Field hospital will go to Basra, PM tells Chamber as deployment debate begins

Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has confirmed that if parliament approves the sending of a Czech military field hospital to the Gulf it will be based in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The prime minister made the statement at the start of a debate on the issue in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. The debate had been scheduled for Thursday but was brought forward due to the speed of developments in the region. The Senate is also discussing the matter, with the approval of both houses widely expected. Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik told the Senate that the first doctors could fly out on Thursday afternoon and be at work 24 hours later.