Anthrax, Gulf War Syndrome & Karl Rove?

Raw Story has published a very provocative angle to the anthrax story. The repercussions may well be a major nail in BushCo's coffin. Some of the culprits include the lovely Paul Wolfowitz and H. Ross Perot, who at least made some attempts to address the issue. Please forward this to loved ones who served in the first Gulf War. Let them know their health and well being was deliberately compromised by our government.
White House memo exposes Rove knew of problems with anthrax vaccine
Allen McDuffee, August 7, 2008
Rove said Gulf War Syndrome, vaccine political stumbling block
The Department of Defense continued its controversial mandatory anthrax vaccinations program despite high ranking Bush administration officials acknowledging there were problems with the vaccine within months of the Bush administration taking office—well before the 9/11 attacks and the October 2001 anthrax letters.
A 2001 memorandum from former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove to then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz indicates that the White House knew of problems relating to the Gulf War Syndrome and the military's controversial anthrax vaccine.
Obtained by RAW STORY earlier this year from a senior military official and referenced in today's New York Daily News, Rove wrote, "I do think we need to examine the issues of both Gulf War Syndrome and the Anthrax vaccine and how they can be dealt with. They are political problems for us."
RAW STORY had held off printing the memorandum (which appears below) in an effort to validate its authenticity. Along with the memo, Rove noted that he had attached "material on the Anthrax vaccine problem," which had been forwarded to him by H. Ross Perot. He titled it "GULF WAR SYNDROME AND ANTHRAX."
RAW STORY had held off printing the memorandum (which appears below) in an effort to validate its authenticity. Along with the memo, Rove noted that he had attached "material on the Anthrax vaccine problem," which had been forwarded to him by H. Ross Perot. He titled it "GULF WAR SYNDROME AND ANTHRAX."
Pentagon maintains vaccine is safe, requires injections
Despite repeatedly maintaining it is safe, documents obtained by Raw Story last year showed that the Pentagon and medical military personnel have known since at least 1998 that there are genetic triggers between illnesses and some required immunizations. They also revealed the military knew and did not implement routine pre-screening which could help reduce vaccine-related illnesses.
[...] Texas billionaire and onetime presidential candidate H. Ross Perot testified to a Congressional committee in 2002 regarding issues with the vaccine and its manufacturer.
"BioPort is a mess," Perot said, referring to the Pentagon contractor, which has since changed its name to Emergent BioSolutions. "BioPort should not be able to keep that contract. For years they never met any goals or objectives...For years they got bonuses that equaled or exceeded their salaries and didn't accomplish their goals."
"The damage that was done to our Tigers in the Armed Forces is incredible," he added. "Hundreds of pilots have left the Air Force rather than take the shot. $6 million to train one pilot. That's a high price to pay, right?"
[…] Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), has called for a "full-blown accounting" of the probe, which cost taxpayers $15 million and took seven years, according to the Washington Post. Democratic Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-NJ), who represents the region the deadly letters were mailed from from, says hearings should be held as to "why investigators are so certain that Ivins acted alone."
The memo is available in PDF format here.
This article was edited by Raw Story Managing Editor Larisa Alexandrovna, and paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates. You can contribute by clicking here, allowing us to conduct more investigative reporting.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Memo_shows_White_House_knew_of_0807.html