Since 1991, thousands upon thousands of American Gulf War veterans have suffered from severe neurological disorders, some developing brain tumors. The cause has long been debated. Genetic analysis solved the mystery.
On January 18 and 19, 1991, shortly after the start of the Gulf War, the air forces of the anti-Saddam coalition struck a heavy blow against the dictator who had previously invaded Kuwait: their bombs and rockets destroyed his ordnance manufacturing facilities at Tharthar Lake northwest of Baghdad. Large quantities of chemical warfare agents, which the tyrant had kept ready for the war, were apparently released in the process.