WASHINGTON – In one of his final acts in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Tuesday directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study of all veterans who served at a toxic base in Uzbekistan after 9/11, a step toward making it easier for their medical costs to be covered.
In December 2019, McClatchy exclusively reported about hundreds of U.S. special forces and other military troops who were deployed to Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan, in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks who were diagnosed with cancer after serving there.
The former Soviet base, known as “K2,” was riddled with toxic dangers. Chemical weapons remnants and low-level processed uranium remained in the soil. Pools of solvents that had polluted the grounds for years formed a “black goo” at soldiers’ feet when they walked.
