26 November 1997
GULF STATES COALITION AGREES WITH U.S. ON IRAQI THREAT
(Zinni pledges "serious" retaliation if needed) (1240) By Susan Ellis USIA Staff Writer Washington -- There will be no more "pin pricks" by allied forces in Iraq if a military response is required to counteract provocative actions by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, General Anthony C. Zinni, commander in chief of the U.S. Central Command, told a Pentagon news briefing November 26. "I think any movement of (Saddam Hussein's) forces south violates the no-drive zone. It's a violation of an imposed sanction. I would take it very seriously and I would certainly recommend we deal with it," he said. Zinni said "a serious response" by allied forces would constitute "putting at risk the things that mean most to Saddam." The allies would have to "go after the things that keep him in power and enable him to inflict the kind of pain he does on his own people and on others in the region," Zinni added. Saddam Hussein does not hold his conscripts in high regard, judging from the experiences of the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War, Zinni said. "He doesn't much care if you strike a unit, a surface-to-air missile site, a division. What means most to him are things like...his own special Republican Guard and other Republican Guard units that keep him in power, his own infrastructure and command-and-control systems and those kinds of things." Referring to the Arab state allies in the region, he said, "The coalition could not be sounder. I visited the leadership of every country in the region that has supported us. There is not a request that we've made that has been turned down. They see the threat the way we do, and they've been fully cooperative with what we've needed to be able to respond and to protect ourselves in this region. "We would be unable to enforce the U.N. sanctions without the support of these countries," he continued. "These countries bear a large portion of the costs of our forces being there, in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. We have made a number of requests that have come in areas such as overflight rights, en-route basing requirements, actual basing of our forces in the region, increasing our forces' support, combat aircraft, additional naval forces, and all sorts of other support and protection forces. Again, in no case have we been turned down." Asked whether Saddam Hussein is capable of using chemical and biological warfare, Zinni replied, "I spent seven months in northern Iraq. I went into the Kurdish villages that were gassed. I went into villages where no stone stood upon stone, and the villagers told me that five times the villages were destroyed. We still detected traces of the chemicals in those areas and couldn't let the Kurds go back into those villages. "He used it in the Iran-Iraq war. He's used it against the marsh Arabs. So he's used it against brother Arabs. He used it against brother Muslims." If, indeed, Saddam Hussein possesses those weapons, Zinni said, "it's clear" he will use them. Asked about the current strength of Saddam Hussein's forces, Zinni said "since the Gulf War his forces have been greatly reduced. But at the same time, they've been remarkably streamlined -- (there exist) probably half the ground forces, but he's consolidated them. His training has continued. He obviously maintains an air force that still is capable and an air defense system that's pretty robust. "Biological, chemical weapons? We don't know. Obviously, I think that's been covered in great detail, as to what the potential is out there, and that evidently there must be something he's hiding. That concerns us greatly." Calling Saddam Hussein "dangerous," Zinni said, "I would not want to predict his intentions. I purely look at his capabilities; those exist. As I said, he's still in violation of some of the sanctions that are in place to support the resolutions, and until he is fully compliant, I think we have to be ready to take military action and to respond because he still poses a threat." Asked about Iraq's possible use of weapons of mass destruction against U.S. forces in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in the Gulf region, Zinni said "the potential exists" either by SCUD missile or biological or chemical weapons. He said that terrorist attacks also are of "serious concern" and allied forces have therefore heightened their readiness to deal with such attacks. "We are taking every precaution," Zinni said. "We are making sure that our force-protection measures are up to snuff, that the awareness of the individual troops is what it should be. I put out several messages, talked to my component commanders, (in order) that we don't lose sight of that potential threat." However, he added, the threat is an omnipresent fact, not solely based on the current crisis. "As a matter of fact, the movement of more troops in may even increase the potential of (attack by) those not directly involved in this crisis but those that...would come in and commit a terrorist act. So we are very, very aware of that possibility." Asked to assess the Iraqi situation at present, Zinni said he applauds the diplomatic efforts and hope they work, "but the crisis is not over. "The UNSCOM inspections are, obviously, proceeding. We are monitoring those -- where they go, what happens. What the next step is, we aren't sure. And I think it's too early now to talk about...a complete stand-down and the crisis being over. So we are still in the region and still postured ready to see what the outcome will be," he said. Zinni noted that Saddam Hussein is still in violation of the southern no-fly zone with his surface-to-air missiles. "They don't pose an immediate threat to us. We can certainly handle them," he said, but it's still a technical violation. "He has moved some out. So he is still postured in a way where he is violating sanctions, where he has violated established and issued demarches, and these haven't been cleared up yet." Asked how the use of civilians as "human shields" by Saddam Hussein affects U.S. military planning, Zinni said that in targeting, the potential for civilian casualties is taken into account, although U.S. forces "do not desire to engage targets where that potential is there. "I will tell you this, that this act has really turned people in the region against" Saddam Hussein, Zinni continued. "The people I've talked to in the region don't view this as a courageous act or the act of a noble warrior or an Arab man....It obviously is an act that flies in the face and disgusts most of the people in the region." The likelihood of a military confrontation is unpredictable, Zinni said, adding, "I think we have to fully expect that it could be a possibility that this would occur. I am not sure how desperate (Saddam Hussein) is. He is a man that doesn't act rationally. I have seen the results of his handiwork, firsthand. It's sickening. And it seems to me he has little value for human life. And if it's a question of being in power, I think he'd resort to any act."
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
