§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the guidelines adopted for deciding which targets are chosen to attack in Iraq. [106357]
§ Mr. HoonThe military campaign is crafted around the principle of minimum use of force. We attack only military objectives and combatants subject to the constraints of proportionality. If there is any expectation that harm will be caused to civilians, this must not be excessive when set against the direct and concrete military advantage anticipated from the attack. That approach folly reflects our obligations under international law.
It is not our practice to publish the targeting guidelines, since to do so would provide the Iraqi regime and future potential enemies with information which might jeopardise the effectiveness of this and future military operations. I am therefore withholding the information requested in accordance with Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the military objective is of attacking Iraqi television offices in the invasion of Iraq. [106429]
§ Mr. HoonTelevision offices and studios have not been the object of coalition attacks. The coalition has attacked, and reserves the right to continue to attack systems (such as transmitters) which are used by the regime for conveying military command and control information. Coalition attacks are designed to minimise damage to civilian infrastructure.
§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the material circulated by coalition forces to the civilian population in Southern Iraq. [106912]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 7 April 2003]The coalition leaflets dropped from the air are available on the CENTCOM website. I will place an example in the Library of the House.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many oil fields have been set alight in Iraq since 1st March; what estimate he has made of the(a) CO2 emissions and (b) barrels of oil lost; and how many remain alight. [107235]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 4 April 2003]Nine well heads were deliberately set alight in the Rumayla oil field in southern Iraq. Only two oil wells in Rumayla now remain alight and work continues to extinguish them. The rest have been put out.
The Ministry of Defence has not made an assessment of the barrels of oil lost since 1 March or of the likely CO2 emissions. The Meteorological Office did, however, conduct a detailed analysis of the 610 oil wells set alight during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. This includes an analysis of the fumes produced, which concluded that the CO2 produced had a negligible effect on the global climate.
298W
§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether cables funnelling electricity to the Wafa al-Qaed water treatment plant were cut as a consequence of the US and British bombardment on Friday 21 March; what the purpose was of the bombardment; and if he will make a statement. [107250]
§ Mr. IngramThe electricity cables supplying the Wafa al-Qaed water treatment plant have not been targeted by United Kingdom forces. We have no reports to suggest that they were hit by any coalition air assets.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British servicemen and women have refused to serve in the invasion of Iraq, citing their objection to the conduct of the invasion by the coalition forces; and what action is being taken against them. [107584]
§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the return of members of HM Armed Forces to the UK for refusing to participate in the war in Iraq. [107811]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 8 April 2003]There are formal procedures to be followed by British Serviceman who have a conscientious objection to the duties they are asked to undertake. To date we are not aware of any personnel who were due to serve, or are serving, in the Gulf during OP TELIC who have initiated such procedures.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to deal with the environmental consequences arising from any setting alight of oil wells in Iraq. [104842]
§ Mr. HoonOne of the key military tasks in the Government's Military Campaign Objectives was that of securing Iraq's economic infrastructure to prevent its wilful destruction by the Iraqi regime. The success of Coalition forces in securing the southern Iraqi oil infrastructure intact has prevented Saddam Hussein from repeating the acts of environmental vandalism on the scale we saw during 1991. Explosive Ordnance Disposal units and specialist teams of Royal Engineers from the United Kingdom armed forces have made safe facilities in the Rumaylah oil fields, enabling the relatively small number of fires, started before Coalition forces took control, to be extinguished.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the system for distributing communications from Territorial Army soldiers deployed in Iraq to their dependants and families. [107734]
§ Dr. MoonieTerritorial Army (TA) personnel mobilised for operations in the Gulf are entitled to the same welfare allowances as Regular soldiers. Within the overall Operational Welfare Package there is a specific communications package to allow the soldiers in theatre to communicate with families and dependants at home. This is achieved through the use of welfare telephones and British Forces Post Office (BFPO) mail. Welfare telephones have been provided in theatre and each soldier is entitled, subject to operational constraints, to a 20 minute per week publicly funded allowance. Free BFPO letters, known as "Blueys" are available to all soldiers in theatre, with current delivery times ranging from between three to six days. Electronic versions, 299W known as "E-Blueys" are also available. The chain of command passes information to families and dependants of soldiers deployed via unit rear parties or the appropriate TA regimental headquarters.
§ Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about the postage costs incurred by families who send parcels to relatives and friends serving in Iraq. [108111]
§ Mr. IngramA considerable number of representations have been received by Ministers and the Chief Executive of the British Forces Post Office, in the form of letters and telephone calls from hon. Members, and letters, e-mails and telephone calls from members of the public.