ACCESSION
NUMBER:363962
FILE ID:POL409
DATE:10/13/94
TITLE:DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13 (10/13/94)
TEXT:*94101309.POL
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13
(Iraq, Haiti) (460)
NEWS BRIEFING -- Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch and spokesman Dennis
Boxx discussed the following topics:
ELITE IRAQI ARMY UNITS APPEAR TO BE PULLING BACK
Deutch said the flow of U.S. forces to the Persian Gulf region will continue
until all units scheduled for deployment actually arrive, despite the
likelihood that the Iraqi army is standing down from its threatening
posture against Kuwait.
1lthough the Iraqis seem to be pulling back "more rapidly than they were put
in," the deputy secretary told reporters, "we have not taken any action to
stop the current flow" of American forces and will not do so "until we see
that the withdrawal of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard divisions is
absolute.
"We will make those decisions as the circumstances warrant," he declared.
Deutch praised President Clinton's "decisive and early action" to stop what
was "an obviously significant threat" by Iraq. "Matters could be a lot
worse today than they are" had such action not been taken to preempt
aggression, he asserted.
Boxx reiterated that "the indications are positive (that) all six brigades
of Republican Guards have moved from their positions" near the Kuwaiti
border, and that "they are in various stages of moving." Those units
closest to the Kuwaiti frontier are the ones that have moved away the
farthest, he said.
"The final question is: where will they ultimately move?" he noted.
"The alert continues" until the tactical situation is clear and U.S.
intelligence confirms that the threat is over. U.S. forces will be
withdrawn "once we are sure...it is time to make those adjustments," he
told reporters.
U.S. TO PROVIDE OUTER SECURITY SHELL FOR ARISTIDE'S RETURN
The U.S. military will provide an "outer shell of security" for the October
15 return of Haiti's elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Boxx said.
Aristide will be accompanied by a personal security force when he arrives in
Port-au-Prince by charter aircraft and is flown by helicopter to the
palace, said the spokesman.
U.S. forces are in Haiti to provide a secure environment for Aristide's
return. "We are aware and concerned" about the presence of factions that
have sworn violence to stop the restoration of democracy in Haiti "and will
very carefully watch what the security requirements will be," Boxx said,
noting that U.S. forces can "deal with anything that arises."
"We will continue to work with all parties...to discourage violence," he
said.
However, Aristide's "personal safety is the responsibility of his immediate
personal security force," he said.
About 10,500 Haitian refugees remain at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, and the numbers decline daily as more are being flown home, he
said.
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