ACCESSION
NUMBER:364736
FILE ID:POL406
DATE:10/20/94
TITLE:ADD DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 (10/20/94)
TEXT:*94102006.POL
ADD DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20
(Iraq) (260)
U.S. HALTING KUWAIT DEPLOYMENT WITH WARNING TO IRAQ
About 13,000 U.S. troops will remain in Kuwait as a warning to Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein that his recent deployment of large numbers of troops to the
area near the border of his southern neighbor must not be repeated, a
senior Defense Department official said October 20.
"He is not to bring forces that were not below the 32nd parallel below that
line or the United States will take appropriate action -- which is
undefined," the official said. Iraq may keep forces along the frontier no
larger than those present before its military threat against Kuwait became
visible to U.S. intelligence, he said.
After American troops began to deploy, U.S. intelligence became aware of
large Iraqi troop pullbacks from the area by about October 14, but it was
not certain for several more days that the elite Republican Guards units
were departing far enough away to reduce the threat to Kuwait, the official
said. "We wanted to be certain that the forces had withdrawn north of the
32nd parallel" before stopping further deployment of U.S. forces, he said.
About 26,000 U.S. troops are in Kuwait now, and that number will not go
below 13,000 for "the foreseeable future," according to the official.
About 36,000 ground troops had been planned for deployment, but those that
have not yet been deployed will not go unless the situation changes in the
region, he told reporters.
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