urg:::Fw: [DU-WATCH] US moves Gulf war hearing to London

[judy]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mirjana Petrovic" <mirsvima@yahoo.com>
To: <du-watch@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 1:23 PM
Subject: [DU-WATCH] US moves Gulf war hearing to London


> US moves Gulf war hearing to London
>
> Health inquiry to be held as Bush prepares to renew
> Iraq conflict
>
> David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
> Monday June 10, 2002
> The Guardian
>
> The US Congress is to hold an unprecedented hearing in
> Westminster next week to take evidence
> from British sufferers of Gulf war syndrome, as
> President Bush prepares for the possibility of
> renewing the war against Iraq.
>
> The congressional subcommittee on national security,
> veterans' affairs and international
> relations is to hold an all-day hearing in
> parliament's new building, Portcullis House, as part
> of a renewed investigation into undiagnosed illnesses
> which have affected 5,000 of 52,000
> British troops sent to the Gulf in 1990.
>
> It is said to be the first time a congressional
> committee has held a hearing in parliament.
>
> The committee, chaired by the Republican, Christopher
> Shays, has spoken out about the failure of
> the US defence department to listen to war veterans,
> provide them with proper protection from
> toxic substances, keep proper medical records, or
> provide adequate compensation.
>
> A report by the committee refused to accept claims by
> the military that the outbreak of diseases
> was due to stress and psychological problems.
>
> The hearing has been welcomed by the Royal British
> Legion, which helped to organise the trip, as
> a new way to put pressure on the Ministry of Defence,
> particularly as British troops might again
> be asked to join the Americans in the Gulf.
>
> Fourteen witnesses will give evidence in Westminster,
> including Samantha Thompson, widow of the
> Gulf veteran Nigel Thompson, who died of motor neurone
> disease in January, and John Nichol, the
> navigator shot down during the Gulf war.
>
> Both have demanded - along with the Royal British
> Legion and the National Gulf Veterans and
> Families Association - a public inquiry into Gulf war
> syndrome. The MoD has commissioned
> research which will be reported on next year.
>
> The US, unlike Britain, has already recognised motor
> neurone disease among former troops as a wa
> r-related illness.
>
> The committee has also asked Lord McColl of Dulwich,
> Gulf war consultant to John Major, prime
> minister at the time of the conflict, and Patrick
> Allen, the lawyer leading the campaign for for
> compensation payments for veterans, to give evidence.
>
> There will be two sessions to discuss medical findings
> about the use of multiple vaccines,
> exposure to depleted uranium and organophosphates in
> pesticides, and epidemiological studies on
> Gulf war illnesses.
>
> The congressional hearing is to be followed by an
> address to 150 peers and MPs by the former
> presidential candidate Ross Perot, who has financed US
> Gulf veterans' medical treatment and
> compensation and is critical of current US research
> into Gulf war syndrome.
>
> He is expected to criticise the choice of scientists
> by the US defence department to investigate
> the problem.
>
> The hearing has been organised by Lord Morris of
> Manchester and Bruce George, Labour chairman of
> the Commons defence committee, who have both attended
> congressional hearings in Washington.
>
> Lord Morris said: "British and US troops fought side
> by side to liberate Kuwait and now British
> parliamentarians and American congressmen are working
> together to help those who have become ill
> after fighting... This committee is a terrier for the
> truth and its combative nature might be a
> a surprise to Westminster."
>
>
>
>
>
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