CIVILIAN GUINEA PIGS REGAIN SOME RIGHTS

Beginning with the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947, the use of American civilians for unauthorized biochemical experimentation has had a long and shady history. Schoolchildren were fed milk laced with plutonium, medical patients were exposed to harmful radiation, pathogens were sprayed from airplanes over the San Francisco Bay area, toxic chemicals were released in the New York subway system, and thousands of unfortunate civilians were chosen at random to ingest massive doses of LSD. Much of this occurred under the auspices of the CIA's MKULTRA Program, and by 1975 the Senate's Church Committee had uncovered the true story of the many deaths and untold misery that Americans suffered at the hands of their own government.

In the aftermath of these revelations, Americans might reasonably have assumed that all necessary steps had been taken to rectify the problem.   An April 13, 1994 Central Intelligence Agency report confidently proclaimed:

Since the 1970's, all Agency research involving human subjects has been conducted in accordance with all relevant guidelines issued by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the Department of Human Services.

Just this past year, Captain Joyce Riley of the American Gulf War Veterans Association discovered just how deceptive such CIA language can be. Captain Riley has been working for several years to uncover the ugly truth about so-called "Gulf War Syndrome", a baffling array of illnesses that since 1991 has plagued both American troops returning from the Persian Gulf War and the civilian population. She discovered that on June 30, 1977 the Department of Defense had succeeded in annotating the United States Code at Title 50, Chapter 32, Section 1520 to read as follows:

l§ 1520. Use of human subjects for testing of chemical or biological agents by Department of Defense; accounting to Congressional committees with respect to experiments and studies; notification of local civilian officials

(a) Not later than thirty days after final approval within the Department of Defense of plans for any experiment or study to be conducted by the Department of Defense, whether directly or under contract, involving the use of human subjects for the testing of chemical or biological agents, the Secretary of Defense shall supply the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives with a full accounting of such plans for such experiment or study, and such experiment or study may then be conducted only after the expiration of the thirty-day period beginning on the date such accounting is received by such committees. (b)(1) The Secretary of Defense may not conduct any test or experiment involving the use of any chemical or biological agent on civilian populations unless local civilian officials in the area in which the test or experiment is to be conducted are notified in advance of such test or experiment, and such test or experiment may then be conducted only after the expiration of the thirty-day period beginning on the date of such notification. (2) Paragraph (1) shall apply to tests and experiments conducted by Department of Defense personnel and tests and experiments conducted on behalf of the Department of Defense by contractors.

Captain Riley was horrified to realize that civilian populations could be used for biological or chemical experimentation, either by the Department of Defense or its contractors, provided only that "local civilian officials...be notified in advance." The civilian guinea pigs did not have to be notified at all, much less were they required to give informed consent. And any local civilian official (the local dog catcher, perhaps?) would do.

During her investigation into the causes of "Gulf War Syndrome," Captain Riley had already discovered an ugly secret--namely that during the Gulf War our leaders had intentionally bombed sites at Khamisiyah where they knew biological weapons of U.S. origin were being stored. Captain Riley maintains that U.S. leaders ordered the intentional infection of our own troops, and that one aspect of the so-called "Gulf War Syndrome" is actually a communicable disease, Gulf War Illness, which is caused by laboratory-produced pathogens and which is spreading throughout the general population.

For Captain Riley, the intentional infection of our own troops, and the subsequent tracking and lack of treatment of Gulf War Illnesss victims by the Veterans Administration, had all the markings of a massive biochemical experiment. USC, Title 50, Chapter 32, Section 1520 raised too many red flags, so during 1997 Captain Riley went on the talk radio circuit to warn the public about the continuing danger of unauthorized government use of civilian populations for the testing of biological and chemical agents. At first Captain Riley was ridiculed, and many experts refused to recognize the existence of the relevant section of the U.S. Code.  Finally though, enough listeners educated themselves as to the specifics of 50 U.S.C. 1520, and thousands of letters and phone calls poured into the offices of elected officials.

In this case our story has a happy ending. We are delighted to report that with the passing of H.R. 1119, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, such biological and chemical experimentation may now be conducted only with the informed consent of any and all human test subjects. With persistence and tenacity Captain Joyce Riley, operating through the American Gulf War Veterans Association, generated sufficient public outcry to effect change.