Gulf War Veterans Deserve Answers
* I’d like to go on record agreeing with the headline of your Oct. 19 editorial, “Sick Veterans Deserve Better.” However, I disagree with much of what followed. Your editorial called for federal funding of a specific research project targeted at the health complaints of Gulf War veterans. That particular research project has not been endorsed by the independent panel of scientists that reviews all proposals from researchers seeking federal funds for their work on Gulf War illnesses. Giving research dollars to the best lobbyist with the most successful PR machine isn’t the way the scientific process is supposed to work.
It’s crucial to note that in 1994, while the nation and the medical community were just beginning to grapple with the health concerns of Gulf War veterans, Congress changed federal law so the Department of Veterans Affairs can better serve these men and women. More than 3,000 Gulf War veterans with medical conditions that defy traditional diagnosis are receiving VA disability compensation. Many thousands more are receiving VA health care.
Do they deserve better? Yes, they deserve answers. And the ultimate answers to the problems of our Gulf War veterans will come from rigorous, impartial scientific research. When politicians, bureaucrats and, yes, even editorial writers interfere with that scientific process, they take us farther away from those answers.
JOHN HANSON
Assistant Secretary for Public
and Intergovernmental Affairs
Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington
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