European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 a a a the stars and stripes monday january 28,1991 res by the stars and stripes Northeast saudi Arabia Iraq has Laid at least a half million land mines in Kuwait and is adding More . Marine officers said sunday. A Kuwait is going to be turned into one big minefield a said maj. George Cutchall a Marine mine expert. The mines Are one part of a formidable array of iraqi defences that include 12-foot-tall berms Oil filled trenches and buried storage tanks filled with explosive butane. A Quot a Quot Tuv a a a a most of the mines Are Strung in one or possibly two belts just North of the Kuwait saudi Border but virtually All of Kuwait is Likely to be mined by the time Allied troops arrive in the occupied emirate Cutchall said. A the estimate of 500,000 mines is a conservative num her he said noting that Iraq has As Many As 20 million of the explosive devices in its inventory. Many of them were gifts from such once Friendly countries As the United states France the soviet Union and Kuwait. The mines Range in Power from anti tank charges that can blow a 63-ton mla1 tank 5 feet off the ground to so called a toe Poppers designed to blast the foot off a careless Soldier officers said. Some of the mines Are High tech models in which a computer Chip decides when and How the device is detonated. Others Are of the a bouncing Betty Quot variety which jump a few feet in the air before detonating. Marines said the bouncing charges widely used by the North vietnamese Are capable of cutting a Soldier in half. A this Guy Saddam Hussein knows what he a doing and he likes mines Quot Cutchall told about 100 grim faced marines gathered in the desert for a lecture on mines. This Guy Saddam Hussein knows what he s doing and he likes mines.1 _ a maj. George Cutchall he said satellite photos indicate that Between mid december and Early january iraqi soldiers Laid a 35-mile Belt of mines behind its Border defences in Eastern Kuwait. There Are signs a second Belt is being installed near Kuwait City he is also expected to scatter mines throughout the rest of Kuwait using helicopters and artillery Cutchall a Saida a a a Quot a a a. A a a a a a. The marines have explosives and tanks equipped with plows that can Clear a path through minefields Cutchall said but ground forces must still be careful not to charge into areas that have riot been cleared. He also warned troops not to pick up War mementos because any object on the ground could be a mine of Booby trap. A you can to afford to souvenir Hunt in this War a he a said. A 1 a a a. A a a a. / fortunately the iraqis have marked most of the minefields with barbed wire so their troops do not wander into them. But those markers May be taken Down or get knocked Askew by Allied bombing he said. Militarily the minefields and barriers present the. Ground forces with their most difficult problem Accord inc to Marine it. Col. Mitch Youngs the commander of a battalion attached to the 2nd Marine div the explosive Fields Are designed to slow Down advancing infantry and Armor so that the iraqis can rain artillery fire on them he said. A the basically wants to channelized us into what we Call a killing zones a a Youngs said. To counter that tactic ground forces have trained extensively on How to breach the barriers As quickly As possible. The troops Are trained to move quickly to another location or Call in air strikes when they get bogged Down in a minefield. ,. / Marine staff sgt. Rick Taylor a former Boot Camp instructor who was leading other marines through mine Clearing classes sunday morning warned the troops to get rid of their knives and other extras before the ground offensive begins. A. A a a if you re with me and one of those things Falls and hits a mine in a going to crawl out on my bloody stumps and choke you out Quot he threatened. Clearing the minefields May result in More than Safe passage for advancing Allied troops since Central come officials believe the explosives Are also keeping Many iraqi soldiers from deserting. A a they Are saying that a lot of them might surrender a said Marine 2nd it. Chris Simmler 23, from Franklin mass. A the troops Are a conscript Force and we Are not expecting that much a information Lor Inis report was part by Media Pool reporters on with the 2nd marines a a a a. Quot Arafat sealed iraqi by Lee Stokes an analysis Cairo Egypt up Plo Leader Yasser Arafat a last Public appear a Nee was when he greeted iraqis Saddam Hussein with a kiss on the shoulder in Baghdad the Day before War erupted in the persian Gulf. In the language of Arab embraces Arafat a kiss signified subservience to Sadda Vas the Leader of the Arab nation a and the Man tar of palestinians around the world. Such an interpretation suits Saddam nicely. The iraqi president has claimed that his War against the .-led coalition is being waged to liberate palestinians in israelis occupied territories palestinians who Harbor doubts about Arafat a staunch support for Saddam were not Happy to see the Palestine liberation organization Leader tie himself a and the destiny of his people a so closely to Saddam. A kissing Saddam on the shoulder is one of a number of Gulf Arab styles of greeting Quot said one palestinian living in Cairo. A but for Saddam kissing him on the shoulder is meant to give the iraqi Leader a feeling of National Pride. It is intended to make Saddam Feci he is the father of the Arab the most common method of greeting in other Arab Gulf states such As saudi Arabia Kuwait Bahrain and the United Arab emirates is nose kissing. In Oman Sultan Quoos prefers his subjects to kiss his hand a sentiment shared by King Hassan of Morocco v but Arafat a kissing of Saddam on his shoulder shows an undeclared recognition of iraqi Hegemony Over the Arab world and subjugated the Plo Leader to Saddam a leadership with All the political implications that entails. Moderate palestinians Point out that Arafat May have kissed Saddam on the shoulder but he has also indulged in repeated nose kissing exercises on virtually every Gulf Arab Leader in the past in the language of Arab greeting his action says that the. Palestinians place themselves at the mercy of the Arab leaders. A it is not Nice for palestinians to see Arafat humiliating himself and his people in this Way because it carries a sense of subjugation to others that a proud Leader of an Arab people should not allow himself to do a said the palestinian who asked to remain Anonymous. Given his proud Arab background however Saddam would regard any greeting from a Plo Leader other than a Peck on the shoulder As an insult. Ibrahim Gohary an egyptian journalist said. A if you re in Baghdad you re Wise to follow Saddam a rules or you might have problems so perhaps we judge Arafat too a Jiva in the world of Arab politics a kiss is not just a kiss. In this 1986 photo Plo Leader Yasser Arafat right greets egyptian president Hosni paper urges readers to Back . Bonn Germany up a a German mass circular Ion weekly condemning anti american protests asked its readers sunday to Tell president Bush they fully support . Action in the persian Gulf. Bild am Sonny said it would Forward to the White House letters of support and suggested readers simply sign a message printed in the paper. The message addressed to the president and decorated with the . And German flags states Quot in these hard times i stand on the Side of America and distance myself from anti american actions in Germany a the linked states and its allies Are fighting for a just cause in the Gulf. The aggressor is Saddam the paper said it w As shocked that while a Allied pilots were tortured in Baghdad demonstrators in Berlin took to the streets with anti american German peace organizations earlier rejected claims that their protests were directed against the United states. Quot a at a massive rally saturday in Bonn isolated anti american slogans were drowned out by the crowd As one speaker Drew loud applause for saying the protest w As neither anti american nor anti israeli but again the War in the the demonstration Drew approximately 170,000 pc it be and a spokesman for the organizers called it the Argest anti desert storm protest a held in a democratic country. German weapons exporters were sin Tor condemnation at the demonstration where a guru desert Morm protest held in a a Emu a country. German weapons exporters were singled on Tor condemnation at the demonstration where banners suggested sending a arms dealers to the
