ACCESSION 
NUMBER:364736

FILE ID:POL406

DATE:10/20/94

TITLE:ADD DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 (10/20/94)

TEXT:*94102006.POL

ADD DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20

(Iraq) (260)

U.S. HALTING KUWAIT DEPLOYMENT WITH WARNING TO IRAQ

About 13,000 U.S. troops will remain in Kuwait as a warning to Iraqi leader

Saddam Hussein that his recent deployment of large numbers of troops to the

area near the border of his southern neighbor must not be repeated, a

senior Defense Department official said October 20.



"He is not to bring forces that were not below the 32nd parallel below that

line or the United States will take appropriate action -- which is

undefined," the official said.  Iraq may keep forces along the frontier no

larger than those present before its military threat against Kuwait became

visible to U.S. intelligence, he said.



After American troops began to deploy, U.S. intelligence became aware of

large Iraqi troop pullbacks from the area by about October 14, but it was

not certain for several more days that the elite Republican Guards units

were departing far enough away to reduce the threat to Kuwait, the official

said.  "We wanted to be certain that the forces had withdrawn north of the

32nd parallel" before stopping further deployment of U.S. forces, he said.



About 26,000 U.S. troops are in Kuwait now, and that number will not go

below 13,000 for "the foreseeable future," according to the official.

About 36,000 ground troops had been planned for deployment, but those that

have not yet been deployed will not go unless the situation changes in the

region, he told reporters.



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