Is the Gulf War Syndrome Real? On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The United States government actedvery quickly. Ships were dispatched to the Persian Gulf, and oil prices shot up as and oilembargo was placed against Iraq. The U.S. government told us that Saddam Hussein waspoised to invade the neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, and the worlds oilsupply was threatened. George Bush launched operation "Desert Shield" in which acoalition of many nation's armies gathered in the deserts of Saudi Arabia bordering Iraqand Kuwait. As the war began, the coalition of national armies assembled in Saudi Arabia tooka few SCUD missile shots fired from Iraq. When the troops started moving in, Sadam’sarmy turned and tried to get out of Kuwait. The Iraqi "Republican Guard" stayed safelyback, far from the fighting. Several hundred U.S. troops died in the brief battle, and ten'sof thousands of Iraqis died. Many, if not most, of the U.S. deaths were the result of"friendly fire". At this point, George Bush decided to bring the troops home. UN weaponsinspectors converged on Iraq and the coalition armies dispersed. Perhaps the most hypedwar in history was now over. It was almost certainly the war most orchestrated for themedia. All the troops had been drilled for months in preparation for a tremendous battleand possibly chemical and biological weapons. Suddenly it was over. They were sent homeand returned to their normal everyday lives. Memories of the threat of chemical andbiological weapons remained. Years pass before rumors begin to surface, a veteran suddenly died for no knowncause there was a veteran who developed an enormous tumor and there was a veteranwho's new child is severely malformed. The threat of chemical and biological weaponsreturns to everyone’s memory. People start thinking that perhaps this is the cause of allthese illnesses. The threat seemed very real. If it could be demonstrated that Gulf Warvetera...
