An Even More Puzzling Puzzle

When the Pentagon launched its study of what was causing thousands of Persian Gulf War veterans and their families to fall ill with symptoms ranging from fatigue to muscle pain and sleep disturbances, it was hoped the investigation would solve the mystery, or at least yield clues to what veterans groups called the “Gulf War disease.”

It turns out that the study has failed to uncover the causes of maladies among Gulf War vets and the “definitive,” $10-million, 50-page Pentagon report released this week has deepened the puzzle. “There is not . . . a single mystery illness or unique Gulf War illness,” Dr. Steven Joseph, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said in describing the study results.

According to the study, doctors who examined 10,020 servicemen and women and their families found no clinical evidence to support such claims. The Defense Department acknowledged that many veterans are suffering from multiple and sometimes severe symptoms, and it took the opportunity to point out that the symptoms that the veterans describe involve “multiple illnesses with overlapping symptoms and causes” and are similar to those that exist in the general population.

However, veterans spokesmen insist that the situation cannot be dismissed. Critics of the report point out that the government’s failure to come up with a plausible explanation of what ails once healthy, combat-ready soldiers may only deepen suspicions that someone is trying to hide something. “A continued misrepresentation of the medical reality,” said Richard H. Haines, president of Gulf Veterans International.

More than 500,000 Americans served in the Gulf. And more than 40,000 reported apparent service-connected illnesses. A definitive report should provide a better explanation why.