European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday August 9, 1990 the  stripes a a. Page 3 .3t 7t i 45 Brssi it a ar.tj0  a photos an unidentified Sailor from the Saratoga feeds his daughter before boarding the Carrier tuesday morning at Mayport naval station in  no marines from Camp la Jenc n.c., Board a ship in another unidentified Sailor from the Carrier Saratoga Morehead City n.c., As they prepare to leave for a six gives his wife a last hug before leaving for the Middle month deployment to the Mediterranean. Fast tuesday morning. That this is another War by Christine Donnelly associated press soldiers held their children tight military wives shopped with tears in their eyes and at least one Bride was left at the altar As . Troops were mobilized to help saudi Arabia defend itself from a possible attack by Iraq. Pfc. Mark Ohmer a member of fort Braggs 82nd airborne div was to marry Angela Nelson 19, on saturday in Michigan. The $6,000 wedding was postponed when he was called Back to the North Carolina base to prepare to leave for saudi Arabia. A a it a scary a not just for my wedding but for the country and for All the soldiers who might have to go Over there and fight Quot Nelson said. In North Carolina convenience store clerks said brisk sales of chewing tobacco batteries and insect repellent to somber soldiers and their wives were sure signs fort Braggs 82nd airborne was set to go. A a lot of fathers Are coming in with their kids holding them real tight Quot and Many wives Are in tears As they make their purchases said Oftle Parsons a clerk at the Short Stop convenience store near the base. A they Are definitely going. There is no doubt in my mind that this is another War a said Parsons 23. President Bush ordered . Forces to saudi Arabia to repel a potential iraqi attack. Iraq invaded neighbouring Kuwait last week. A at my direction elements of the 82nd airborne division As Well As key units of the United states air Force Are arriving today to take up defensive positions in saudi Arabia a Bush said wednesday. A i took this action to assist the saudi arabian government in the defense of its  Pentagon sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said they expected army units heading for saudi Arabia to include elements of the 82nd airborne div the 24th div Mech from fort Stewart a. And the 101st airborne div from fort Campbell by. The 82nd and the 101st make up the xviii airborne corps. The Navy has two aircraft Carrier groups in the persian Gulf area and a third on the Way. It also has a group of eight naval ships inside the Gulf. Spec. Norman Aimes got a Call during his leave in Logan Utah. A get a haircut gel a shave and get Back a his superiors told the 24-year-old Soldier stationed at fort Stewart West of Savannah. A they called and said there is a 99 percent Chance that we Are going Quot Aimes said tuesday. Navy and government officials tried to downplay the possibility of a blockade or military involvement in the persian Gulf for sailors aboard the Carrier Saratoga which set out tuesday from the Mayport naval station near Jacksonville Fla. But that was on the minds of Many family members As the huge aircraft Carrier set out tuesday. A i Hope we get involved. I Hope so. Maybe we can straighten out the situation out there. Maybe they need us to go in and kick butt said Wendy Hunter holding her 8-month-old son Jonathan. Her husband Paul is aboard the Saratoga which was joined by a Small support flotilla. In Washington state nearly 1,200 servicemen were among the troops being deployed. Four b-52 bombers three Kc-135 Aerial tankers and More than 200 air crewmen and support staff members from Fairchild fab near Spokane were sent to the British military facility on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and other bases officials said tuesday. Four Navy squadrons with More than 950 men from Whitbey Island naval air station were aboard three aircraft carriers in or heading for the Gulf said base spokesman Howard  Trail of brutality follows iraqis Saddam by Peter Honey the Baltimore Sun Washington a murder Rutoli Tessness and political skulduggery were a Way of life for iraqi president Saddam Hussein Long before he sent his army into neighbouring Kuwait last week shaking tenuous Middle Eastern alliances and dismaying the world. As a 19-year-old student activist Saddam took part in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow King Faisal ii in 1956. Following the Kings assassination two years later Saddam tried a again without Success a to kill the new military ruler and was himself almost killed in the process. Bloodied but not cowed he retreated to Egypt where he studied Law and continued to plot for Power. In his absence Iraq went through three violent changes of government until in july 1968, maj. Gen. Ahmed Hassan Al Clakr seized Power in a bloodless coup. Saddam emerged As second in command to the new president but was widely acknowledged As the real Power in Iraq. When the general resigned the presidency in july 1979, Saddam took Over As head of state and the armed forces. It took Little More than a year for him to turn what had been a Long standing dispute with Iran Over control of the Shatt Al Arab waterway into full scale War. The lighting lasted eight years taking an astronomical toll on both sides a both Evanon Leahy and in lives. The Iran Iraq War analysts say planted the seeds for iraqis invasion of Kuwait. While it turned Iraq into the persian gulfs pre eminent military Power it also created untenable economic and Domestic political problems. Having relentlessly slowed an estimated $40 billion into the armed forces during the 1980s, Saddam created an Over centralized Industrial state with a soaring 40 percent inflation rate. According to a Washington based expert on Iraq the country a International debt amounts to about $80 billion about $30 billion of it owed to european states Japan and the United states. A a he a in really bad shape economically a said the expert who spoke on condition of anonymity. The country a economic troubles have Given Rise to Domestic dissatisfaction prompting Saddam to turn to imports to meet the demand for food and merchandise this has driven the debt even higher. Those pressures coupled with his self declared desire to be the a Spear of die arabs a made him turn on Kuwait in a bid for More Oil reserves and Revenue to Shore up his ailing Economy. The expert on Iraq said that she believes that Saddam is dismayed by the vehemence of world condemnation and that there is a a real possibility now that Saddam will withdraw from  she said a the really miscalculated because lie simply does not understand the Way that people outside the Arab world  nonetheless she added that she does not regard Saddam As a a madman a As he has been described by some members of Congress. What worries most strategists however is that the persian Gulf Region is now threatened by someone who not Only has the weaponry and the will to wreak havoc in the strategically sensitive area but who has already used it on his enemies his allies and rebels among his own people. During the War with Iran he systematically pounded Tehran with ballistic missiles and used nerve Gas to wipe out legions of iranian troops As Well As kurdish dissidents within Iraq. Brandishing probably the most formidable Arsenal of tactical chemical and possibly nuclear weaponry outside of the major Powers he has vowed to a scorch half of Israel if that country takes any military action against Iraq. A do not discount that he could want to expand into saudi Arabia because then he will literally control Oil output in the Region and be Able to up the Price As lie wishes a said  Marlin a Middle Eastern expert at Harvard University. Quot but even if Iraq pulls out of Kuwait there is enough fear throughout the whole Region  lie could Force the others into agreeing on the i ice he