§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is the case, as reported in the International Herald Tribune of February 6th, that "the American commander in the Gulf has been authorised to use 'non-lethal riot control gases' against Iraqi forces in certain circumstances"; what are these gases; whether they are generally agreed by competent international lawyers not to be banned under the Geneva Convention; and whether they have approved and endorsed this authorisation; and
45WAWhether they will ensure that any authorisation to the US commander in the Gulf to use gas is rescinded, since the use of any kind of gas would provide a justification for Saddam Hussein to retaliate in kind.
§ The Earl of ArranThe US Government has stated that the US commander in the Gulf has authority to use CS gas in certain restricted circumstances in order to protect lives. Chemical weapons, by contrast, are designed to kill.
The UK Government, in common with the US Government, have made it clear that they regard CS gas, and other such gases, as outside the scope of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. They are not chemical weapons, and any use of chemical weapons, allegedly in response, would be wholly unjustified. We have always made it clear that we would take a very grave view of any Iraqi use of chemical weapons.