"The government has, after thorough consideration, decided to support a possible US led war on Iraq," Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

He said that previous UN resolutions were significant grounds for a war and added it was a "fight between dictatorship and democracy."

Denmark had previously pledged to send 70 members of its elite Jaegerkorps unit or Rangers and a submarine with a crew of 24, in a promise that was tied to UN backing.

Instead, the Scandinavian country of 5.3 million will send just the submarine and the escort ship, but not ground troops.

"We chose to leave out the Rangers to make a compromise with the (parliament) opposition, but unfortunately it didn't make them give us their support," Fogh Rasmussen said.

Opposition lawmakers criticized the decision.

"The correct profile for Denmark would have been a massive humanitarian effort in the area in cooperation with the other Nordic countries," said Mogens Lykketoft, head of the Social Democrats, the leading opposition party.

It will be the first time in Denmark's modern history that troops will be sent to war without a broad parliamentary backing.

The right-wing Danish People's Party is the only opposition party that has pledged to support the government decision, enough to give the government the approval it needs in parliament. A vote is likely within a few days.

Denmark will also donate a 300 million kroner (US$43 million) in emergency aid to help rebuild Iraq after a possible war.

Earlier Tuesday an anti-war protester hurled red paint at the prime minister as he passed through the halls of the Danish parliament.

As the young man was overpowered by parliament security he shouted "You've got blood on your hands."

(China Daily March 19, 2003)