MISSION STATEMENT
The American Gulf War Veterans Association (AGWVA) was established
with one goal in mind: To obtain treatment for those service members and their families
who experience symptoms collectively known as the "Gulf War Illness". However,
there is more to this issue than meets the eye. As this investigation into causation has
now progressed into the arena of possible exposure to chemical and/or biological agents,
radiation poisoning due to the use of depleted uranium and most disturbingly, the use of
our fighting men and women as "Guinea Pigs" in medical experimentation, the
AGWVA has now added a second goal: To obtain justice and compensation for all those
affected by these illnesses. Our troops returned home after serving their country with an
illness that appears to be spreading into the general population, treatment is being
denied and to date there are no safeguards of our blood supply. Those responsible have
passed the burden of proof onto those that are suffering and least able to fight the
enormous bureaucracy of governmental agencies that are more concerned with avoiding
admission.
America wants to know why.
For over three years the AGWVA has been embarking on this search for the truth and the
documentation that we have compiled is voluminous. The Pentagon, DOD, Veterans
Administration, Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Congressional Investigation into
Gulf War Illness, the Presidential Advisory Committee and the Government Accounting Office
have collectively spent over $100,000,000 "researching" the Gulf War Illness.
Little if any of that funding has been used for the real treatment of the 700,000 troops
that served in the conflict, over 100,000 have signed on with the Persian Gulf registry.
90% of those that contact the AGWVA report they are offered Prozac or some other
psychotropic drug by DoD facilities. The numbers alone demonstrate that the gulfwar
illness has spread into epidemic proportions. Meanwhile, government bureaucracy, public
officials and military leaders have continually turned their backs on their own country's
defenders.
America deserves to know why.
The mainstream media has also turned its back on the veterans and have shirked their
responsibility to the American people to be the watchdog of government. With the exception
of talk radio, local television coverage and hometown newspapers, the networks and news
services have done nothing more than parrot "official reports" offered to them
by the very agencies that require investigation. Evidence from senate reports,
congressional hearings, government documents and testimony from eyewitnesses have been
ignored and gone unreported. America demands to know why.
Justice can only be obtained in the court of public opinion, and until the public knows
the truth, there can be no justice. Truth and justice are the American way and the AGWVA
is dedicated to finding the truth, educating the public and obtaining justice for the sake
of all Americans. There can be a million lies, but there is only ONE truth and in the
battle for truth, the lie is always the casualty. If professional careers are destroyed,
if personal fortunes are decimated, or if prominent individuals are found guilty of
criminal charges, let it be seen as nothing more than a side effect from the
administration of a healthy dose of truth. We ask for your support and involvement in this
effort to expose the truth because we believe that America is worth it.
We hope you do too. We will not stop.
For God and country,
Joyce Riley vonKleist and Dave "Riddell" vonKleist