U.S. troops in Kuwait to counter Iraq's

U.S. troops in Kuwait to counter Iraq's

KUWAIT (Reuter): A planeload of U.S. soldiers touched down in
Kuwait yesterday, the first units of an American force rushing to
the emirate to counter an Iraqi troop build-up near the border,
witnesses said.

A DC-10 aircraft landed at the closely-guarded military sector
of Kuwait international airport shortly before dusk carrying 300
troops from mechanized infantry units based in Fort Stewart,
Georgia.

U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker and a group of U.S. army officers
stood on the tarmac waiting to greet the men, the first of a
4,000-strong contingent ordered to Kuwait.

Kuwaiti soldiers backed by tanks were already in positions
near the border.

But as a deadline set by Iraq for an easing of UN sanctions
ticked away, the rhetoric in Baghdad's government-controlled
press showed no sign of compromise.

Iraq's ruling Baath party newspaper reiterated Iraqi demands
saying: "The ball is in the Security Council's court."

Iraq has set yesterday, when UN chief arms monitor Rolf Ekeus
is due to report to the Security Council on Baghdad's compliance
with his mission, as the deadline for the lifting of the
sanctions imposed after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

But Kuwait said the report would not be filed yesterday.

"Let the whole world hear that the sons of Kuwait...have vowed
to put all they treasure in defense of this small and peaceful
country," Kuwaiti crown prince and prime minister Sheikh Saad al-
Abdulla al-Sabah told parliament.

"This report will not be submitted today...this is a message
to the head of the Iraqi regime in Baghdad that the Security
Council will not be drawn into responding to the threats of the
Iraqi regime," Sheikh Saad told parliament.

There was no word from United Nations headquarters on the
prince's comments.

U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said in Washington that
the total number of Iraqi soldiers could reach 80,000, including
units which were still moving towards the border area.

Washington has ordered 36,000 U.S. troops and 200 warplanes
into the region to block any attempt by Iraq to repeat its 1990
invasion, which resulted in the expulsion of the occupation force
by a U.S.-led multinational army in February 1991.

Perry said U.S. forces being deployed in Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait would stay as long as needed. By the end of the day there
would be 200 tactical U.S. warplanes in the region.

Confident

On a desert plain close to the frontier with Iraq, Kuwaiti
chief of staff Maj. Gen. Ali al-Moumen said he was confident his
troops could deal with any attack by Iraqi forces.

"I feel comfortable with the threat we can see. They've got
superiority in numbers but we have our own advantages," Moumen
said. Reporters touring the border area saw small groups of
Kuwaiti troops and tanks deployed on the barren plain.

UN peacekeepers on the border were keeping a close eye on a
tent city of 2,000 stateless Arabs that has sprung up between the
frontier and the gathering Iraqi force.

Kuwait has charged that many are soldiers in civilian dress
and there are worries they be used by Iraq to stage a
demonstration or to act as a human shield in case of war.

"This continues to be a source of potential concern," one
diplomat said.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf said in a
statement that Iraq wanted a diplomatic solution to the crisis
and Russia, China and France were working in this direction.

But Iraq would not accept anything short of definite
assurances that the "suffering of the Iraqi people" would end --
a reference to hardships resulting from the sanctions.

He hinted that Iraq was seeking a quid pro quo of a lifting of
sanctions in return for recognition of Kuwaiti sovereignty, a
step Iraq has consistently refused to take in the past.
Western diplomats in Kuwait said this was unacceptable.

Kuwait said foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC), linking Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the
United Arab Emirates, would meet in Kuwait tomorrow to discuss
the crisis. They will also meet U.S. Secretary of State Warren
Christopher there.

New game -- Page 5
Tensions -- Page 9
Ultimatum -- Page 12