Global Security Newswire

Israel plans to recall millions of gas masks, in part because the threat of a biological or chemical attack from Iraq has decreased with the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, March 20, 2003).

The Israeli Security Cabinet made the decision yesterday to recall the gas masks from citizens, AP reported. The mask collection program would help to avoid the cost of resupplying mask components, a move that would have been necessary to maintain their effectiveness, officials said (Steve Weizman, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 16).