File: 082696_d50028_112.txt
Page: 112
Total Pages: 274

withdrawal from Kuwait to an international conference on the Middle East. (New York Times, January(
16, p. Ai.)

U.N. Secretary General Perez de Cuellar couples a call for Iraq to leave Kuwait with another attempt
to raise the prospect of a Middle East peace conference without making it conditioned on Iraq
withdrawing from Kuwait. (~w York Times, January 16, p. Al.)

Saddam Hussein visits his troops in Kuwait. (New York Times, January 16, p. Al.)

-- Administration officials spend the day studying military intelligence reports and say that, far from
showing signs of withdrawing, Iraq is reinforcing troops on the border between Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait. (New York Times, January 16, p. Al.)

Senior U.S. officials fear that the "surprise" weapon announced by the Iraqi press on January 13 may
be a primitive nuclear weapon. The concern is based on intelligence recently col[ected in the Midd[e
East. The discovery is alarming because it contradicts a recent 1,worst case" estimate from U.S.
intelligence agencies that Iraq was months away from building a crude nuclear weapon. (Washington
Times, January 16, p. 1.)

The Pentagon prepares for war in the Persian Gulf by tightening internal security against terrorism
and manning key posts around the clock in readiness for any order from President Bush to attack Iraq.
~ashington Times, January 16, p. 9.)

Turkish Foreign Minister AIptemocin says Turkey will not participate in an attack against Iraq,
reflecting a recent unpublicized agreement between Turkey and Iran that neither will move ag~tinst Iraq.
(Washington.Post, January 16, p. A6.)

King Hussein of Jordan tells his nation that he stands with them while the region is on the verge of
catastrophe. (Washington Post, January 16, p. A15.)

Egyptian President Mub-arak, in an emotional appeal to Saddam Hussein, calls on the Iraqi leader
to "abandon selfishness" and save the region from a devastating war by agreeing to withdraw his troops
from Kuwait. (Washington Post, January 16, p. AlS.)

An assessment of Iraq's military, the fifth largest in the world, is that it is battle tested and has good
leaders, but air power and intelligence are weak links. (Wall Street Journal, January 15, p 16.)

British Parliament, by a vote of 534-57, gives overwhelming support for use of force against Iraq.
(Baltimore Sun, January 16, p. 2.)

U.S. ground forces in the desert are not yet flilly ready to mount an invasion of Iraq and Kuwait,
according to Pentagon officials. However, U.S. air and naval forces are completely ready for combat.
(BostQn Globe, January 15, p. 3.)

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