Although the Gulf War lasted but a few days, many combat troops have suffered lingering health problems that they attribute to their wartime service. Their health problems and illnesses have features in common with illnesses suffered by veterans of earlier wars, including the difficulty that their physicians have had in making a diagnosis. As yet, these illnesses remain unexplained by medical science, which has prompted some people to wonder if troops in the Persian Gulf theater were exposed to an agent or combination of agents that caused these illnesses. Research on this question continues. Another important question is whether an agent in the environment in the Persian Gulf.
