[Peace-discuss] gulf war

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

British Vet Wins Gulf War Syndrome Claim
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 
Filed at 5:58 a.m. ET

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's Ministry of Defense said Monday it will compensate a 
British soldier who claimed he suffered from Gulf War syndrome, though the 
government still says there is no proof that the condition exists.

Alex Izett, 33, won a judgment from the War Pensions Appeal Tribunal that he 
developed osteoporosis because of a combination of inoculations he was given. 
Izett did not serve in the 1991 Gulf War, but the injections were identical 
to those given to troops who have complained of problems following their 
wartime duty.

``They have taken my dignity, my livelihood, but they are not going to take 
my life as well. I just hope that this opens the floodgates for more cases to 
come forward,'' said Izett, who lives in Bersenbruck, Germany.

Defense Minister Lewis Moonie said Monday there was no proof that 
vaccinations were to blame Izett's problems, but said there was no legal 
basis on which the ministry could appeal the tribunal's ruling.

``The tribunal is not competent to make that kind of decision,'' Moonie said 
in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

``The tribunal's purpose is to determine whether a war pension should be 
awarded or not, and it is awarded on the basis of whether we can show beyond 
all reasonable doubt that a condition was not due to a person's service.

``The reason they found was that we were unable to show that the injections 
did not cause this problem,'' Moonie said.

Veterans' advocated welcomed the tribunal's decision.

``The veterans finally have justice. We are now calling on the (ministry) to 
officially confirm that we are ill because of the inoculations we were 
given,'' said Charles Plumridge, senior coordinator for the National Gulf War 
Veterans Association.

Liberal Democrat lawmaker Paul Tyler, a member of the Royal British Legion 
Gulf War Group, said the ministry should now ``cut the legal waffle and 
recognize that our troops, who put their lives on the line, deserve better.

``Full recognition of the link between the injections and their illnesses, 
and then appropriate compensation, is the least they should expect,'' Tyler 
said.

Moonie refused to accept any link.