Disease and Suspicion after the Persian Gulf War

In 1990 the United States and its allies sent close to a million troops to the Persian Gulf. Fewer than 150 Americans died during the six-week war against Iraq,1 but many veterans now fear that the Persian Gulf War ruined their health. Six years later, there is wide publicity about excess disease and unrecognized illnesses resulting from the war. There are also recent accusations that the government has not been honest about what happened to its troops. Two reports in this issue of the Journal shed some light on the complicated and sensitive questions about the health consequences of the . . .