A congressionally mandated report released Monday concluded that “Gulf War Syndrome” is a legitimate condition suffered by more than 175,000 US war veterans who were exposed to chemical toxins in the 1991 Gulf War. The report could help veterans who have battled the government for treatment of a wide range of unexplained neurological illnesses, from brain cancer to multiple sclerosis. The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses said, “Scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans.” The report links the illness to a drug given to troops to protect against nerve gas and to pesticides that were widely used to protect against sand flies and other pests. For much of the past seventeen years, government officials have maintained that Gulf War veterans were merely suffering the effects of wartime stress.