European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 a the stars and stripes thursday january 28 19�3 to eases . Thinks Kuwait apr the commander of . Forces in Kuwait says iraqi troops who dispersed during this month s Allied air attacks now appear to he returning to their Barracks in Southern Iraq. Intelligence reports indicate movement by two iraqi army divisions a one mechanized infantry and the other armoured a that Are based in the Southern town of Basra maj. Gen. Robert s. Frix said tuesday if confirmed the reports would lower the threat against 2,000 american soldiers deployed in Kuwait. To feel even More comfortable that they do not pose a major ground threat to us at this time said Frix 53, of Mercedes Texas. The americans conducting exercises near Kuwait s Border with Iraq include j,200 soldiers from the 1st Cav Day based at fort Hood Texas who were hurriedly flown in during the latest confrontation with Iraq. Frix said the iraqis dispersed their troops and equipment from Barracks within hours of a Jan. 13 strike by Allied aircraft on air defense Sites in Southern Iraq. A. -7 /. A a the move apparently was defensive in Case the bases were targeted. But officials were concerned that units on the move might also pose a threat to american forces. R the iraqi divisions Are used to protect military installations North of Basra Frix said. Such units normally have about 12,000 men each but they Are currently at about 90 percent of strength the area is inside the Southern no Fly zone imposed by the allies in August to protect shiite Muslim rebels from iraqi air attacks. Shiite rebels continue to attack iraqi military operations Frix said. But he said details of such clashes were not his concern because american troops Are in Kuwait to protect kuwaitis. Quot we do not see any major iraqi ground forces close to the Border Frix s activity mirrors new . Navy concept by William c. Mann the associated press aboard the aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk a a look at the Kitty Hawk s activities for the last three months reflects the new . Navy that George Bush outlined a few hours after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Before Dawn on aug. 2, 1990, after breaking off negotiations on a Border dispute Saddam sent iraqi tanks and soldiers storming into Kuwait. That same Day in a speech in Colorado then presi Dent Bush spoke of a fundamental shift in Post cold War . Security policy. Recognizing americans new role As the worlds Only superpower it basically made the United states alone or in coalitions a policeman to keep regional peace around the world. The next month a White paper the Navy called from the sea a a translated the concept for the Fleet which had been created to oppose the soviet Union but now out of synch minus its traditional adversary. The document prescribed a Quot brow water Navy that comes close to Shore to control the Battle area and project Power ashore and beyond. Quot the role of aircraft carriers in the open seas is not As important any More a because that a not where the action is says rear adm. Philip j. Coady jr., the Kitty Hawk based Battle group commander. The Book could have been written for Kitty Hawks current december the Carrier was a few Miles off Somalia providing Aerial backup and logistical support As . Marines went ashore to Stop the looting of Relief ship mints and help save starving people. Now Kitty Hawks aircraft with . Air Force British and French jets Are patrolling the no Fly zone Over Southern Iraq. 7. In addition ships in the carriers 10-vessel Battle group fired Tomahawk cruise missiles on Jan. 17, de pilots talk in front of a line of f/a-i8 Hornet Jet fighters on the Bow of the aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk. Stroking a Plant on Baghdad a outskirts that the Pentagon claimed was involved in iraqis nuclear weapons program. 7 All of it right by the new Book. Coady said the Beauty of the new system is that a specific set of ships can be marshalled for a specific emergency. Quot Somalia was a classic Case really a Coady said. Under the new concept Quot naval forces Man Euver from the sea using their dominance of coastal areas to mass forces rapidly and generate High intensity precise offensive Power a the White paper said. One weapon highly effective in attacks from such positions is the cruise missile. Some 45 of them were fired from three ships in the persian Gulf and one in the red sea in the Jan. 17 attack. Cmdr. Will Dewes 37, of Indianapolis executive officer of the guided missile Cruiser Cowpens said the ships Crew did no to know where the missiles they fired were headed at the time not even the operators who punched in the targeting information. Quot no on on the ship needed to know where the mis Sites were going a Dewes said aboard the Cowpens. Quot the programming is not done on the ship. They Tell us what the Mission is and we fire it. That a basically All we know at the . Chief in Somalia the Mission is Clear by Scott Kraft los Angeles times Mogadishu Somalia a when a military Crew arrived last month to broadcast news football games and music to the 25,000 . Troops in Somalia it. Gen. Robert b. Johnston promptly sent them packing setting off groans that could be heard into the Countryside abut Johnston the commander of operation restore Hope was thought that at $1 million the broadcasting operation was too expensive and that it would eat up valuable cargo space on incoming planes. And in his heart he wit it was inconsistent with the Mission Quot its pretty hard for the troops to accept maybe a Johnston admitted in a interview. Quot but we re Here on a humanitarian Mission a to feed starving somalis and they have nothing. They done to have pens and papers for schools. They have no clothes for the most part. The unpopular decision and the rationale for it says much about the scottish born Marine leading . Forces on the largest and most dangerous humanitarian Mission in their history. He a a no nonsense three Star general a make no mistake. A lean muscular and tanned 55-year-old, he a a sports Buff runs daily and As recently As 18 months ago managed a perfect score on the Marine fitness test. He a also according to subordinates a Quot neatness Freak Quot about everything from the letters on his desk to the crease in his camouflage fatigues. He a also an engaging conversationalist having earned an undergraduate degree in English and a consummate Diplomat deeply aware of the Sensi Johnston five nature of his Mission in an african country with no government and debilitating famine., a this was Dodge City before we arrived a Johnston said. Quot diplomacy had clearly failed. Quot and it was a Mission that required a military solution. Now we know we can take a conventionally trained military and put them in a humanitarian Mission. Quot in be seen a lot of awful places but this takes the cake a he added. A and to see our marines soldiers sailors and airmen handle the discomfort and hardship like it was not a big Deal has just reinforced our expectations that they a do Well a so far the .-led forces have escorted food for 60 million meals in Somalia. A and 3,000 army engineers Are resurfacing 1,200 Miles of Roadway building a Bridge repairing water Wells and building base Camps for the International peacekeeping Force that will remain behind when the United nations appoints a general to take Over from Johnston and the americans t and it has been Johnston with the help of special . Envoy Robert b. Oakley who has accomplished the delicate task of disarming much of the country without showing favouritism to any of the factions there. That evenhanded approach More than anything else has endeared the . Troops to somalis Many of whom Harbor ill will toward some of the other foreign forces on their soil. A a he a done an amazing Job carrying out his difficult Mission without angering any of the clans Here a a . Diplomat said. The main problem area remains Mogadishu the Cap ital As Johnston is the first to admit. Tens of thousands of guns have disappeared from the streets. But armed robberies have increased and troops have been subjected to sniper fire almost daily. Quot we All feel vulnerable out Here Quot Johnston said. Quot any gangster could take us out at any time. But we knew when we came in that this might not be a benign
