European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 the stars and stripes monday february 25, 1991 desert a it. Mumm Mew Eon Jensen clues of War there were plenty of hints the past few Days that this ground War was imminent. No one was surprised sunday morning to hear the news. Consider the recent reports from reporters on the front lines. . Marines intensified artillery attacks and air raids against front line iraqi forces tonight a began one Pool report filed saturday. Another noted the Slaughter of a bewildered and terrified iraqi troops Cut Down by american fire. The Pool reporter said one enemy Soldier was a literally blown to bits by the fire. Yet another Pool reporter said the desert a crawled saturday with thousands of trucks Quot carrying artillery shells fuel and water. There were other clues As Well. Journalists asked military officials saturday about reports of fighting on fail Island at the Entrance of the Bay outside Kuwait City. A fail Island is one of Many targets we have in the Kuwait theater of operations a said Marine Brig. Gen. Richard Neal. A beyond that would t get into operational act another military official who spoke on background usually a forum for More forthcoming information Alsor refused to mention the fighting on the Island. We know now that the Island was being secured to pave the Way for an amphibious assault. But that same official did offer some hints. Asked about the increased barrages along the Northern saudi arabian Border Etc offered a artillery will increase in proportion to the a Day \ 2a a. Closed Mouths also increased in proportion with the approach of a Day the name for the Start of the ground invasion. I i hour is the hour it began. A a / Quot . A a. Initially a 48-hour blackout was imposed on news briefings a both on the record and for background. On the sign outside the Riyadh briefing room where briefing times had been posted White letters read on hold. Late sunday there were hints the ban could be lifted. There arc. Other signs new to the press Center in the saudi arabian capital. Quickly scrawled signs said a next Stop Kuwait a kuwaiti in his country a ministry of information office in Riyadh told me sunday morning he was a very Happy Quot to hear that the ground invasion to free his country had begun. While the launching of the air War although anticipated was met with Surprise Here this ground War seems to have been greeted with Little More than shrugs. A a it a about time. We be waited Long enough a an my outside a Riyadh hotel said. A sergeant rushed into a hotel newsstand to buy newspapers. It has been a daily routine for six months said the newsstand operator. This was the first time in a Long time the Soldier was smiling. A a one month a the Soldier said when asked How Long it would last. That a the most recent guessing game in town. How Long will it take to remove Iraq from Kuwait now that the thousands of tanks and armoured be Hields in the Allied Arsenal arc kicking up a dust Trail to the North ? 2 for the soldiers who have been cleaning weapons standing guard and standing still for the past six months the waiting is Over. For their families and friends and for the american people and the citizens of the world the wait continues. To Star and Stripe War in the Gulf . Pilots can t vastness of land assault by the stars and Stripe saudi Arabia 9vs Allied truths swept into Iraq and Kuwait on a 3 h mile wide front . Pilots looked Down in Awe from their cockpits. A i can to fathom the size of this operation. 1 can to grasp it. Its enormous a said air Force it. Col Randy Bigum. 41, of Springfield to. A a you be heard people talk about the Eno Mif Tif air Power. This air Power pales in v Bigum had just returned from a Mission that took him Over a Broad front of Allied tanks and other armoured units that by then were More than 12 Miles inside Kuwait. A they were in groups. I had expected to see a continuous line you know Kinda like a Kickoff return but it Wasny to like that at All a said the f-15c fighter Pilot who also commands the 53rd tue fighter so based in bib org Germany. A parts of the Battlefield were obscured by heir smoke from Oil Field fires which Are now estimate to exceed 200. A a it a amazing How much smoke is up there a said 1st it. Lou ,_.25, front Ridley Park a. The lieutenant is an f-15e Crew member with the 71st tag fighter so based at Langley fab a it a 40 Miles by 100 Miles Long As far As you can see its Black up there. There s a lot fires from the Battle today a he said. A you can see the fires through the smoke. I done to know if they Are tanks or vehicles but there Are a whole Bunch of them on fire a de fidello said. Capi. Steve Adams 28, of Middletown conn., said the overcast skies tended to reflect the Light trom the fires. A there was one big glow Over most of Kuwait As far As you could see a said the Pilot who also with the 71st. 2,. = a while Many Allied units could be seen enemy adored units were not on the iraqi Battlefield in any great numbers said col. David Hamlin 47, an Flea Pilot from East Bloomfield . But that does no to mean there was a shortage of targets. A a pc got spectacular results a said Hamlin a Farmer and Vietnam Veteran who commands the 138 tac fighter so an air National guard unit in Syracuse . Hamlin and two other f-16s zeroed in on six artillery batteries that had been shelling. . Troops. They dropped Sockeye anti Armor Cluster bombs and 500-Pound bombs on enemy artillery. Left five out of six artillery positions on fire so we were quite Hamlin added that other f-16s in his 15-mile Section of the front also were hitting artillery targets. From the air he could see the army units advancing quickly firing artillery barrages before them. Geneva apr the International committee of the red Cross issued a fresh Appeal sunday to All parties in the Gulf War to respect the Geneva conventions and referred to the a rapidly rising number of casualties and prisoners of War because of the .-led ground assault. A spokesman said the All Swiss Agency is prepared to increase its staff of 20 delegates in saudi Arabia if it has confirmation of unofficial reports that a tens of thousands Quot of iraqis have already surrendered within the last few hours. In its Appeal the i arc said that alter several hours of ground War of military casualties and of combatants who have fallen into enemy hands is rapids to . A. A in View of the increasing intensity of the fighting and the devastating effect on the civilian population the i arc feels compelled once again to remind the Stales party to the conflict of their responsibilities and obligations As regards the Protection of civilian and military victims alike Quot it said. . Pilots Are glad to be Back on solid ground after bombing missions Over Kuwait and Iraq on sunday. He said the iraqi troop concentrations were much lighter along the saudi iraqi Border than in Kuwait. If the pilots had a problem it was getting into the airspace Over Iraq and Kuwait. There were so Many Allied aircraft that they had to wait their turn. A actually most of the time we were Well South of the Border waiting to get in a said capt. Steve Bills 28, of Apple Valley Calif. A weapons systems officer aboard an 1-1512, ,. 2 a 2 2 2 sunday morning when the pilots realized Early in their Mission that the ground War was under Way the excitement became contagious Bills said. A nobody would shut up on the frequency we were using a he said. 2. / a Bigum added a these Are exciting times. They Are also scary times and i wish the army the Best of Luck. The Ball s in their court now. The air Force has done All it can do a compiled by George Manes Middle East Bureau from Pentagon Media Pool reports. ,. Urged to Honor on prisoners a soldiers who surrender must be spared a it said a they Are entitled to respect rom the belligerents and must he treated a 2. News reports said that trucks carrying iraqi prisoners had arrived in saudi Arabia on sunday. One British source was quoted As saying that a Large number of prisoners posed a mounting problem. Some reports said a tens of thousands of iraqis had already surrendered. A if these reports Are confirmed we Are ready to Send More delegates to saudi Arabia i arc spokesman Peter Fluege said. 2 1 under the Geneva conventions the i arc is to be Given a lift of prisoners within one week. They have to be transferred to a regular Camp for prisoners of War within two weeks i arc delegates must be allowed to vim prisoners As soon As possible to verify that they Are treated in accordance with the conventions. Delegates in saudi Arabia have made More than 1,500 such visits Fluege said. In spite of repeated requests Iraq has not provided the i arc with the names and other details of the prisoners it holds
