Gulf War MIA
kansas
U.S. Pilot Fate Refuted By British Intelligence Report - Veterans
Groups
Demand Answers
For Immediate Release Contact: Steve
Robinson
March 11, 2002 (800) 882-1316, ext.
162
A British intelligence report provided to the Central Intelligence
Agency
(CIA) and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) supports what veterans
groups
and The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC) have believed for
over 10
years. The report, leaked to the Washington Times, indicates that Iraq
is
holding Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Scott Speicher - a pilot shot down and
captured during the Persian Gulf War.
After 10 years of U.S. intelligence agencies denial, the Washington
Times
quotes anonymous senior defense officials claiming the British report
provides new information indicating rescue operations were called off
hours
after the White House learned of the downing of Commander Speicher's
aircraft in 1991. Veterans groups immediately began calling for a
full
accounting of Speicher, and 12 others who were listed as KIA/BNR
(Killed In
Action/Body Not Recovered) during the Gulf War. The NGWRC has
continually
maintained that Speicher and others were not afforded a proper
investigation
by the Department of Defense (DoD).
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Mike Woods President, of the NGWRC stated, "Since its inception in
1996, the
NGWRC has continually called for further investigations into the fate
of the
13 Americans listed as KIA/BNR. It is long overdue that Commander
Speicher
be brought home." In 1997 member organizations of the NGWRC organized
foot
marches from Melbourne, Florida to Washington, DC, in an effort to
bring
attention to this unresolved issue.
"It is no coincidence that Gulf War veterans issues continue to
dominate the
news," said Steve Robinson, Executive Director of the NGWRC. "We were
right
to call for further investigations on behalf of Commander Speicher.
In the
last year alone, Gulf War issues that were blatantly dismissed by DoD
for
over 10 years have proven to be true."
Robinson points to the recent acknowledgment of the DoD that anthrax
vaccine
given to women has been linked to birth defects in their children. The
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers have also linked
amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS, a.k.a., Lou Gehrig's disease) with deployment
to the
Gulf War. Robinson goes on to point out that Gulf War illness are
also
supported by other reports such as the one published by the Los Alamos
National Laboratories, providing medical research linking cancer and
depleted uranium exposure in animals. The National Academy of
Sciences,
Institute of Medicine, has also published research obtained from the
Tokyo
subway Sarin attack that establishes a link between Sarin and
illnesses
reported by Gulf War veterans. "DoD cannot continue to ignore what new
data
and continued research is telling us," said Robinson. "VA reports show
extraordinarily high death rates among some Gulf War veterans exposed
to
chemical warfare agents near Khamisiyah, Iraq in 1991, even after DoD
manipulated the modeling process. We must not allow official diatribe
to
perpetuate delays in the process of resolving the issues that plaque
the
Gulf War veteran's community."
The NGWRC requests that the US Government make all possible efforts to
resolve the issue of Commander Speicher. We further request that all
data
relevant to Gulf War issues and illnesses be declassified and made
public.
Some veterans cannot afford to wait another day.
For more information about the NGWRC and its standards and policies,
visit
our website at www.ngwrc.org
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