Coalition Forces' Efforts to Prevent Chemical Attack on Kurds - 2003-03-26

As U.S. and British troops advance towards Baghdad, the U.S. military states it is working to protect coalition forces and Iraqi Kurds from a potential chemical attack by Iraq. General Victor Renoir said in a meeting with reporters in Qatar that coalition forces are actively searching and inspecting potential hiding places for chemical weapons, but he cannot confirm the discovery of any of these banned weapons so far. Coalition leaders are concerned that as U.S. and British units get closer to Baghdad, Iraqi leaders may resort to a chemical attack out of desperation. U.S. military planners say Saddam Hussein has established a so-called 'red line' of approximately fifty kilometers around Baghdad. They claim that when coalition forces cross this red line and enter this area, they may be at risk of a chemical attack. In the Kurdish-controlled area in northern Iraq, there is also significant concern about potential chemical attacks. Saddam Hussein carried out a brutal attack with toxic gases against the Kurds in 1988, killing several thousand. The Kurds fear that such an attack could happen again, and the presence of U.S. troops in the region provides them with some reassurance.