Richard Shelby: “I am here today to issue a report following my investigation into the possible presence of chemical and biological…”

“I am here today to issue a report following my investigation into the possible presence of chemical and biological weapons agents in the theater of operations during the Persian Gulf war. Additionally, I will discuss the possible connection between service in the Persian Gulf and the unexplained illness affecting thousands of veterans and their families. When Iraqi forces, at the direction of Saddam Hussein, crossed into Kuwait on August 2, 1990, they set off a chain reaction of events that resulted in the assembling of the largest coalition of forces since the Second World War. Countries that had been on opposite sides of the cold war were now joined with the expressed goal of driving Saddam Hussein's troops out of Kuwait. The United States led this effort with over 600,000 members of our armed services, including over 200,000 reservists. At the time of the Iraqi invasion, there was a strong belief among the coalition forces that chemical and even biological agents would be used as weapons by Iraq. Within a year after the highly successful Desert Storm operation, reports surfaced of a mystery illness affecting many veterans, primarily members of the National Guard and Reserve, who served in Saudi Arabia. This group is experiencing symptoms commonplace to many known illnesses. However, in the case of the Gulf War veterans, we have not been able to diagnose the causes of the illnesses and the illnesses themselves have not responded to any known treatments.”