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an
was unique and was agreed only in the light of Kuwait's pressing humanitarian need. The unit undertook
The unit undertook clearances of the eastern beaches of Kuwait City
Kuwait City and Falakya Island, operation that was successfully completed by 2 October. Although a technical success, PINSEEKER attracted adverse publicity over the employment of soldiers on dangerous duties for "commercial profit", and illustrated the difficulty of using a military unit in support of a commercial contract of this nature. The contract with RO led to difficulties between the 2 parties; prior misgivings within the MOD on the problems of working with industry as part of a commercial contract have been borne out, and the overriding principle of there being no extra cost incurred by the MOD, and no lasting operational penalties, has been very hard to hold to.
4. Operation ROCKINGHAM.
One element of the GRANBY/DESERT STORM ceasefire arrangements is UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 687 which requires the elimination, under the supervision of a UN Special Commission, of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. This is to be accomplished in three stages: verification of initial Iraqi declaration of their holdings, destruction, and finally the monitoring of future compliance under UNSCR 715. So far the Special Commission is still verifying Iraqi declarations which have been found to contain extensive omissions and inconsistencies. Plans for destruction, which in some cases [may begin] towards the end of 1991, and monitoring of future compliance, are well in hand. The UK's contribution, named Operation ROCKINGHAM, concentrates on the provision of scientists and specialised equipment from Chemical and Biological Development Establishment (CBDE) Porton Down, where we have unique expertise to offer.
UK also provides technical experts in the fields of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Only three British military personnel have taken part.
5. Operations RENOWN and YARRA.
Problems over Iraq's compliance with the provisions of UNSCR 687, and later, 707, led to the formation of contingency plans for the provision of armed guards for UN helicopters (Operation RENOWN) (since put into abeyance), and Operation YARRA, the earmarking of aircraft for pre-emptive attacks on Iraqi NBC installations in conjunction with the US and French.
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