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U.S. Response: Marines to Use Chickens to Detect Attacks U.S. Marines stationed in the Persian Gulf region plan to use live chickens to help detect a chemical weapons attack, Knight-Ridder News Service reported today (see GSN, Feb. 7). “They will be like the proverbial canary in the coal mine,” said Lt. Col. Rob Abbott, commander of the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion. During the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi troops set oil wells on fire, which resulted in the release of hydrogen sulfide — a mustard gas component. This led to U.S. troops mistakenly thinking they had been attacked with chemical weapons, a mistake the chickens are meant to prevent, Abbott said. The chicken plan has hit an early problem, however, according to Knight-Ridder. Out of the first shipment, all but one of the chickens died within the first week, but more on their way. Soldiers offered no remorse for sacrificing the chickens. “It’s the chickens or me,” said Joe Santos, chief warrant officer of the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion (Patrick Peterson, Knight-Ridder/San Jose Mercury News, March 3).
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