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The last week of February marked the 10th anniversary of the 100-Hour War -- the ground offensive that ended the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. Political and military leaders expected the battle to profoundly change America's place in the world.

But experts looking back on the war see that global and domestic expectations have not been met. CAS International Relations Professor Andrew Bacevich says in the Boston Globe on February 21, "We greatly overestimated the significance of the victory. It was fatuous to assume that it laid the groundwork for a new international order. Famine in Somalia is completely different from the breakup of Yugoslavia, from genocide in Rwanda, and the terror campaign of Osama bin Laden. The world turned out to be much more disorderly."

However, an unfulfilled element of the war's expected legacy, the Powell Doctrine, may gain the light of day, thanks to President Bush's appointment of Colin Powell as secretary of state. The doctrine was supposed to ensure that U.S. forces be used abroad only when the mission was clear, public support was strong, and overwhelming force could deliver decisive victory. "Instead," says Bacevich, "troops were used under Clinton in situations where we did not have clear missions . . . we sent troops to Bosnia in 1995 for one year. Six years later, they are still there, and will be for some time."

The February 21 Wall Street Journal contains a story about the fight of patients' rights advocates for a national law to keep DNA data private and to outlaw its use by employers and insurance firms in most cases. Of greatest concern are tests that can, in effect, predict the future. For instance, those who test positive for the DNA mutation for Huntington's disease are virtually certain to develop the neurological condition later in life. Worry about how insurers or employers would react to this information causes many people to try to keep it secret. State and federal agencies have samples of blood taken from every soldier and new convict to assist in DNA identification of remains and to help solve crimes.

SPH Health Law Professor George Annas says growing banks of millions of blood samples -- many stored indefinitely -- present the most potential for abuse. "Most people don't realize that every time they give blood, they also give away all their genetic information," he says. "Once I have your DNA, I don't need you anymore. I can do a DNA test when a new test comes. DNA becomes more valuable every day, and who controls the DNA molecule is very important."

The Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act, introduced in the Senate last year by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), is supported by genetic-rights advocates. The act, which will be reintroduced this session, guarantees widened protection for DNA data, and gives patients the right to sue if their information is released or used against them.

"In The News" is compiled by Mark Toth in the Office of Public Relations.

9 March 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations