Word: buildups
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...November comes, and Iraqi troops still occupy Kuwait. The worldwide embargo shows no signs of squeezing Iraq hard enough to force a withdrawal; on the contrary, maintaining the embargo against defections gets more difficult every day. The U.S. has at long last finished its military buildup. Every plane, ship, tank and soldier it needs to fight Iraq is in place; so are substantial Arab League forces. President Bush hesitates to order an assault that would certainly bring death to some hostages (as well as to many troops) and cause some U.S. allies to desert the anti-Iraq coalition. But Saddam...
...says Dave McCurdy, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, "our troops would have been slaughtered." Since then, at least 40,000 American soldiers and Marines and almost a million tons of equipment have followed. But senior officers say they still need another month or two of rapid buildup to reach adequate defensive strength. Only last week, 22 days after Operation Desert Shield got under way, did the first M-1 tanks, which would be essential for fighting Iraqi armor, arrive at Saudi ports...
...question is whether that re-evaluation will be any more productive than prior Pentagon brainstorming. There is no question that the U.S. is well armed. The Reagan-Bush buildup has produced 2.1 million highly trained men and women in uniform, a 549-ship Navy and an Air Force of 2,600 planes. But these muscular formations are of little use if they cannot arrive quickly where they are needed. The embarrassing fact is that the Pentagon was not ready to fight even the war it was supposed to be preparing for. One revelation delivered by the long, slow sea-lanes...
Reservations are mounting in Moscow over the U.S. decision to send a large force into Saudi Arabia. The Soviets are concerned the military buildup could increase the chances of an armed conflict in a region already bristling with weapons. They particularly fear what a besieged Saddam might do if left without any face-saving form of retreat. For this reason, Moscow favors combining U.N. diplomacy with regional peace efforts, particularly Arab-led initiatives. Shevardnadze reminded Arab foreign ministers last week that their "ability to unite largely determines whether or not a war in the Middle East can be averted...
That should be no surprise -- even though the call-ups are the first in 20 years. It is virtually impossible today for the U.S. to sustain a military undertaking the size of the buildup in the Persian Gulf without mobilizing some of the million-odd weekend warriors. Until 1976, no reserves could be activated unless the President or Congress declared a national emergency. But the law now permits the White House to call as many as 200,000 reservists for an initial term of 90 days (easily stretchable to 180 days) without any proclamation...