Military Exercise Not Linked to Iraq, Britain Says
Britain launched its biggest army exercise on home ground since 1998 on Saturday, but defense officials insisted that it was not a saber-rattling trial run for war against Iraq.
In a test of their logistical skills, as many as 6,000 troops are using 1,000 vehicles to transport thousands of tons of material and equipment across the country.
“Exercise Log Viper has started,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said. But he insisted: “It has nothing to do with Iraq.”
He said the four-week exercise has been planned for more than a year. Army chiefs said the main aim of the test was “to provide the opportunity to ensure we can feed, clothe and maintain supplies, vehicles and weaponry when required.”
Despite assurances that the exercise had nothing to do with Iraq, military experts said the warning to the Iraqi regime would be clear.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch supporter of U.S. policy on Iraq, faces resistance in his Labor Party to Britain joining any U.S. attack on Baghdad.
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