Czech Troops Train in Kuwait

Worldnews ^ | November 14 2002 | AP

[knighthawk]

UMM AR-RIMAM, Kuwait (AP) — Under the gaze of top U.S. military brass, Czech troops training in the Kuwaiti desert showed off their skills Thursday in responding to a terrorist attack using biological weapons.

The exercise comes as U.N. weapons inspectors prepare to test whether Iraq is willing to comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution to disarm or risk a U.S. military attack. That, in turn, could trigger a deadly Iraqi response.

``There's a distinct threat in this region,'' U.S. Marines Brig. Gen. Craig Boddington said as he watched the exercise. ``We have to be ready.''

Speculation is widespread that President Saddam Hussein might unleash chemical and biological weapons against U.S. troops and nearby countries if President Bush orders an attack on Iraq.

Bush has warned the Iraqis that a U.S.-led military force will disarm them if Baghdad fails to comply with the latest U.N. resolution mandating new weapons inspections.

If this scenario plays out, many fear Saddam may lash out at his opponents with whatever weapons he has at his disposal. Iraq denies it possesses weapons of mass destruction, an assertion America rejects.

A multinational force of about 500 Czech, German and U.S. troops was organized in Iraq's southern neighbor, Kuwait, last November to deal with the threat of attack by weapons of mass destruction.

On Thursday, many of the 250 Czech troops based in Kuwait practiced ways to respond to such attacks during a training exercise in the desert about 20 miles northwest of the capital, Kuwait City.

Troops wearing bright yellow protective suits took earth, air and liquid samples from the site of a mock biological weapons attack for testing. Minutes later, a truck load of soldiers arrived to ferry the wounded to a medical aid station for decontamination treatment and first aid.

Using global positioning devices, reconnaissance units transmitted details of the hazard site to a nearby command center. There, the site was mapped and planners used computer software to predict whether wind or any other variables might spread the contaminants further.

During the past 50 years, the Czech army has earned world-leader status in responding to attacks by radioactive, chemical and biological weapons.

``While other European nations have been restructuring their armies and reducing their nuclear, biological and chemical component, we have maintained this capability in case we ever need to be deployed,'' said Lt. Col. Ivo Musin, 41, of Prague.

Musin said if a U.S.-led force attacked Iraq, soldiers would almost certainly carry atropine, an antidote used in the event of exposure to nerve agents.

Fears of possible chemical or biological attack rose this week when U.S. officials said Iraq had ordered 1.25 million doses of atropine in what could be an attempt to protect its own troops if Saddam uses such weapons on the battlefield.

Secretary of State Colin Powell speculated that Iraq may be trying to convince the United States it is prepared to use nerve gas as a means of dissuading Washington from using force against Saddam's regime.

Bluff or not, the troops here are taking the prospect of a chemical or biological attack seriously.

``We are preparing for the worst but hoping for the best,'' said Boddington, who is charge of coordinating the multinational forces in Kuwait. ``We are terribly worried about the potential for attacks using such weapons.''

[knighthawk]

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