Czech-Slovak anti-chemical unit to become biggest in the world

The joint Czech-Slovak chemical and biological warfare unit that is to start operating in Kuwait on March 1st is to become the biggest in the world, according to Slovak Defence Minister Ivan Simko. Last week, the Czech and Slovak defence ministers signed a bilateral agreement to form the Czech-Slovak unit for the protection against weapons of mass destruction. While the Czech members of the contingent are already active in Kuwait, their Slovak colleagues are expected to arrive at the beginning of next week. Although the unit is deployed as part of the Enduring Freedom operation, it is to be responsible for the protection of the allies' troops as well as civilians in around 26 countries if there should be a war against Iraq.