But we know how important it is to open up scientific review and inquiry to independent, non-government experts. And it is why we also have supported research by non-government scientists. Concerns about Chemical Agents Following DoD's announcement in June 1996 that U.S. troops may have been exposed to chemical warfare agents in the Persian Gulf, we moved aggressively to evaluate this information. The available scientific literature suggests that long-term, chronic health problems do not result from exposures that were not marked by acute clinical signs and symptoms. However, research in this area is limited.
More research is needed.
In light of this, I am surprised at some of the criticism I have heard. In 1993, three years prior to the DoD disclosure, VA designed a special protocol. It was meant to detect symptoms related to possible nerve gas exposures. We selected the Birmingham VA Medical Center to intensively review the scientific literature on the effects of these chemicals. They developed a specialized neurological examination to look for these effects.