Not every sick vet was in the same place at the same time. In fact, significant numbers left the Middle East before the war started or arrived there some time after the fighting stopped. We've long pressured the Pentagon to come clean with its information about the possibility of chemical exposure. We've heard too many credible stories to ignore, from vets with firsthand information. While we're glad that a glaring gap in the record is being filled and that researchers are taking their first serious look at the long-term consequences of exposure to low levels of chemical munitions, we must return to first principles.
Quick answers are unlikely.
Meanwhile, we must honor this nation's commitment to care for people with lingering health problems that have come about as a result of their military service. Day One of the war. Kay Weekley was a victim of a tragedy that has happened to others over and over again. Like her I had come to the end of my rope after a beating that left my body broken and traumatized. I remember the times I thought about poisoning this man and having him done away with because of the pain, physical and emotional, that I endured from him for years.