Steve Quayle News Alerts

September 13, 2002

A large-scale army exercise is not part of direct preparations for war against Iraq, defence sources have told the BBC.

Newspaper reports on Friday suggested Exercise Log Viper, starting on Sunday by the Royal Logistics Corps, was putting major stockpiles of weapons and supplies in the right place for an operation against Iraq.

But one official told the BBC the equipment being transported to the Marchwood military port, near Portsmouth, was "all empty boxes."

By the time the exercise is over, nothing of any value will be ready to go anywhere, he added.

Deadline pressure

The purpose of the exercise was not to move real equipment, only to test the procedures involved in moving such equipment.

The manoeuvres came as the Daily Telegraph reported that advance parties of British troops would begin deploying to Kuwait within two weeks, in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq.

Tony Blair's stance against Saddam Hussein also received public backing from Chancellor Gordon Brown, who said the government "must have the strength to take the right decisions".

And at the UN, America is increasing the pressure for Iraq to be given a deadline for the return of weapons inspectors, with Secretary of State Colin Powell holding talks with members of the Security Council

Clear choice

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who has been talking to President Bush, said he hoped that the prospect of war was "less likely".

He also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was "no question" of unilateral military action against Iraq.

Gordon Brown: Supports Blair's stance on Iraq

The "regime change" in Baghdad favoured by President Bush might, ultimately, prove to be necessary - but Saddam's fate was in his own hands, Mr Straw suggested.

"If we can ensure by rigorous, unconditional inspection that Iraq is rid of those weapons of mass destruction in a peaceful way, then the argument about military action recedes," Mr Straw said.

He added: "You may get regime change as a consequence of military action, you may get regime change as the only way of enforcing the will of the UN, but the focus has to be on these weapons of mass destruction."

Army manoeuvres

Exercise Log Viper is believed to involve 6,000 men - almost every member of the Royal Logistic Corps based in the UK.

It has been planned for a year and has been described as the largest such operation for many years.

The Daily Telegraph suggests the military is ready to go one step further - moving troops to the Gulf after a Parliamentary debate on action against Iraq on 24 September.

It says that attacks on Iraq by aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones will be stepped up in an attempt to force Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons on mass destruction.

Speaking to the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Brown said he fully backed Mr Blair's plans to deal with Iraq.

Questioned on divisions within the cabinet the chancellor said: "I believe the government will act as one. I am not going to speculate beyond that."

He supported Mr Blair's efforts to help US President George Bush forge an international alliance, claiming that the threat Iraq posed was too great to ignore.

"The international community should not - and cannot - tolerate or leave unaddressed the issue of a regime that proliferates chemical, biological and potentially nuclear weapons in absolute defiance of international agreements and decisions that have been made over 10 years," Mr Brown said.

'Military force'

On Thursday Mr Blair continued his efforts to win support at home, revealing that his dossier of evidence against Saddam Hussein's regime will be published hours before the Parliamentary debate.

He also met Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy at Downing Street.

Mr Kennedy said he pressed the prime minister for a long Parliamentary debate.

Mr Duncan Smith said MPs should be given a vote so they could send a strong warning signal to Saddam Hussein.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2254817.stm