A small convoy of soldiers from the Fourth Infantry Division were dispatched Saturday from this desert camp near the Iraqi border to pick up supplies amounting to some 1,500 dollars from a Kuwait City mall.

But officers said they were unable to complete their mission after the store manager refused their army credit card, which was inactive.

Instead the soldiers took the opportunity to stock up on items such as cigars, chocolates and soft drinks, paid for in cash out of their own pockets.

US President George W. Bush last week signed into law a 79-billion-dollar spending package to pay for the war in Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE