U.S. Pilot's Fate Refuted By British Intelligence Report - Veterans Groups Demand Answers

3/11/2002

From: Steve Robinson of the National Gulf War Resource Center, 800-882-1316, ext. 162

SILVER SPRING, Md., March 11 -- 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).

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 Web site at www.ngwrc.org