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209,000 vets have filed claims for disability benefits based on service-connected injuries and illnesses from combat in that war.

What you say may be true but there was Gulf War Syndrome and many of the vets claimed it was because of DU.

On the other hand the number quoted for claims seems to be very high and because of its other obvious anti Bush and anti-war message I think, as you do, that the claims should not be taken at face value.

I have Gulf War syndrome...
It has nothing to do with DU "fall-out".
It has alot to do with exposure to chemical weapons, petrochemical contamination and the possible misuse of "antidotes" for various things.
I get more radiation from the tritium on my watch dial than the radiation in a tank load of DU weapons.
The author of this article is an hysterical idiot, and you need to check at least a few facts before you post such diliberatly ignorant liberal tripe.

Here's a definitive looking military study of DU: link

The study shows that almost all of the radiation from DU are alpha particles, which are non-ionizing and won't penetrate the skin (or a piece of paper). That's partly why DU takes so long to decay (half-life 4.5 million years): the matter and energy released by the decay process is mainly low level & doesn't leave the material. Since DU only gives off a tiny amount of ionizing radiation due to its decay process or impurities, it's just not that dangerous (except as a vaporized or ingested heavy metal). The study claims that the chemical exposure risks for ingested DU are 76,500 times higher than the radiological risks.

All of this being said, I am sure that many veterans of Gulf I did acquire some nasty illnesses from the war. But I'm also certain that almost all of it was due to natural pathogens (many of which are probably unknown and/or unrecognized even in the Middle East) and/or toxic (but not chemical weapons) substances from Iraq's 'natural' environment.

If a Gulf War vet has a demonstrable physical debilitation that a) isn't the product of other factors (heredity, smoking, other environment),and b) occurred within a reasonable period of time only after their service (<5 yrs?), they probably did pick up something or got exposed to something the body or immune system simply is not happy with, and they should get something for it.

A marine vet I met who was in Guadalcanal spent two days in swamp water up to his armpits. He got bilharzia (sp?) (parasitic worms) and could see them swimming around in his eyeballs afterwards. He was cured using methyl mercury.