The CIA's account of how U.S. authorities failed to realize troops were
exposed to chemical agents at Khamisiyah suggests incompetence more than
conspiracy.
Numerous detectors and alarms were used in the Gulf War to alert troops
to the presence of chemical weapons. The trouble is that all can be 'set off'
by other compounds, some of which are very common.
Critics of the Presidential Advisory Committee - which concluded stress
was the likely cause of vets' illnesses - have urged PAC to consider the work
of so-called independent scientists. But the caliber of these researchers
varies widely: some have little or no track record in biomedical research and
have had difficulty obtaining research funding.
