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Momentum toward U.S. strike on Iraq slows
Perry heading to Persian Gulf
September 13, 1996
Web posted at: 10:40 p.m. EDT (0240 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As the United States moved planes and ships to the Persian Gulf in preparation for a possible second attack on Iraq, the momentum toward another confrontation with Iraq seemed to slow Friday after Baghdad's unexpected conciliatory gesture.
Although military action had been expected as early as this weekend, now it is not expected until early next week, giving Defense Secretary William Perry a chance to travel to the Persian Gulf region and consult with U.S. allies, sources told CNN.
In this story: Iraq says military actions suspended Perry to travel to Gulf U.S. military prepared for attack Iraq says military actions suspended
Iraqi state television, quoting Iraq's ruling Revolutionary Command Council, made the unexpected announcement that Iraq is suspending its military actions against allied planes in the northern and southern no-fly zones.
Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz told CNN that Iraq's decision to hold its fire was in response to a Russian initiative to defuse the current crisis -- but stressed that his government still considers the no-fly zones illegal.
Aziz said it is up to the United States to respond and that he hopes diplomacy will take the place of military escalation.
"We are not here in a game. We are here in defense of rights, authorized under international law, defending our sovereignty and integrity," Riyadh Al-Qaysi, a spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, said during an interview Friday for CNN's "Diplomatic License."
"I don't know whether the U.S. administration will see the light of reason and will evaluate this action on our part as being a reasonable action," he said. "Certainly no one hopes for military action to be brought about."
However, Washington gave no indication Friday it was reconsidering its plan to counter Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's defiance with an air attack that would include both laser-guided smart bombs and cruise missiles. Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said the announcement was "a wise move, if it's true," and said it was a "good first step toward defusing the tensions."
But State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said, "(Saddam) has dug himself a very deep hole, and I think he's going to have a long time coming out of that hole." (14 sec/153K AIFF or WAV sound)
Perry to travel to Gulf
Pentagon sources confirmed Friday that Defense Secretary William Perry was going to the Persian Gulf to consult with U.S. allies. Sources told CNN's Steve Hurst that Perry would leave Friday night to visit Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Perry reportedly was initially reluctant to make the trip, because he wanted to be in the United States on Monday, when a report on the deadly Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia is to be released. It is expected to be critical of his agency.
How much success Perry will have on his diplomatic mission is in question. Saudi Arabia, for one, has indicated it will refuse to take part in a punitive strike against Iraq.
A religious element within Saudi Arabia opposes Western forces stationed near Islam's holiest sites. And officers say air strikes on Iraq at this time fall outside their mission, which is to protect the kingdom. "We maintain two rules," said Major General Abdul Aziz Henaloy. "We don't get out of our borders, and we are a defensive force."
And most other Arab countries feel no threat from Saddam in this case. By contrast, many of Iraq's neighbors have had problems with the Kurds the United States sought to protect. Turkey has been fighting its own Kurdish insurrection for years.
However, Kuwait, whose memory of Iraq's occupation is still fresh, has no such qualms. The country is hosting an armory of U.S. weapons despite an Iraqi statement that accepting U.S. warplanes would be tantamount to an act of war.
U.S. military prepared for attack
Eight F-117s arrived in Kuwait at dusk Friday, joining 18 F- 16 fighter jets that were due to return to the United States. Another 18 F-16s were on their way or had arrived in Kuwait on Friday.
And, the United States said Friday, it is also sending 5,000 troops from the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, to Kuwait to join 1,200 troops already there. "They are going as part of our prudent effort to protect our interests in the Gulf," said Pentagon spokesman Sam Grizzle.
It took the F-117 stealth fighter-bombers 18 hours to fly to Kuwait from the United States, including multiple aerial refuelings. Their mission: to strike heavily protected targets in Iraq with no protection but the plane's radar- evading design.
"We're not invincible, and we're not invisible. We are good at what we do, and we fly a good machine that does something very well," one of the pilots said.
The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise continued its journey to the Persian Gulf, where it will join the carrier USS Carl Vinson by early next week. And four B-52s with air-launched cruise missiles are now ready to go at a base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
In Kuwait City, citizens seemed relaxed and confident despite Iraq's veiled threat. "I am not scared now because Americans are here, and they have demonstrated their commitment to the safety of Kuwait," said one Kuwaiti, Sami Abdel Latif.
But in Baghdad, Iraqis seemed resigned to the worst. While they and the government would clearly like to avoid further military confrontation, the Iraqi leadership fears that what is ultimately driving events in their country is domestic politics in the United States.
Correspondents Jamie McIntyre, Gayle Young, Peter Arnett and Reuters contributed to this report.
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