NEWS ADVISORY
CONTACT: Ryan Fletcher or Adam Eidinger 202-232-8997 or 202-986-6186
Congressional Leaders, Veterans to Bush: Troops “Not Prepared” for Bio-Chem Attacks
WASHINGTON, DC – Former military leaders, Members of Congress, Gulf War Veterans, military families and others will demand that President Bush guarantees the safety and protection of U.S. troops in the event of biological or chemical attacks in Iraq.
In his February 8, 2003 radio address, the President stated the administration has intelligence “that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons.” Army investigations show between 60 and 90 percent of its chemical-biological warfare protective gear malfunctions and as many as 250,000 defective protective suits are missing. Isratex, the company that manufactured the gear, was prosecuted by the Federal Government for selling defective merchandise to the Pentagon and is now out of business.
Speakers will include:
Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich): Korean War Veteran, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Wash): Veteran, Representative since 1988, and formerly a Foreign Service medical officer based in Zaire.
Ralph Nader: Cnosumer Advocate
Stephen L. Robinson: Executive Director, National Gulf War Resource Center, former Sergeant First Class with the Pentagon’s Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses (OSAGWI).
Dr. Jonathan Tucker: Chemical and Biological Weapons Expert, Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (on leave from Monterrey Institute for the Center of Non-Proliferation Studies), served as part of Iraq UN Weapons Inspections Team in 1995 with UNSCOM.
Col. Carl Bernard: 30 year military veteran, former professor of Military Science at Berkeley, CA
Sergeant James Landrith: Gulf-War Veteran and member of Veterans for Common Sense
Christian Bauman: Veteran from Somalia & Haiti, Author of “The Ice Beneath You”
Stephen Clegborn: Spokesman for Military Families Speak Out
Other Veterans, Military Families, and Vets suffering from Gulf War Syndrome will be available for comment.