An estimated 175,000 veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War have long suffered from the debilitating effects of Gulf War illness. A new report, released on Monday, finally told them why.

It's a notable step forward in helping wounded war veterans. And after 17 years, it's about time.

The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses identified the two primary culprits in the vast "toxic soup" to which Gulf War troops were exposed: pesticides and an anti-nerve gas pill containing pyridostigmine bromide.

This confirms what veterans have long believed, and what their government has too often tried to debunk — Gulf War illness is a specific, physical consequence of serving in the war that drove Iraq out of Kuwait.

It's not, as government officials have for years tried to claim, a stress-related or psychological problem that may not be war related and thus ineligible for treatment or benefits. Such views had the detrimental result of discouraging active-duty troops from seeking treatment out of fear a psychological evaluation could hurt their careers.

Now it's the responsibility of the Department of Veterans Affairs to act on this information to help bind the Gulf War veterans' wounds.

The congressionally mandated report, six years in the making, should be a catalyst for reform. The VA should step up efforts to develop treatment protocols for Gulf War vets, supported by a restoration of research funding that has been cut sharply in recent years. The report recommends $60 million a year; this is reasonable.

Hawai'i Sen. Daniel Akaka, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, says he wants the research to be competitively bid and scientifically rigorous.

It will need to be. There is no known cure for the illness, which manifests itself in a wide range of symptoms, from chronic headaches, fatigue and respiratory problems to brain cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

The report blamed a weak federal effort to study Gulf War illness as a reason the problem still lingers. This foot-dragging should not be allowed to happen again.

The nation is fighting wars on two fronts, with thousands of veterans wounded in action: More than 30,000 from Operation Iraqi Freedom and 2,500 from Afghanistan and elsewhere so far, according to the Pentagon. Their medical needs will be as varied and complex as anything earlier wounded have faced.

The VA needs to ensure they will be treated with well-informed diagnoses backed up by careful research.

Our veterans deserve no less.