ACCESSION 
NUMBER:363962

FILE ID:POL409

DATE:10/13/94

TITLE:DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13 (10/13/94)

TEXT:*94101309.POL

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13

(Iraq, Haiti) (460)

NEWS BRIEFING -- Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch and spokesman Dennis

Boxx discussed the following topics:



ELITE IRAQI ARMY UNITS APPEAR TO BE PULLING BACK

Deutch said the flow of U.S. forces to the Persian Gulf region will continue

until all units scheduled for deployment actually arrive, despite the

likelihood that the Iraqi army is standing down from its threatening

posture against Kuwait.



1lthough the Iraqis seem to be pulling back "more rapidly than they were put

in," the deputy secretary told reporters, "we have not taken any action to

stop the current flow" of American forces and will not do so "until we see

that the withdrawal of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard divisions is

absolute.



"We will make those decisions as the circumstances warrant," he declared.

Deutch praised President Clinton's "decisive and early action" to stop what

was "an obviously significant threat" by Iraq.  "Matters could be a lot

worse today than they are" had such action not been taken to preempt

aggression, he asserted.



Boxx reiterated that "the indications are positive (that) all six brigades

of Republican Guards have moved from their positions" near the Kuwaiti

border, and that "they are in various stages of moving."  Those units

closest to the Kuwaiti frontier are the ones that have moved away the

farthest, he said.



"The final question is: where will they ultimately move?" he noted.

"The alert continues" until the tactical situation is clear and U.S.

intelligence confirms that the threat is over.  U.S. forces will be

withdrawn "once we are sure...it is time to make those adjustments," he

told reporters.



U.S. TO PROVIDE OUTER SECURITY SHELL FOR ARISTIDE'S RETURN

The U.S. military will provide an "outer shell of security" for the October

15 return of Haiti's elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Boxx said.



Aristide will be accompanied by a personal security force when he arrives in

Port-au-Prince by charter aircraft and is flown by helicopter to the

palace, said the spokesman.



U.S. forces are in Haiti to provide a secure environment for Aristide's

return.  "We are aware and concerned" about the presence of factions that

have sworn violence to stop the restoration of democracy in Haiti "and will

very carefully watch what the security requirements will be," Boxx said,

noting that U.S. forces can "deal with anything that arises."



"We will continue to work with all parties...to discourage violence," he

said.



However, Aristide's "personal safety is the responsibility of his immediate

personal security force," he said.



About 10,500 Haitian refugees remain at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo

Bay, Cuba, and the numbers decline daily as more are being flown home, he

said.



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