European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 2 a a a the stars and stripes saturday december 15, 1990 Row. In Kim j Wmma fwd Kwi ii i crisis in the . Envoy to Kuwait flies to . Frankfurt Germany a the . Ambassador to Kuwait Bew Back to the United states about 50 american and other foreign hostages he led out of the persian Gulf crisis. The . Military 05 transport plane headed Back to the United states with 33 americans and non-. Citizen family members As Well As 15 people going to Canada according to . Consulate spokesman Craig Springer. All had come from Iraq or occupied Kuwait on thursday. Ambassador Nathaniel Howell who spent three months defying iraqi orders to vacate the . Embassy in Kuwait after Baghdad invaded the emirate in August refused to talk to reporters As he left his hotel Friday morning. Former hostages who would talk to reporters were very bitter about their Cape a inces and accused Iraq of a Host of atrocities. Y y a Howell and a plane Load of americans and other hostages flew to Frankfurt from Baghdad late thursday night on a .-chartered iraqi a we re very Happy to be Here a Howell said after arriving. A a we re delighted that americans who wanted to leave . Consulate officials said 94 people were aboard the iraqi Airliner. Springer a spokesman for the . Consulate in Frankfurt said that of those 31 were americans including Howell and his Barc Bones embassy staff. Springer said that the americans who were not aboard the c-5a Friday have chosen to return Home independently. The group on what was to be the last .-chartered plane carrying foreigners from Iraq and Kuwait also included britons canadians japanese italians norwegians Irish and other nationalities. A this morning 1 closed the embassy a Howell told a horde of waiting reporters after arriving thursday night. But he then caught himself saying a i did not close the embassy but 1 vacated it. The Flag he would not comment on whether there were any kuwaiti nationals left to watch the embassy compound. Howell declined to speak at length explaining that a a we Haven to had electricity and water hot water at night for 110 Days. So we re going to take advantage of that. Iraqis government of president Saddam Husser ordered All foreign missions in Kuwait to close aug. 24, and those that defied the order had services Cut off by authorities who took Over the emirate after the aug. 2 invasion. Howell who picked up his Luggage along with the others acknowledged he had lost a a Little weight on the siege diet which featured a Stock of canned tuna. But he added Quot i feel great. In a in Good he repeatedly declined to talk about the persian Gulf crisis and when told that the Public was waiting to hear his views said a so is the department of state a. And i have to talk to them first because they pay my the . Ambassador to Germany Vernon Walters travelled from Bonn to Frankfurt to Greet his colleague. Walters said he was proud 6f Howell and the rest of his staff who a kept the Flag flying under very difficult Howell was Kuwa it by his Deputy chief of Mission Barbara Bod Ine and three other american diplomats. The sex hostages brought with them so Ries of atrocities. One american who said his Mother was from Indiana and his father from Kuwait said several people who had been imprisoned after the invasion later told tales of torture. He said he knew of one 15-Ycar-old boy who was arrested by iraqi authorities after protesting the shooting death of his younger brother. The younger boy had been caught Spray painting anti Saddam Hussein Graffiti and was shot on the spot the american said. He explained that he went to Kuwait last summer to marry a kuwaiti woman and now planned to return to Indiana and continue Nis studies at Purdue University he declined to give his name for fear that those he left behind would be harassed. Layla Cox a kuwaiti married to an american was emotional As she walked away from the plane thursday carrying her baby daughter Quot its terrible. You had to be there a she told reporters. Later As she waited with her husband Wayne and. Three children to Check into their room she explained that she join in the euphoria of the other hostage when the plane touched Down in the West because other three Sisters left in Kuwait. A my poor Sisters and their kids Are still hostages there. I done to think ill be Able to enjoy this Washington apr Nathaniel Howell . Ambassador to Kuwait comes Home hailed As a Symbol of americans refusal to Bow to a tyrants coercion a hero to the people he protected and the nation he represented. Vav a a a a. A a a he a a hero like John Wayne a said one american trapped for months with Howell in the besieged american embassy Ita Howell left Baghdad for Home thursday on the last charter plane carrying foreigners from Iraq and occupied Kuwait. The 50-Ycar-old envoy was accompanied by Barbara Bodine Deputy chief of Mission in Kuwait and three other diplomats the last americans to evacuate the iraqi troop surrounded diplomatic compound in Kuwait More than three months Howells embassy defied iraqi orders to close the Mission. Deprived of electricity and running water the eight diplomats and 19 american civilians in the compound survived on canned tuna and Rice produce from gardens and boiled water from the compounds swimming Pool f the 50-year-old Howell a was a tremendous Leader Quot said Jack. Rinehart an Engineer from Stover mo., and one of those trapped in the embassy a i fold him i trusted my life to y a the drank the same dirty water he slept outside with the flies and the heat. I had the same cliche vision of diplomats that. When the Silver gets dirty they run. That was not the Case with Nat Howell Quot Rinehart said. A a he a a hero like John Wayne a Howells triumphant return is in marked contrast to that of his colleague in Iraq april Glaspie a victim of bad timing and perhaps bad advice who has been shunted away from the limelight Howell was packing his bags closing out his three year stint in Kuwait when Saddam Hussein a troops poured across the Border on aug. 2. His wife had already left for Home. So had april Glaspie. The first american woman ambassador to an Arab country left Baghdad Only three. Is amps Michael a rung ambassador Nathaniel Howell boards a .-bound cd 5a Galaxy at Rhein main air base in Germany Days before the invasion for a Long planned vacation. She never returned. Like Howell Glaspie 48, is a highly respected career Diplomat with decades of service in the Middle East and fluency in arabic and French. But fairly or not Glaspie May be associated with americans follies not its heroics. Glaspie met Saddam a week before the invasion and according to transcripts released by Iraq praised Saddam for his a extraordinary efforts to rebuild his country and reassured him that the United states took no official position on iraqis Border dispute with Kuwait. The transcripts never challenged by the state department showed that Glaspie did not respond directly to Saddam a threats of terrorism if the United states thwarted his Aims and stressed that the Bush administration opposed economic sanctions against Iraq. Glaspie has since kept a Low profile behind state department Walls while her second in command in Baghdad charge do affaires Joseph c. Wilson in has earned accolades for his tireless efforts on behalf of the american hostages. A a a. She has not generally been available to reporters but did Tell the new York times when asked about her con. Ciliate by approach toward Saddam a every kuwaiti and saudi every analyst in the Western world was wrong too. That does not excuse me. But people who now claim that All was Clear were not heard from at that Marshall Wiley president of the .-Iraq business forum and former ambassador to Oman said Glaspie a probably will be unfairly blamed for not predicting the invasion. A Wiley praised both Glaspie and Howell As highly competent diplomats and said Glaspie should not be faulted for reflecting policy set in Washington. A it was . Policy that was Ted Wilkinson president of the american foreign service association agreed that Glaspie a has been More of a lightning Rod than she should have been for . Failure to foresee the invasion a because of that meeting with Saddam april has taken More of her rightful share of blame everybody in the Region has to share to some extent the goes awol by Peggy Davidson Kaiserslautern Bureau Kaiserslautern Germany a Soldier assigned to the 1st signal in in Kaiserslautern dropped from sight last week As her unit prepared to leave for saudi Arabia unit officials said Friday. The non commissioned officer told tier co workers and supervisors that she a opposed to fighting in saudi Arabia and did no to want to deploy with the unit the officials said. The. Soldier whose identity has not been released left Kleber Cavern on dec. 7 and is absent without leave she could be charged with desertion if she stays away for 30 Days or More or if Legal officials think that they can prove that she intended to desert. When the Soldier first indicated that she did no to want to be deployed unit officials advised her to visit the Legal office to learn whether she could Quality As a conscientious objector. There she was told that she did no to have any Legal justification for refusing to deploy said command sgt. Maj Richard a offard the unit sergeant major. The Soldier also was examined by a psychiatrist at Lan Stuhl army regional medical Center who found her to be competent and not suffering from As Long As the Soldier continued to process for deployment her threats to leave her unit could not be held against her offard said. She was advised of the penalties of deserting and being absent without leave and was restricted to the Cavern of Fard said. A. For being awol the Soldier could receive administrative punishment or be court Martiale at the commanders Dis. A _. A ,. Creation. If she is convicted of desertion she could receive a dishonourable discharge and one years confinement. She also could also be court Martiale for missing troop move ment with the intent of avoiding Maneu vers or Field exercises that offence is punish ble by a bad conduct discharge and six months confinement. A when the Soldier left Pec. 7, she took no military gear w Ith her and left most of her clothes in her Barracks room. She left her Usa eur plate car with a Friend offard said. The Friend turned it Over to unit officials monday
