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CAMP GRIZZLY, Kuwait, March 15 (UPI) -- Corporal James Lill is a Marine with a special mission along the Kuwait-Iraq border -- the care, feeding and emotional nuturing of "Dumb-ass," an involuntary conscript to the ranks of Bravo Company upon whom the lives of dozens of Marines may depend. Dumb-ass is there in case Iraqi forces use chemical weapons on troops invading the country to topple Saddam Hussein and rid it of weapons of mass destruction. So special is Dumb-ass, that he has his own special sleeping quarters, a constant supply of food, and heaps of attention. "Did you feed...

CAMP GRIZZLY, Kuwait, March 15 (UPI) -- Corporal James Lill is a Marine with a special mission along the Kuwait-Iraq border -- the care, feeding and emotional nuturing of "Dumb-ass," an involuntary conscript to the ranks of Bravo Company upon whom the lives of dozens of Marines may depend. Dumb-ass is there in case Iraqi forces use chemical weapons on troops invading the country to topple Saddam Hussein and rid it of weapons of mass destruction. So special is Dumb-ass, that he has his own special sleeping quarters, a constant supply of food, and heaps of attention. "Did you feed...

THEY call it Iraq’s El Niño. Every April, as atmospheric pressure above the Middle East forces hot air downwards, the Iraqis brace themselves for what is formally known as the “southern wind change”. That name does little justice to the raging, screaming gale that is beginning to assault US Marines stationed at temporary bases on the Iraqi border. This year, Iraq’s El Niño has come early. The gales do little to improve the conditions of the Marines stationed here at Camp Grizzly, named after the 5th Regiment’s radio codename. Dust and sand get everywhere, making it impossible to go outside...