ACCESSION NUMBER:00000

FILE ID:95070604.POL

DATE:07/06/95

TITLE:DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, JULY 6



TEXT:

(Turkey/Northern Iraq, Iraq/biological weapons, U.S./Rapid Reaction

Force, Guatemala) (540)



NEWS BRIEFING -- Deputy spokesman Captain Mike Doubleday discussed the

following subjects:



U.S. URGES TURKEY TO LIMIT OPERATION IN NORTHERN IRAQ



Doubleday said the United States urges Turkey "to make a maximum

effort to protect the lives and property of innocent civilians"

following a Turkish incursion across its border with Iraq in pursuit

of members of the Kurdistan Workers Party.



He also urged the Turks to "limit the scope and duration of the

operation and to safeguard human rights."



The spokesman said the Turkish General Staff has confirmed that it has

undertaken "a small military operation" into northern Iraq in pursuit

of Kurdish terrorists.



The United States, he said, has no indication how long such an

operation "may last." The last Turkish cross-border operation, which

began in March, lasted six weeks.



U.S. SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED ON IRAQ'S BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS



Iraq's admission that it produced deadly bacteria before the Persian

Gulf war, Doubleday said, "is an indication that what we had suspected

all along (about their biological weapons capability) was, in fact,

the case."



The Iraqis, the spokesman said, "still haven't lived up to their

obligations" to the United Nations following the end of the war.



Asked about the possibility that U.S. personnel may have come in

contact with Iraqi biological weapons in the Gulf conflict, the

spokesman noted that extensive studies have shown that troops were not

exposed to either chemical or biological weapons because none was

deployed.



Nor were U.S. troops exposed to biological or chemical warfare agents

in either Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, he said.



U.S. PERSONNEL IN CROATIA PREPARE TO RECEIVE RRF



Doubleday confirmed that there are now nearly 80 U.S. military

personnel in Split, Croatia, who will aid in the pending arrival of

the Rapid Reaction Force (RRF).



He said they should be ready to begin receiving 4,700 British and 300

Dutch forces on July 7.



U.S. forces will be transporting portions of the RRF into Croatia for

about six weeks. Doubleday said that U.S. ships will be off-loading

British equipment in Croatia on July 17.



The spokesman also said U.S. intelligence equipment, designed to

support the RRF, is now in place in Albania as part of "Operation

Predator." He would not say when intelligence data would actually

begin to flow, but he indicated that the deployment is expected to

last two months.



OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:



DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, CHARITY JOIN FORCES TO AID GUATEMALA



The Defense Department and the private charity, Mission of Love, have

joined forces to provide humanitarian assistance for Guatemala.



The Air Force is shipping more than 30 tons of clothing as well as

medical, building and office supplies on a space available basis.



Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Humanitarian and Refugee

Affairs Patricia Irvin, who is overseeing the program, says the

Pentagon's Humanitarian Assistance Program is often the most

economical way for charities to transport donations to foreign

countries.



The first part of the shipment to Guatemala was made last month and

consisted of pressure-treated lumber. The rest is scheduled to be

shipped later in July.

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