European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 8, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 the stars and stripes thursday november 8,1990iraq agrees to release 108 by the associated press Iraq on tuesday promised to free 108 hostages none of them american White insisting that its foreign a a guests Are Well treated. Meanwhile Sec retail of state James a. Baker Iii pressed . Allies about their willingness to go to War. See related stories photos on pages 2 and 9. In the latest hostage releases iraqis official news Agency said 77 japanese would be freed in response to an Appeal from former japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. It also said 20 italians five swedes two germans two portuguese and two australians would be allowed to leave. It did not say when the captives would be freed but some had already begun to assemble at a Baghdad hotel. They were among thousands of foreigners trapped when Iraq invaded Kuwait on aug. Z. Some had been held at strategic Sites As a human Shields against attack. Iraa has since freed hundreds of captives but Western governments have expressed growing fears that Iraq s Saddam Hussein is successfully using the hostages to Divide the Alliance racing him. Baker meanwhile was seeking to strengthen the anti Iraq coalition. He is in the Mideast to assess support for stronger Steps against Iraq including a possible mini Tail strike. He met tuesday in Cairo with egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Egypt has sent thousands of troops to join the multinational Force assembled in the Gulf. . Troops make up the bulk of the Force which numbers about 300,000. The Pentagon said tuesday the . Troop de in the Region had reached ,000. While in Egypt Baker also met with China s foreign minister Qian Lichen. China is a permanent member of the . Security Council and its support would be needed for a .-sanctioned military strike against Saddam. Qian did not explicitly approve sending troops into action. But . Officials said on condition of anonymity that his comments indicated that the Beijing government would not veto a . Resolution authorizing the use of Force to liberate Kuwait. Plo chairman Yasser Arafat who has tried to act As a mediator in the Gulf crisis said prospects for peace Are improving As the world considers the consequences of an All out conflict. A War will be disastrous and catastrophic. This is the worlds Oil Center. Just imagine what a disaster and a catastrophe it will be a Arafat told reporters in Baghdad. Saudi arabians foreign minister however reminded Iraq on tuesday that the United nations has not restricted the use of military Force to liberate Kuwait. At the United nations four non aligned members of the Security Council drafted a plan calling for the simultaneous withdrawal of iraqi forces from Kuwait and foreign military forces from the Region. The measure sponsored by Colombia Cuba Malaysia and Yemen was Given Little Chance of passage. Iraqis freeing of its japanese hostages comes As japanese lawmakers consider a plan to Send troops to the Gulf in noncombat roles. However the measure has prompted Strong protests in Japan. Bills on defense spending reflect thaw in cold War by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a the 1991 defense spending Bills signed into Law by president Bush on monday night differ significantly from the requests he sent to Capitol Hill in january. At that time the shocks reverberating around the world from the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the thaw of the superpowers cold War were Only beginning to make themselves Felt. In the end the Compromise fashioned by Congress a a $268 billion appropriation Bill a represented an apparent consensus that the cold War is Over. But the legislation also seems to show that there is still consider a Able doubt about what lies ahead. The measure allocates $20 billion less than the authorization Bill Congress passed a few Days earlier and $27 billion less than Bush sought in january. In some aspects lawmakers were Quick to make fundamental changes reflecting the scope of change in the world especially in the personnel area. But critics charge that although Congress seated Back funding for some hardware it failed to eliminate any major weapons systems a even a few that the Pentagon does no to want. House and Senate aides said two issues shaped congressional reluctance to Cut deeper into weapons spending the persian Gulf crisis and this week s elections. The elections make lawmakers even More averse than usual to doing anything that might affect jobs in their Home districts. Following Are highlights of the final defense spending legislation for fiscal 1991, compared with what the bus administration requested in january a lawmakers approved a military pay raise of 4.1 percent after other congressional committees had approved the same increase for Federal civilians. Defense Secre of Matiy Dick Cheney had recommended a military pay increase of 3.5 percent. A on personnel Bush backed a Cut of 38,000 troops a figure that quickly became outmoded when the magnitude of the changes in Eastern Europe and the soviet Union became Clear. The Pentagon stuck by that number As Long As possible arguing that anything More would require massive involuntary separations. Congress refused to go along. The Senate approved a Cut of 100,000 troops whereas the House recommended a Cut of almost 130,000. Late in the process when it appeared that Congress would congressional action Pentagon in billions of dollars a pending account requested authorized appropriated operations and maintenance$90.1 $85.5 $83,5 procurement $79 $67.2 $67.2 research and. Development $38.1 $36.1 $35.9 personnel $79.1 $78.2 $78.1 military construction $5.7 $5.3 $5.1 family housing $3.5 $3.4 $3.3 funds not included in appropriations Bill source congressional legislation a amps Susan Harris Back a minimum Cut of 100,000, Cheney raised the administrations offer to 80,000 troops. The final authorization Bill requires the Cut of 100,000 troops. But lawmakers added language giving the Pentagon the flexibility to Cut As few As 80,000 troops if necessary because of operation desert shield or other commitments. A for operations and maintenance Congress Cut the Pentagon request by More than $5 billion and directed that most of the reductions must be made at overseas bases to encourage Host nation allies to Bear More defense Burden sharing costs. A a few hardware programs particularly the strategic defense initiative were reduced so much that Cheney had indicated he would urge Bush to veto the authorization Bill. But a last minute Compromise prompted Cheney to drop his opposition. Bush wanted $4.7 billion for ski popularly known As Star wars. The House voted to Cut that to $2.3 billion and the Senate recommended $3.5 billion. The final Compromise was $2.9 billion and included the removal of certain provisions which the Pentagon had objected tracking the Pentagon budget army requested authorized appropriated uh-60 helicopter $272.1m $116.1m $104.6m Patriot missile $883.1 m $790,7m $736.4m multiple launch $313.9m $383.9m $403,1m rocket system Helt tre missile $123.3m $106.3m $106.3m Tow 2 missile $219.5m $179.5m $175.5m m-1 tank $747,3m $747.3m $747.3m air Furna b-2 bomber $3.2b $2.3b $2 3b f-15 fighter $1.7b $1.5b $1.5b f-16.fighter $2.4b $1.9b $1.9b c-17 transport $1.7b $400m $400m my missile $673.6m $673.6m $655m Navy v-22 transport 0 $188m. $165m f/a-18 fighter $1.96 $1.5b $1.5b ch-53e helicopter $37?m 0 0 Tomahawk missile $808,7m $658.7m $658.7m Omraam missile $421.9m $351.9m. V $280m Trident submarine $1.20 $1.18 $1.38 sea Wolf sub Manne $2.38. $1.5b $1.40 guided missile $3.68 $3.2b $3.26 destroyers Lii Lisi funding limited it authorization Bill Cap Quot source stars amp stripes a amps Susan Harris to on How the Money could be spent. Congress approved funds for the 12 my intercontinental ballistic missiles that the Pentagon wanted. But it Cut All Money a a total of about $1.1 billion a that would have been used to begin development of the my rail Garrison Basing system. _ lawmakers also Cut one of the two sea Wolf submarines and one of the five guided missile destroyers requested by the Navy As Well As shaving $900 million from the $3,2 billion air Force request for b-2 bomber procurement funds. And Congress again refused to let the Pentagon kill the v-22 Osprey tilt Rotor aircraft. The Pentagon has repeatedly said the aircraft is unnecessary but lawmakers from districts where the planes Are built keep putting it Back into the defense budget. A total of $165 million in procurement funds and $238 million in research and development funds for the v-22 were approved by Congress. Pan am Felt warning a hoax probe told Dumfries Scotland a a pan am Security manager said tuesday that before the flight 103 bombing the airline investigated a warning that one of its .-bound flights would be a target but determined it was a hoax. Jim Berwick pan am Security manager at London a Heathrow Airport at the time of the dec. 21,1988, bombing told a Public inquiry that although the airline evaluated the warning made to the . Embassy in Helsinki As a hoax it stepped up Security. The inquiry into the disaster which killed All 259 people on Board and 11 on the ground in Lockerbie 12 Miles Northeast of Dumfries is focusing Only on the deaths and ways to prevent future bombings not on criminal responsibility. The inquiry began oct. 1 and is expected to last three months. Scottish authorities Are still investigating the crime focusing on several Radical palestinian groups. The . Drug enforcement Agency is looking into a news report that one of its agents might have unwittingly carried the bomb on Board during one of its undercover operations. At tuesdays session Berwick said that while he was in Brussels dec. 8, 1988, a colleague told him of a warning that a finnish woman would be duped into caning the bomb on Board a Frankfurt to new York flight. Berwick who is now pan american world airways managing ground Security coordinator at Heathrow said he returned to London advised the . Embassy regional Security officer asked the Federal aviation authority in Brussels for More information and flew to Helsinki the next Day for a meeting at the Airport. Officials later decided the threat was a hoax Berwick said. Quot