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• CANADA NOT WILLING: During a session of Canada's Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said, "If military action [in Iraq] is launched without a new [U.N.] resolution, Canada will not participate. We will hope there will be no war. I'm not very optimistic." Canada has about 30 armed forces personnel serving with U.S. and British contingents in the Persian Gulf and has contributed two warships to a naval force stationed in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. Chretien did not respond when asked whether the forces in the gulf region would be withdrawn, Reuters reported.


[url:e4433]http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/17/iraq.tracker.update/index.html[/url:e4433]