Parliament to meet on Thursday to discuss sending troops to Iraq

Parliament will meet on Thursday to discuss an American request for Czech military support in a possible war against Iraq. The request, unanimously approved by the cabinet on Monday, would allow the temporary deployment of U.S. troops on Czech territory and the reinforcement of the Czech anti-chemical weapons unit currently based in Kuwait. The deployment of Czech troops on foreign soil must be approved by both houses of parliament. The Czech government strongly supports Washington over Iraq, but says it will only take part in military action with the backing of the United Nations.