ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:95070604.POL
DATE:07/06/95
TITLE:DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, JULY 6
TEXT:
(Turkey/Northern Iraq, Iraq/biological weapons, U.S./Rapid Reaction
Force, Guatemala) (540)
NEWS BRIEFING -- Deputy spokesman Captain Mike Doubleday discussed the
following subjects:
U.S. URGES TURKEY TO LIMIT OPERATION IN NORTHERN IRAQ
Doubleday said the United States urges Turkey "to make a maximum
effort to protect the lives and property of innocent civilians"
following a Turkish incursion across its border with Iraq in pursuit
of members of the Kurdistan Workers Party.
He also urged the Turks to "limit the scope and duration of the
operation and to safeguard human rights."
The spokesman said the Turkish General Staff has confirmed that it has
undertaken "a small military operation" into northern Iraq in pursuit
of Kurdish terrorists.
The United States, he said, has no indication how long such an
operation "may last." The last Turkish cross-border operation, which
began in March, lasted six weeks.
U.S. SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED ON IRAQ'S BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
Iraq's admission that it produced deadly bacteria before the Persian
Gulf war, Doubleday said, "is an indication that what we had suspected
all along (about their biological weapons capability) was, in fact,
the case."
The Iraqis, the spokesman said, "still haven't lived up to their
obligations" to the United Nations following the end of the war.
Asked about the possibility that U.S. personnel may have come in
contact with Iraqi biological weapons in the Gulf conflict, the
spokesman noted that extensive studies have shown that troops were not
exposed to either chemical or biological weapons because none was
deployed.
Nor were U.S. troops exposed to biological or chemical warfare agents
in either Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, he said.
U.S. PERSONNEL IN CROATIA PREPARE TO RECEIVE RRF
Doubleday confirmed that there are now nearly 80 U.S. military
personnel in Split, Croatia, who will aid in the pending arrival of
the Rapid Reaction Force (RRF).
He said they should be ready to begin receiving 4,700 British and 300
Dutch forces on July 7.
U.S. forces will be transporting portions of the RRF into Croatia for
about six weeks. Doubleday said that U.S. ships will be off-loading
British equipment in Croatia on July 17.
The spokesman also said U.S. intelligence equipment, designed to
support the RRF, is now in place in Albania as part of "Operation
Predator." He would not say when intelligence data would actually
begin to flow, but he indicated that the deployment is expected to
last two months.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, CHARITY JOIN FORCES TO AID GUATEMALA
The Defense Department and the private charity, Mission of Love, have
joined forces to provide humanitarian assistance for Guatemala.
The Air Force is shipping more than 30 tons of clothing as well as
medical, building and office supplies on a space available basis.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Humanitarian and Refugee
Affairs Patricia Irvin, who is overseeing the program, says the
Pentagon's Humanitarian Assistance Program is often the most
economical way for charities to transport donations to foreign
countries.
The first part of the shipment to Guatemala was made last month and
consisted of pressure-treated lumber. The rest is scheduled to be
shipped later in July.
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