textfiles/conspiracy/CN/cn09-84.txt

              Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 9  Num. 84
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                    ("Quid coniuratio est?")
 
 
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MAJOR HEBERT TESTIFIES ON GULF WAR SYNDROME
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"News" Networks (Except ABC) Close Their Eyes
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C-Span carried testimony by an Army  major, a Marine major, and a
Marine sergeant today who all  appeared  before  a  Congressional
subcommittee looking into Gulf War Syndrome.
 
Especially moving testimony was given  by U.S. Marine Major Randy
Hebert.   Major  Hebert,  a  Gulf  War  veteran,  developed  "Lou
Gehrig's Disease" subsequent to that conflict, and now is  unable
to speak clearly; his wife appeared with him to help clarify what
he had to say.
 
Hebert,  much diminished from the virile Marine cheered on to war
by major media Gulf War propagandizing, was today ignored by that
same media.  Only ABC News  carried  portions of his testimony as
their lead story; overinflated Jim Lehrer Newshour on PBS carried
*nothing* on the story.  (Remember that when PBS comes whining to
you that they need money.)
 
This editor was brought  to  tears  by Hebert's testimony.  There
sat a man, once the image of strength and  hope,  now  physically
ruined  yet still offering his all to help his country get at the
truth.  In closing remarks,  Hebert  noted  that  he had taken an
oath  to  defend  the  U.S.  against  all  enemies,  foreign  and
domestic.  And, he added, some of  these  enemies  are  currently
within the government itself, "unfortunately."
 
Pacifica radio gave  in-depth  coverage  to  the story.  Here are
excerpts from their broadcast of December 10, 1996:
 
  Up on Capitol Hill, Gulf War veterans  told  of  their  own
  experience with the deadly agents.
 
  Marine  Corps  Major  Randy Hebert struggled as he tried to
  testify before a  Congressional subcommittee.  His problems
  began even before he left the Gulf,  experiencing  flu-like
  symptoms,  headaches,  depression.  Eventually, he says, he
  developed what is known as  "Lou Gehrig's Disease."  As his
  troops  moved  across  the  battlefield,  Hebert  says  his
  soldiers were ordered to put on their protective  gear  for
  chemical weapons. His father reads Hebert's statement:
 
  "As  we  approached,  we  received  the signal for chemical
  attack.  We put on our  masks  and  gloves.  In doing so, I
  recall my right hand feeling cool and tingling."
 
  Two other American soldiers also gave their own accounts of
  encounters  with  chemical  agents  during  the  war.   All
  indicated that their superiors were aware of what they  had
  encountered.
 
  Indiana Republican Steve Boulier(sp?) expressed frustration
  at  the  slowness  of  the  Pentagon  to admit any chemical
  exposure:  "The  powers-that-be  in  the  Pentagon  are not
  accepting  the  word  of  these  men.   And  that  is  very
  bothersome.  They  keep  saying,  'There  is  no  evidence.
  There  is no evidence.' ...  Yet when we have soldiers that
  give oral testimony, have  logs...  [the Pentagon is] still
  stonewalling."
 
  In the 1970s, researchers  found  soldiers  suffering  from
  exposure [to chemical agents]  at  the Rocky Mount Arsenal,
  near Denver.  The Army kept stores of nerve gas  and  other
  chemical  weapons.   But  the  study was dismissed by a new
  [later] Presidential Panel,  which  relied on other reports
  indicating  there  was  no  connection  between  Gulf   War
  Syndrome and the chemical agents.
 
  Dr. Frank Duff, with the Harvard Medical School, was one of
  the   researchers   at   the  Rocky  Mount  Arsenal:   "The
  committee, had they come  out  with  the conclusion that it
  was a reasonable possibility, would have  opened  the  door
  for lots of soldiers claiming a service-related disability.
  And  this  would  be  very  costly.   So  it's  the kind of
  decision that a committee would  make with great care.  And
  I think that they put a spin on the report in the direction
  of casting doubt."
 
The three Gulf  War  veterans  who  testified  today  were  asked
whether  they  thought the Pentagon was still hiding information.
All three were unanimous in stating that more facts would come to
light regarding Gulf War Syndrome.
 
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