European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday december 18, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 3crisis in the null troops tune in to Rock for gis in Bard places also reaches saudis by Deedee Arrington Doke Middle a amp Tom Keiiti Eastern saudi Arabia disc jockey Milt Hope remembers one particular caller who phoned shield 107 pm to request a song 4�?~he was a 32-year-old saudi who said he d lived Here All his life said the army specialist who works at the armed forces radio and television service station Iii saudi Arabia. A the wanted to hear a walk like an egyptian a by the bangles where american forces go arts follows. And curious local listeners Arentt far behind military personnel in tuning in for an audio slice of americana a blend of contemporary pop country Quot and soul hits sports and information. Arts kicked off its radio service to desert shield troops in september with four Mobile locations that broadcast live and prerecorded programs 24 hours a Day under different nicknames a such As shield 107 a and frequencies in saudi Arabia. Security concerns prevent disclosure of the specific Sites. Last month the broadcast service began offering 16 hours of television programming per Day through a straight satellite feed of network news programs Cable news network segments sports and a entertainment tonight from arts in the United states. Station officials emphasize that the to service is a test. A Otvis going to be the next growing step for us and it requires further discussion with our saudi arabian hosts. There a a lot of sensitivity there so we done to talk a lot about to a said Navy chief journalist Tim Shipman shield 107�?Ts station manager until Dee 14. For now afro so radio Waves Are service members closest live link to the outside world. Disc jockeys allot three songs per hour for listener requests during shield 107�?Ts six hours of live program Ming daily. Saudis often phone in. And stateside sweethearts Call and write for Long distance song dedications to deployed loved ones requesting ballads that pledge undying faithfulness and Devotion such As a will be waiting right Here for you by Richard Marx. One Distant suitor asked the station to broadcast his proposal to his Girlfriend who had deployed to operation desert shield. Station officials turned the request Over to the woman a unit to see if she minded. A we never heard Back a said Shipman who normally is assigned to Nas Kef Lavik Iceland. And then there Are the song requests from the stations captive audience the troops themselves who want to hear tunes that reflect their thoughts on duty in the Middle East. Johnny paychecks a take this Job and shove it and the rolling stones a Rock and a hard place Are popular choices. A troops ask for anything that has to do with going Home a said army staff sgt. Paul Stevenson voice of shield i07 s a Good morning saudi arabian a show. To the saudis have a different reason for listening to shield 107 and its 9,000-plus song playlist a curiosity. A a a a a a a a a a a a is amp photos Kongo Oryo army spec. Milt ii pc left prepares to broadcast from one of afro so four Mobile lot Lions in saudi Arabia. At right army staff sgt. Paul Stevenson docs shield 107s a Good morning saudi Arabia Quot show. None of the songs is edited for broadcast As some Are on local radio stations in the kingdom now the saudis can find put what they have been missing. That does no to mean however that every hit played on arts affiliates around the world will turn up on the \ saudi based stations. Disc jockeys steer dear of songs with blatantly sexual lyrics that might offend the saudi. Hosts. A ,. V. Christmas programming is also a potentially Tricky Issue in saudi Arabia where culture and so Jety. Listeners will hear Only instrumental versions of those Christmas songs with lyrics that feature religious themes. However secular Holiday songs such As a Winter wonderland will be played Complete with lyrics. Staying saturday shield 107 began playing one huli Day song per hour building up to a total of three per hour on Christmas Day a and then let it Navy it. Cmdr John lib pins arts Field operations manager for saudi Arabia officials purposely decided to Start playing Holiday music on the radio in mid december instead of just after thanksgiving. A if we started earlier by the time Christmas gets Here you a have a Bunch of kids weeping in the lox holes a Hopkins said. The arts stations Are not the Only voices on the airwaves. On the other Side. Iraqis broadcast Belle Baghdad belly is having her say As Well. But the american staffs so off at any hint of Competition Between arts and Betty who spouts pro iraqi propaganda in Between songs on a widely admired playlist. A Baghdad Betty is Good comedy Relief Quot i Lope said. A i d like to Call her and get her live on my re Washington apr a military study says the United states had no conclusive evidence when it accused Iraq of using chemical weapons against its kurdish minority in september 1988, f the report written by three analysts at the . Army War College before Iraq invaded Kuwait of aug. 2, also says that a contrary to general belief iraqis rulers enjoy significant popular the study examines Iraq s performance in the Iran Iraq War that ended in july 1988. A claims that they Iraq won simply by using massive amounts of chemical weapons cannot be substantiated a concludes the study titled a iraqi Power and . Security in the Middle Leif Rosenberger one of the authors said in a Telephone interview from Carlisle pa., that the writers concluded that iraqis win Over Iran a was pretty much an Armor although both Iraq and Iran used chemical weapons during their eight year War Baas chemical superiority a was overstated we thought Rosenberger said Iraq used chemical weapons As a defensive measure against. Iranian a human wave attacks the study said. A the fundamental Point to keep in mind we feel is that Iraq won the War with Iran because of its greater sacrifice a said the . Officials have repeatedly cited Baghdad a Possession of chemical weapons As the reason for taming iraqi president Saddam Hussein even if he were to leave Kuwait. A imagine his. Saddam a ability to blackmail his neighbors should he possess a nuclear device a president Busin said at a news conference earlier this month. A a we be seen him use chemical weapons on his own the War College report which was de classified and released to the Public in the summer raises questions about whether Saddam used chemical weapons against a he kurdish minority in Iraq in fall 1988. A having looked at All of the evidence that was available to us we find it impossible to confirm the slate department s claim that Gas was used in this instance a the authors said a to begin whig there were never any victims produced. International Relief organizations who examined the kurd. Failed to discover any a the report said. It said the claims rest solely on testimony of the kurd who have Long sought autonomy from Iraq. A conclusive evidence on the attack was never produced a the study said. Johnson said the authors did not visit Iraq or interview kurd to reach their interpretation. Instead they looked at pub wished reports and at pictures he said in a Telephone concluded that the kurd had symptoms such As temporary blindness and ski it b 1 i St e is a t h a t a re More com Manly associated with attack by fuel air explosives father than chemical weapons. We recognize that there Are observers who do not share our View on this a the authors said adding that their conclusions did not necessarily represent the views of the War College or the army. At the time turkish officials found no evidence of chemical weapons use when they screened the sick and injured among 60,000 kurdish refugees who fled across the Border. But Seth car us of the Washington Institute for near East policy said he had doubts about the conclusion that Iraq Diu Quot not use chemical weapons against its own people in late 1988. A the evidence for use think is fairly substantial a Carus said a it would require a much More convincing Case than they make to discredit the claim a he said
