AP - 11/11/98
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pentagon planners have drafted orders that could put tens of thousands of U.S. ground troops, a hundred
more warplanes and additional ships into the Persian Gulf area should President Clinton order sustained attacks against Iraq,
officials said.
Defense Secretary William Cohen has not yet signed the deployment orders, which, if approved, lay out a ''fairly steady'' flow of
forces into the region, the official said Tuesday.
And Clinton has not decided how he will respond to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's defiance of U.N. weapons inspections.
''A decision has not been made as to the use of force,'' Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said this morning
on NBC's ''Today.'' ''I think Saddam clearly understands, as we have said publicly, that all options are on the table.''
Saddam's defiance of the United Nations ''poses a threat to an area that is a vital national interest to the United States, and ... he
poses a threat not only to his neighbors but to the 20,000 men and women of the United States that serve in that region,'' Shelton
said.
One military option is a short-notice attack that would not require a big new U.S. buildup in the Gulf, U.S. officials say. Hundreds of
cruise missiles already are in the region for just such a strike.
Against that backdrop, 11 buses and other vehicles carrying more than 100 U.N. arms inspectors and other workers pulled out of
Baghdad today, headed for Jordan.
Eric Falt, spokesman for U.N. humanitarian programs in Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad that the move was ''precautionary'' and
taken ''solely with the safety of U.N. staff in mind.''
At present, there are 23,500 U.S. troops in the Gulf region. The new orders could double that number, returning the Gulf force to the
size it was in February during the most recent standoff over weapons inspections.
There also are 23 ships and 173 aircraft in the area. Eight Navy ships are loaded with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles,
believed to be a top choice for hitting potential Iraqi targets, should a strike be ordered.
Clinton met Tuesday on Iraq with his national security team, and should he opt for additional forces, the ground troops would be
flown into Kuwait to defend that country against a potential threat from Iraqi army units. There are some 2,000 Army soldiers there
now on a regularly scheduled exercise.
As the military planning progressed, meanwhile, a State Department official said diplomacy had its limits.
''What is not needed, and there is no plan for it, is negotiations with Saddam Hussein,'' spokesman James P. Rubin said.
''We have no doubt many governments are conveying that message,'' Rubin added.
Cohen announced he'd ordered the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and a Marine task force to speed their move to the Gulf. He told
reporters he ordered the moves in the event Clinton decided to attack.
That could put two aircraft carriers and two Marine expeditionary units in the region by Thanksgiving.
Each carrier has about 70 warplanes, which would allow for more sustained strikes against Iraqi targets, particularly if nations in the
region are loathe to allow U.S. aircraft to mount attacks from their soil.
Increased numbers of Marines or Army units on the ground in Kuwait would provide increased security, as well.
Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon, speaking at a Pentagon briefing, said the current force could be bolstered in short
order with a large number of troops left on alert following the last go-round with Saddam in February. At that time, there were 44,000
troops, 430 aircraft and 34 ships in the Gulf region.
Bacon declined to say whether any forces had been placed on alert. But he said some Navy and Air Force units were on a ''96-hour
tether ... to be ready to pull up stakes and get to the Gulf within 96 hours.''
Cohen warned that if Saddam continues to refuse the U.N. inspections, he risks strikes that would cause a ''significant degradation''
of his military strength.
''Iraq is on notice,'' Cohen said. ''The military option is still on the table.''
The latest standoff began after Iraq announced Oct. 31 it was halting cooperation with the U.N. Special Commission, which is
responsible for overseeing the destruction of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles.
Iraq must get rid of its weapons of mass destruction before the Security Council will lift the sanctions that were imposed on its sale
of oil following the Gulf War.
Iraq has said it will not resume cooperation on inspections until the Security Council begins to move toward ending the sanctions. |
