February 23, 2003	Sunday	Zul Hijjah 21, 1423

CAMP DOHA: German troops serving with the US-led force gathering for possible war against Iraq have been tasked with protecting Kuwait against any attack with chemical or biological weapons.

US and British accusations that Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein has stockpiled weapons of mass destruction are among the main reasons US-led forces are gathering in Kuwait for possible invasion.

Although there is no evidence Saddam used biological or chemical weapons in the last Gulf War, he has used them against the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq in the 1980s.

In a quiet part of the vast, bustling US Camp Doha on the outskirts of Kuwait City, a battalion of NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) troops from Germany is preparing for the worst.

“We are ready and motivated,” Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Oberneyer told Reuters on Saturday. “We have trained hard for this and we are prepared. I am sure we can do our duty if necessary.”

While public opinion and domestic politics mean German troops are unlikely to play an offensive part in any invasion, the 750th NBC Defence Battalion will play a key role should Kuwait come under attack.—Reuters