After Times reporter C.J. Chivers revealed last week that American and American-trained Iraqi troops found thousands of abandoned and highly dangerous chemical weapons left over from the rule of Saddam Hussein, the Pentagon said it did not plan to examine the facts uncovered.

Apparently that bad decision was not final. As first reported by The Associated Press, and confirmed by The Times, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has directed his military and service-branch chiefs to look into the treatment of about 20 troops who were exposed to sarin and mustard gas weapons during the Iraq war. Mr. Hagel, during a meeting on Thursday, specifically asked his commanders to review the troops’ medical care and whether they were denied military awards.



If that’s where the examination ended, it would hardly seem sufficient. But a senior defense official said the review would also consider claims that the troops were ill-prepared for the chemical weapons threat they encountered and that some were told by their commanders to keep silent about what they experienced.

“That concerned him greatly,” the official said of Mr. Hagel, a combat veteran. The defense secretary set no deadline for the inquiry but has asked for the results “very soon,” the official added.

Other issues also require examination. For instance, who was responsible for the cover-up? It is also necessary to resolve once and for all the fate of two bunkers still filled with chemicals and related equipment that are a threat to Iraqis and could fall into the hands of terrorist groups like Islamic State.