a haematology lab
resulted in his being attached to the 1st Field Laboratory Unit, known
as "The Secret Team". The unit "existed only once before in World War
I, but was mothballed until the Gulf War," Parker stated, adding that
when he returned from the Gulf he was told that "I was not to disclose
the nature or role of the team I was serving with". So secret was the
unit, he said,
that "it does not appear in any listing".13,14
What Angus Parker has revealed is extremely disturbing.
The 1st Field Laboratory Unit was composed of 40 men working in eight
teams of five. It was deployed from Porton Down,
Britain's biological warfare headquarters. Parker, ranked Sergeant,
was second in command of one of the five-man teams. "As the biological
warfare reconnaissance team, we were sampling the environment looking
for biological weapons," he said, adding that "this was difficult and
hard to do. We could only identify four agents: plague, anthrax,
botulism toxin A and B-that's all." The specialised equipment they had
to work with to identify bio-weapons was not very sophisticated.
Parker has confirmed that his unit found numerous
positive samples of biological organisms that couldn't be analysed and
identified on the battlefield. "Many, many more were
present" than the four they could identify. Positive samples were
collected and shipped in freezer units to Boscombe Down for analysis
by the Porton Down CB specialists.
Significantly, in addition to confirming that his unit
positively identified the presence of anthrax at Dhahran,
Parker also revealed that another team of the 1st Field Laboratory
Unit identified the presence of plague at Wadi al Batin.
Angus Parker has tried in vain to get other members of
his unit to come forward and speak openly, but they are too
scared to do so. "They're not sick and still have their jobs," he
explained.
Parker is not alone in revealing the use of biological
weapons in the Gulf War. US Marine Corps battlefield logs released
under the Freedom of Information Act confirm the
findings of Porton Down's "Secret Team". On 24 February 1991, the US
Army's 513th Military Intelligence Brigade confirmed the use of
anthrax at King Khalid Military City.15
However, like events in Britain, important and
potentially incriminating records have mysteriously gone "missing".
Two US Marines at Camp Pendleton, San Diego, have gone public to say
they observed "hundreds of records from the Gulf War being
destroyed".16 This and numerous other accounts of
records being "destroyed" and going "missing" can only lead
to charges of a massive "Gulf-Wargate" cover-up.
US BIOLOGICAL ARMS TO IRAQ
A 1994 Senate Report, entitled "Arming Iraq: The Export
of Biological Materials and the Health of Gulf War Veterans",
underscores the biological threat possessed by the Iraqis. More often
referred to as "the Riegle Report", named after its author, Donald J.
Riegle, Jr, the Report itemises
biological cultures supplied to Iraq by the US. Riegle and
his team identified no less than 61 batches of biologically
hazardous materials exported to Iraq. "Between the years
1985 and 1989, the United States Government approved the sales of
quantities of potentially lethal biological agents that could have
been cultured and grown in very large quantities in an Iraqi
biological warfare program," Riegle stated. These included pathogenic
materials, "which means disease-producing items, and toxigenic,
meaning poisonous items."17 The Report added that "we were not able to
get any records prior to 1985". Riegle then included an extract from a
Department of Defense summary report written in 1992:
"By the time of the invasion of Kuwait, Iraq had
developed biological weapons. Its advanced and aggressive biological
warfare program was the most advanced in the Arab world. The program
probably began in the 1970s and concentrated on the development of two
agents, botulinum toxin and anthrax
bacteria... Delivery means for biological agents ranged from simple
aerial bombs and artillery rockets to surface-to-surface missiles."
Other biological agents provided by the US to Saddam
Hussein's biological warfare program included Histoplasma
capsulatum, which can cause symptoms resembling tuberculosis and lead
to the enlargement of the liver and spleen as well as anaemia and skin
disease-symptoms that many veterans now exhibit. Another organism was
Brucella melitensis, which, when 'weaponised', causes chronic fatigue,
profuse sweating and loss of appetite, joint pains, insomnia and
nausea, and can potentially result in major damage to the vital
organs. Again, these symptoms reflect the conditions experienced by
thousands of Gulf War veterans. In addition to the foregoing,
shipments to Iraq also included "E. coli and genetic materials, human
and
bacterial DNA".18
Furious at the way the Department of Defense has
side-stepped these disgraceful issues, Riegle fired off a volley of
letters to various officials. One letter identified that the "average
cost" of each of the various biological specimens shipped to Iraq was
"less than $60.00" and that they were "acquired from a not-for-profit
organization".19
Stories also circulating of a genetically engineered
organism being used in the Gulf War are paralleled by
stories from British veterans who also claim the use of a modified
mycoplasma organism. These vets include Angus Parker who had earlier
said it was "an infectious organism manufactured in the US". Oddly
enough, this is one of the enduring aspects of the "Octopus" story
involving engineered bio-organisms supplied to Iraq by the Wackenhut
Corporation, the giant US private-sector security company whose board
of directors reads like a roll call of military and intelligence
alumni. It is an allegation supported by US investigative journalist
Carol Marshall in her
manuscript, "The Last Circle".20
Marshall has spent years investigating the allegations
of Michael Riconosciuto-a former CIA scientific whiz-kid. Riconosciuto
claimed that while working for the Wackenhut Corporation at its
Cabazon Indian Reservation facility he developed advanced and
genetically altered biological
warfare agents. One such agent, he alleged, was a "race-specific"
organism, genetically engineered to attack certain races or groups.
Unleashed it could kill or render ill all those of a particular ethnic
group, leaving others entirely unharmed.
Clearly, the possibility of genetically modified
bio-weapons having been used in the Gulf War cannot be entirely ruled
out.21
Significantly, in the US Army War College publication
entitled "The Revolution in Military Affairs and Conflict Short of
War" (dated July 25, 1994), authors Steven Metz
and James Kievit also discuss this touchy subject. On page 16 they
state: "Certain biotechnical weapons-considered by some to violate the
biological warfare convention to which the United States is a
signatory-also may transgress American values regarding appropriate
means." They go on to ask: "Could the government and military of this
multi-ethnic republic face charges that it was developing or using a
weapon targeting Africans, Jews Koreans, ispanics, etc.?" The authors
then conclude that, "Overcoming these constraints...would require
fundamental changes in the United States-an ethical and political
revolution may be necessary to make a military revolution." This, the
authors "hypothesise", could be achieved by remodelling the way
Americans think, and also via the effective control of news management
using "advanced psychotechnology" and other techniques such a
"morphing".
EXPERIMENTAL VACCINES COVER-UP
If genetically engineered biological weapons are now
available, it is certain that there will have been developed the
necessary antidotes in the form of vaccines. All of the vets I
interviewed for this article spoke of the large number of vaccines
with which they were injected. Shaun Rusling received 24 vaccinations
over a four-week period. Two of these vaccinations were classified
secret, and were "experimental", he believes. Richard Turnbull got a
dose of 13 inoculations in just 10 minutes. Four of them were
unidentified and classified
secret. He also believes them to have been experimental.
Ray Bristow was informed in a letter from Brigadier
McDermott of the MoD that some of his injections were also
classified. Later he was informed by the Surgeon General, Admiral
Revell, that this was not the case and that Brigadier McDermott's
statement was incorrect. How many vaccines were classified secret? The
Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Revell, during a "behind closed doors"
meeting of Parliament's Defence Committee, was asked, "How many
vaccines do we not admit to?" He replied,
saying, "I think probably about five or six."22
All previously classified vaccines were declassified on
10 December 1996, according to a letter dated 20 January 1997 from the
Ministry of Defence. A spokesman at the MoD
confirmed this in a telephone call on Friday 30 May 1997, adding that
there were only three vaccines that had ever been classified. He told
me these were: anthrax, pertussis and plague. This statement is
confirmed in a letter to Shaun Rusling, dated 20 January 1997, in
which the MoD confided that "the vaccines you were given against
potential biological warfare threats were anthrax, pertussis (as an
adjuvant) and plague. These are the only vaccinations which have ever
been classified." This is a
far cry from the testimony of Surgeon General Revell in the
closed-door hearings of the Defence Committee in which he said there
were "five or six" vaccines which were "not admitted to".
I posed this discrepancy to the Ministry of Defence.
Surgeon General Revell's testimony before the Defence
Committee was "a misunderstanding", the MoD spokesman said.
Despite this "misunderstanding", the medical records of Corporal
Richard Turnbull clearly state that four vaccines-not three-were
classified secret.
Turnbull is not alone in this respect. Ray Bristow's
list of shots, including anthrax (batch no. 0190), plague (batch no.
10H03A) and pertussis adjuvant (batch no. B1868a)-to name just those
three that were officially classified-also detail two other vaccines
labelled "biological". These are still classified secret and their
contents remain
"unknown". The story is identical for Shaun Rusling, even down to the
same batch numbers of the vaccines he received.23
The Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Revell, stated in one
letter that, "Unfortunately, medical record-keeping in the
Gulf was not as thorough as it should have been..." and, as a
consequence, details of certain vaccinations are now missing-a
position that remains the government's official line.
A number of veterans now believe they have been used as
unwitting guinea pigs and are deeply concerned at what
precisely may have been pumped into them. Once again, Porton Down's
Angus Parker dropped another bombshell. Patiently, he explained that
"the MoD has not been totally honest about the vaccines used against
us". I couldn't help but catch his use of the word "against" us
instead of "on" us. Clearly, he now considers the Ministry of Defence
and others in the Whitehall bureaucracy to be bitter enemies-and he is
by no means alone in holding that view. A few vets repeatedly warned
me that the "Security Services" are paying them close attention. Some
have had their phones tapped and others experience peculiar mail
delivery problems.
Meanwhile, Parker went on to reveal the chemical
structure of one of the apparently 'still not admitted to' vaccines.
"There is an experimental vaccine-an AIDS vaccine," he
said. This "has been around since approximately 1990." He went on to
explain that this vaccine contains two components. One component is
known as a "cytokine" which, Parker said, is an "immune potentiator".
It works like a "chemical messenger sent between different cells in
the body". When it detects a foreign organism, "it actually stimulates
a response by the human immune system" to fight and hopefully destroy
the alien organism present.
Parker's analysis of this component was confirmed by a
spokesman for London's Biochemical Society, who added that
it was "feasible" that cytokines could be "purified and cloned" and
used to fight "against any agent". The spokesman added, moreover, that
cytokines were very "hush-hush", were "cutting-edge technology", and
"logically" would have been "adopted by the military". They were, she
added, "experimental".
According to Parker, the second component consisted of
experimental HIV gene envelopes. He went on to explain one
of the basic problems with this experimental vaccine. Whereas
cytokines readily drop out of the body after awhile, "fragments" of
the HIV genes do not. Although there may have been "good operational
reasons" for topping up the vaccine with HIV genes, Parker
acknowledged that no one knows the long-term consequences. "It was
experimental," he emphasised, and had been originally developed by
Porton Down as an AIDS vaccine.24,25
The question of HIV gene envelopes was put to the
Biochemical Society's spokesman, who stated that these envelopes "can
be created to be specifically resistant to CBW". The spokesman went on
to explain that gene envelopes are effectively the "walls" that
surround the nucleus of each cell and are thus the first line of
defence against diseases-whether they be naturally acquired or as a
result of CB weapons attack. HIV gene envelopes are among the most
powerful and resistant known to science, she added.
Professor Beverley of the Edward Jenner Institute for
Vaccine Research could think of no theoretical reason why
HIV gene envelopes would be used other than to "stimulate a
response against HIV". He went on to speculate that had HIV gene
envelopes been used in a vaccine, logically this would only have
occurred as protection against a possible attack using HIV as a
bio-weapon. There was, he felt, no other conceivable reason, but added
that had such a vaccine been "given to Gulf War soldiers it would have
been speculative".
The picture that emerges is confusing. The use of
cytokines does have a rational explanation, for cytokines trigger the
body's immune system. As such, they could be an ideal general vaccine
for use in a CB warfare setting. However, the rationale behind using
HIV gene envelopes is less certain and considerably more perplexing.
Unfortunately, there is not enough detailed information available in
regard to the HIV gene envelopes to reach anything but a speculative
conclusion.
Some weeks prior to my interview with Professor
Beverley, Angus Parker told me in a throwaway comment, "I don't even
want to get into AIDS as a weapon." At that time, nor did
I. Professor Beverley's certitude that this is the only conceivable
reason why HIV gene envelopes would have been used, leaves a sour
taste in my mouth.
However, for clarity's sake, I leave the last word with
Angus Parker. Told of Professor Beverley's theory, he
remained adamant that there was another reason why HIV gene
envelopes had been used. His information, he insisted, came
directly from the horse's mouth, and I am inclined to accept what he
has revealed. At the outbreak of the Gulf War there were not enough
stocks of cytokines to go around; thus, a decision was made to top
them up with the HIV gene envelopes which, he assured me, act in a
very similar fashion to cytokines in that they trigger the body's
immune system. Significantly, Professor Beverley confirmed this when
he said that "they do indeed trigger and regulate the way the body
relates to pathogens".26
Clearly, Parker's revelations-if proved true-are
stunning.27 The secret use of an experimental vaccine on British
military personnel may be one of the most significant reasons why the
Ministry of Defence continues to stonewall vets about the vaccines
they received. To admit to involuntary human testing on such a
sensitive issue will lead to a public relations disaster of huge
proportions. As one ill vet told me, "I was ordered to
volunteer" for the shots. He now wishes he hadn't. The second
potential reason clearly opens a can of worms about the possible
development of HIV as a biological weapon.28
BUSINESS AS USUAL
But there are other equally powerful reasons to keep the
lid on the Gulf War Syndrome story. Pat Eddington, the
former CIA analyst, has no doubt that the principal reason
for the US Government's stonewalling tactic is to cover up
the supply of CB weapons to Iraq prior to the Gulf War. For
the US Government to admit to such cynical irresponsibility
would result in public outrage, Eddington says.
Eddington also chastises the Senate whose members
selfishly refuse to act against the wishes of the Pentagon. Their
delinquency of duty has resulted in the side-lining of in excess of
100,000 Gulf War veterans who now exhibit a range of symptoms typical
of chemical, and, in some cases, biological attack. In this 'business
as usual' scenario, Eddington also reserves some powder and shot for
the major media who are largely willing to accept, at face value, the
cloying PR handouts from the Department of Defense.
Hopelessly abandoned by one and all, many thousands of
vets have now died as a result of their chemically inspired
battle injuries, adding even more incentive to the Pentagon
to continue the cover-up.
But in the final analysis, the reasons surrounding the
British and US governments' disgraceful obfuscation are
many. Certainly, the prior supply of CB weapons to Iraq is enough to
make many government officials quake with the fear of disgrace. It is
a similar rationale that continues to eclipse the illegal use of
experimental, unlicensed and highly sensitive drugs. Not least,
however, is the knowledge that defence against chemical and biological
weapons attacks is utterly shambolic. Pat Eddington states that CBW
protective suits and gas masks are: "...(a) notoriously defective, and
(b) in very short supply-two
problems that have yet to be corrected more than six years later." He
adds, "That's not something the Pentagon wants to advertise to the
likes of Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Kim Jong Il or Colonel Qadhafi."29
Yet few can doubt that the intelligence services of
Iran, North Korea or Libya are already aware of the published
shortcomings of American and British CBW protective equipment. A more
significant fear may be the realisation inside the Pentagon and the
Ministry of Defence that their own troops will be less than willing to
wade into a future CB battle zone virtually buck-naked.
Armed only with an uncertain dose of HIV but the certain
knowledge that-thanks to the grace of greed and military
commercialism-those chemical and biological organisms you are about to
inhale and absorb have "made at home" stencilled all over them, would
you volunteer for military service?
About the Author: Born in England, David Guyatt is a
freelance investigative journalist whose former career as an executive
in international banking and finance provided the background that
inspired his research into the shady world of
international weapons financing, narcotics trafficking and
money laundering. He has worked with the International Committee of
the Red Cross on weapons-related projects; the charity
pressure-group World Development Movement on British arms
financing; and the leading British TV documentary program,
World in Action. David Guyatt's current research interests include
military/ intelligence mind-control programs and non-lethal weapons
systems, as well as the hidden influence of elitist groups around the
globe.
Endnotes:
1. The CB attack on Dhahran on 20 January 1991 is
confirmed in US CENTCOM battlefield logs obtained under FOIA.
Delivery was via a Scud missile.
2. Telephone interview with this writer, dated 12 May
1997.
3. Eddington, Pat, Gassed in the Gulf, Insignia
Publishing Co., Washington, DC, USA, 1997 (http://www.InsigniaUSA.com)
4. Eddington convincingly argues&emdashbased on captured
Iraqi documents&emdashthat chemical and bio-warfare agents were used
in non-lethal doses. This explains why coalition
troops did not keel over and die immediately. Iraqi CB doctrine was to
use low but repetitive doses, which they calculated would produce
greater long-term damage, Eddington says.
5. US CENTCOM logs confirmed a later Scud attack on
Hafar al Batin on 14 February 1991.
6. Telephone interview with this writer, dated 13 May
1997.
7. Telephone interview with this writer, dated 13 May
1997.
8. The Al Jubayl incident is the most comprehensively
documented case of CB attack by the Iraqis. Records obtained under
FOIA indicate that Scuds were not used.
Delivery of the CB weapon was almost certainly as a result of aircraft
penetration, possibly a Russian-manufactured Sukhoi SU-22 Fitter
fighter-bomber.
9. Telephone interview with this writer, dated 15 May
1997.
10. Parliamentary Q & As in this writer's possession.
11. A total of 55 incidents have been recorded to date
by US CENTCOM logs. CB attacks began on 17 January 1991 and
continued throughout the ground war in all major sectors.
12. See Report by Senator Donald J. Riegle to the US
Senate, titled "Arming Iraq: The Export of Biological
Materials and the Health of Gulf War Veterans", dated 9 February 1994.
Bacillus anthracis cohn and Clostridium botulinum type A cultures were
shipped on 2 May 1988. In all, Riegle was able to identify no less
than 61 biological cultures supplied to Iraq between 1985-89. Some of
these included human gene clones.
13. Telephone interviews with this writer, dated 13 and
14 May 1997.
14. I have been given a copy of an MoD written statement
regarding the 1st Field Laboratory Unit which states: "We can confirm
that this unit operated in the Gulf. Its primary task was related to
the detection of biological warfare agents, of which there was a real
and compelling threat. As part of their work they were monitoring the
effectiveness of the biological immunisation programme."
15. Bernstein, Dennis, "Gulf War Syndrome Covered Up",
Covert Action Quarterly, no. 43, Winter 1992/3.
16. ibid.
17. "Riegle Report", p. 3.
18. op. cit., p. 5.
19. Donald J. Riegle's letter to William Perry, US
Defense Secretary, dated 9 February 1994.
20. Carol Marshall's manuscript, "The Last Circle",
running to 140 pages, is a comprehensive investigation into the
so-called "Octopus".
21. Significantly, the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) is concerned about the development of "genetic
weapons" and fears that "the possibility exists for their misuse for
political ends". The ICRC warns that developments of
gene/race-specific weapons may or could be taking place. See "Expert
Meeting on Certain Weapon Systems and on Implementation Mechanisms in
International War", ICRC, Geneva, Switzerland, July 1994.
22. A copy of this memorandum is in my possession.
23. The only difference is that Rusling received a
hepatitis B jab, whereas Bristow received hepatitis A. In all other
respects their lists of vaccines are identical & emdashincluding two
that remain classified.
24. Parker states that he has received confirmation of
the use of the HIV gene vaccine from a well-placed and
extremely knowledgeable source, whom he is unable to identify.
25. I understand Porton Down denies any involvement in
HIV research, but see notes below.
26. I couldn't help but note the use of the
plural&emdasha usage that seems inconsistent with his otherwise firm
statement. It had taken me two days and numerous phone
calls before I was finally able to make contact with Professor
Beverley. I had been given his number by an individual working in the
field of immunology. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this individual
had contacted Porton Down, revealing the interest and direction of my
questions&emdasha fact she revealed the following day when I phoned
back with an additional question. Meanwhile, Angus Parker was told,
via a circuitous route, that the MoD was
very "displeased" with him for talking to me. A paranoid may well
consider that two days "in the world of shadows" is a very long time
indeed.
27. They also raise the question of why Britain's
top-secret bio-warfare lab is involved in developing an AIDS vaccine.
The possibility that AIDS has been 'weaponised' & emdashapparently a
technical possibility&emdashis an old and largely discounted story
attributed to a Cold War disinformation campaign.
28. Perhaps a 'red herring'?
29. Correspondence with this writer.
Volume 4, #5
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E-mail: david.g7@ukonline.co.uk