The Gulf Conspiracy Read Online Free PDF Page A

put some backbone into them,’ said Gardiner.
    A bonfire of leaves, lit in the early afternoon, was still smouldering and sending tendrils of smoke up into the still evening air. The smell of burning leaves was everywhere.
    ‘ Let’s join the others,’ said Gardiner.
    As was usual at such meetings, Gardiner took his place at the head of the table.
    ‘ I thought it best we meet in view of the press coverage being given to something I understand is being called Gulf War Syndrome,’ said Gardiner. ‘Does this have anything to do with what happened at Porton a year ago? And if so, just how much of a problem we can expect?’
    The question was addressed to Dr Donald Crowe, leader of the Beta Team at Porton Down Defence Establishment.
    ‘ I think we have to face the fact that the accident may have something to do with it,’ said Crowe. ‘But there are a great number of other factors to be considered which, if I may so, tend to work in our favour.’
    ‘ Explain.’
    ‘ Veterans of the war have apparently been coming down with a wide range of symptoms.’ He read from his notes. ‘Chronic fatigue, intermittent fever, night sweats, headaches, skin rashes, abdominal bloating, diarrhoea and so it goes on: the list seems endless. This in itself should prevent these symptoms from ever being assigned to any one particular condition.’
    ‘ But in reality, all these things are due to contamination of the vaccine?’ asked Gardiner.
    ‘ Far from it,’ replied Crowe. ‘Saddam did us a favour with his primitive attempts to use CB weapons in the war. Inadvertently and most obligingly, he created a very convenient smoke screen.’
    ‘ You mean that some of the illness may be due to the effects of these weapons rather than our agent?’
    ‘ Almost certainly.’
    Gardiner appeared to relax a little and others took their cue from him.
    ‘ Our American friends also did their bit by not being entirely explicit about the use of PB as an antidote to nerve gas attack,’ said Cecil Mowbray. The speaker was a dapper man in his early fifties, whose intelligent but cold eyes and propensity to listen rather than speak in company marked him out as a natural for a career in intelligence. He had worked for MI5 for some twenty-five years, ever since leaving Cambridge with a First in classics. ‘Quite a number of forces personnel suffered the effects of over-dosing and unfortunately a small number suffered the combined effects of Sarin gas and PB ingestion.’
    ‘ More smoke,’ said Warner.
    ‘ It’s a pity of course, that the Iraqi use of CB weapons can’t be made public,’ said Crowe. ‘For obvious reasons.’
    ‘ There’s public and then there’s public,’ said Warner. ‘Rumour was rife in the Gulf. The tales of conspiracy and cover-up that our dear friends in the media are so fond of will keep them chasing their tails rather than come sniffing at anything closer to home.’
    ‘ I anticipate the fact that the Americans supplied Saddam with these weapons will become public knowledge over the next few years but, by that time, the war will be something of a distant memory in public consciousness and therefore this will not be such an issue,’ said Mowbray.
    ‘ You seem to be suggesting that we have nothing to fear from Press interest in this Gulf War Syndrome thing and that we’re in the clear?’ said Gardiner.
    ‘ I believe that to be the case,’ said Mowbray.
    ‘ I agree,’ said Crowe.
    ‘ I’m not sure that congratulations are in order, Crowe: this should never have happened in the first place, but I suppose it could have turned out much worse. I take it that none of the personnel affected by the accident will suffer any long-lasting effects?’
    There was a long pause before Crowe, picking his words carefully, said, ‘We would sincerely hope not, Sir James. It was a very early version of what we were working on so we didn’t assess it in any great detail at the time but I really think we can put this affair