Wednesday, November 7, 2001

Czechs may join anti-terror force U.S. expresses interest in anti-chemical group By Michael Mainville The Czech Army is preparing to send its battle-hardened anti-chemical warfare unit to participate in the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism. Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik and Army Chief of Staff Jiri Sedivy said Nov. 1 that the United States had asked to use the Ninth Chemical Protection Company, based in Liberec, north Bohemia. A U.S. Embassy official confirmed the United States was interested in the unit, which saw action in the 1991 Gulf War. American-led forces are currently attacking targets in Afghanistan, whose Islamic Taliban regime has been accused of harboring Saudi-born terrorist Osama bin Laden. Washington blames bin Laden for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington. Officials would not reveal details of where the unit might be headed or how it might be used, saying only that talks between U.S. and Czech military planners were under way. They did say that the 150-strong unit would be doubled in size, suggesting it might be headed into ground combat. "We have agreed they will participate somehow, but nothing is final yet," general staff spokesman Oldrich Holecek said. "The first task will be the buildup. The unit will have to be reinforced with combat units and logistical support. ... It needs to be self-sufficient." Tvrdik told reporters that the preparations allow the unit to be deployed "thousands of kilometers" from home. The anti-chemical warfare unit is considered among the Czech military's elite forces. It was developed to monitor chemical and radiation danger in war zones and to decontaminate people, equipment and buildings in the event of a chemical attack. The unit won praise for its performance during the Gulf War against Iraq. Prime Minister Milos Zeman, who left for an official visit to the United States on Nov. 4, had offered the unit to Washington policymakers shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. Military expert Ivan Gabal said the deployment of the unit, while a positive sign for the Czech forces, could not make up for the shortcomings that still exist in the Army, which has been plagued recently by a number of embarrassing mishaps. "It shows that some small parts of our forces are trusted by the United States and our other allies ... but it does not signal that we've delivered on reform," said Gabal, a frequent critic of the Army's post-1989 reorganization process. Michael Mainville's e-mail address is mmainville@praguepost.cz