INTERNATIONAL
Troops begin new countdown: Bush 'resolute’
(AP) — The midnight dead
line for Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein to pull his forces out of
Kuwait passed Wednesday and
more than 680.000 U S. and al
lied troops began a new count
down to war.
Barring an attack by Iraq, the
start of a Persian Gulf war lay
in the hands of President Bush
and allied leaders. Bush, armed
with congressional authoriza
tion to drive Iraq from Kuwait,
was described Tuesday as reso
lute and “at peace with him
self.”
Iraq declared a "furnace of
hell" awaits anyone trying to
dislodge its 545.000 troops
from Kuwait, taken over in an
Iraqi blitz on Aug. 2. What Sad
dam faced was thousands of
combat aircraft, scores of war
ships and some of the world's
most sophisticated weapons,
spearheaded by 415,000 IJ.S.
troops.
Baghdad's shouts of defiance
combined with a worldwide
clamor of last-minute appeals
to Saddam and anti-war pro
tests.
The deadline expired at 8
a.m. Wednesday local time in
Baghdad, where the Iraqi gov
ernment gave no last-minute
sign it was willing to withdraw
from the small emirate it over
ran in a dispute over land and
oil.
After the deadline, set Nov,
29 by the United Nations Secu
rity Council, U N. members are
authorized to drive Iraq out of
Kuwait by force.
Deadline expiration at mid
night Tuesday, Eastern Stan
dard Time, did not mean war
was inevitable, but exhausted
diplomats said efforts to find a
peaceful solution were practi
cally dead.
At a packed news confer
ence, UN. Secretary-Ceneral
javier Perez de Cuellar made a
final appeal to Saddam Hussein
to withdraw his troops and
avert war. He assured Iraq that
once it begins a decisive with
drawal, its forces would not be
attacked.
Perez de Cuellar said he also
had promises "from the highest
levels of government" that
with the crisis over, "every ef
fort will be made to address, in
a comprehensive manner, the
Arab-Israeli conflict, including
the Palestinan question."
That links the Persian Culf
crisis with the Palestinian is
sue, a connection the Iraqi
president sought and the Unit
ed States and Britain opposed.
Perez de Cuellar's statement
came six hours before expira
tion of the U-N. deadline.
Bush somberly walked the
White House grounds at dawn
Tuesday, then met with his na
tional security advisers.
The Defense Department said
Iraqi forces in Kuwait were
continuing to dig in against a
multinational force that had
grown to 680.000 1 including
35.000 troops from Britain.
10.000 from Prance, 150.500
from Saudi Arabia and 38,500
from Egypt. The Pentagon said
U S. forces ran battle drills and
flew air combat exercises in the
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hours before the (leadline.
NBC-TV News said Tuesday
night that B-52 bombers had
been moved to bases in a gulf
country it did not identify. The
Air force has never conceded
that B-52s have been assigned
to Operation Desert Shield, but
a detachment is known to have
been based at Diego Garcia, in
the Indian Ocean.
Lt. Col. Stuart Wagner, a
Pentagon spokesman, said he
could not comment on the net
work report.
Iraq's U.S. ambassador.
Mohamed Sadiq Al-Mashat. left
Washington with several aides
Tuesday night on his way to
London and then Baghdad.
Four other Iraqi diplomats will
remain at the embassy.
Iraqi state TV said Saddam
visited the front in occupied
Kuwait on Tuesday lt said he
toured military zones around
Kuwait and the Iraqi city of
Basra, just north of the emirate
invaded and conquered by Iraq
Aug 2
Saddam met corps and divi
sion commanders and repeated
that Iraq would not submit to
the U.N resolution demanding
withdrawal
“There will be no compro
mise on the nation's rights. The
slogan of expelling the aggres
sors from the land of Islamic
sanctity will be our slogan
which we will not give up." he
was quoted as saying
France said its last-minute
initiative to avoid war drew a
blank. “There is a fatal moment
where one must act." French
Premier Michel Kocard told
lawmakers Tuesday night
“This moment has. alas, ar
rived 1 after we have done* ev
erything to avoid it."
Rare rain fell in parts of the
Saudi Arabian desert, where
hundreds of thousands of
American troops stood grimly
ready to do battle.
Iti Washington. White House
spokesman Marlin Fitzwater
said, “I would say that the
president is at peace with him
self He's ready to make the
tough decisions ahead that are
necessary,”
Fitzwater said a decision on
launching an attack against Iraq
was likely to come "sooner
rather than later" after the
deadline.
Trading on U S. financial
markets Tuesday slowed to a
crawl as Wall Street monitored
news reports but look little ac
tion ponding the U N. dead
line The slock market inched
higher, oil prices finished low
er. the dollar and gold were
mixed, bonds declined.
In Haghdad. thousands of
demonstrators took to the
streets in a government-orches
trated show of defiance "The
holy war is about to begin!”
said ono man. waving his Ah
47 rifle.
Iruq's army daily. Al
Qaddissiya. said of Hush: "last
him know that the furnace of
hell will be open to the Ameri
cans and to their allies when
they come."
Hut many Iraqis fled the capi
tal Shops were closed and
parks and playgrounds wen*
deserted.
Allies in the coalition ar
rayed against Iraq were girding
for battle.
"We are not thirsting for
war. though if it comes ... I be
lieve it would he a just war."
Hritish Prime Minister John
Major told Parliament.
Canadian Prime Minister Bri
an Mulroney said Canada,
which has about 1.850 troops
in the gulf region, will join in
any military attack against Sad
dam.
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