THERE are many good reasons why we cannot yet draw a line under the government鈥檚 position on Iraq. Not the least is the persistence of arguments over gulf war syndrome.
Recently this magazine reported the problems caused by the drug pyridostigmine (PB). Many American and British soldiers in the 1991 and 2003 campaigns took the drug to protect them against nerve agents. Soldiers with one form of the syndrome were around eight times as likely to have suffered a bad reaction to PB as their healthy comrades (快猫短视频, 20 December 2003, p 12).
Although some veterans claim PB was the cause of their illnesses, the UK Ministry of Defence remains 鈥渙pen minded鈥�, veterans minister Ivor Caplan tells me. The drug has long been successfully used to treat neuromuscular disease. The MoD鈥檚 research into ill health following the 1991 gulf war includes a major study into the possible adverse effects of several vaccines, with or without PB, and it is being scrutinised by an independent panel.
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The conclusions will appear in peer-review journals later this year, but anyone hoping they will cut much ice may well be disappointed.
IF sky marshals on passenger planes have to be armed, then stun guns might be the least risky option. For example, the Taser, much used by police forces around the world, shoots out two barbs tethered to long wires. When the barbs attach to their target, the wires transmit a 50,000-volt shock 鈥� sufficient to floor the most aggressive individuals (快猫短视频, 17 January, p 19).
But a 快猫短视频 reporter investigating this possibility was not able to get a firm statement from the US Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Administration, or their British equivalents, on whether there had been discussions on the pros and cons of stun guns versus firearms on aircraft.
I asked the aviation minister, Tony McNulty, why there were such reservations about releasing this information. He replied that, in the UK, decisions on the selection of such equipment are primarily the responsibility of chief constables backed by the Police Scientific Development Branch of the Home Office. They must take into account both the operational effectiveness of the equipment and the environment in which it is to be used. He personally has reservations on the use of stun guns in the confined space of an aircraft cabin. The seats may prevent a clear line of fire and the officer may not be able to get close enough to ensure both barbs attach. There are also concerns about whether the Taser might interfere with the aircraft鈥檚 systems, said the minister.
Flying as I regularly do between Edinburgh and London, I鈥檝e come to know many pilots. Not one of them fancies the idea of a gun aboard his aircraft.
