Word: combated
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...ground combat force would sustain casualties on the order of magnitude of Somalia or worse. And just like in Somalia, US forces would have to be committed to an area of no strategic or vital interest for an undetermined amount of time...
...cover of darkness -- a key ally in the Pentagon's invasion plan -- they would drift apart and stealthily make their way to the country's major airport, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Their mission: to make sure no surprises were in store for the thousands of U.S. combat troops that would follow. "One truck with four flat tires on the runway can cause problems," a military officer says. "So can 2,000 Haitians with loaded rifles...
Once the SEALS signaled the all clear, the first public evidence that an American-led invasion was under way would be the drone of Navy and Marine helicopters ferrying combat troops to the airport from ships offshore. If all went as planned, they would quickly seize control and flash the green light for troops from the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions arriving from bases in North Carolina and Kentucky. At the same time, Marines would arrive to reinforce the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince...
...helicopter carrier; the Portland and the Trenton, which can deliver troops to shore by boats and helicopters; and the Spartanburg County, designed to put tanks and other heavy equipment ashore. They join another helicopter carrier, the Wasp, with 650 Marines aboard, already stationed in the area. Along with combat-ready Marines, these vessels are crammed with an arsenal of armed helicopters, howitzers and armored vehicles. "Ships take days to get to Haiti, but airplanes take only hours," one war planner says. "With these ships in the neighborhood, we've got enough to invade. We're good...
...increase the likelihood of Clinton's pursuing the one option that would make him look the most decisive: a full-fledged invasion of Haiti. All week there were signals that plans for military action were being accelerated. On Thursday, the Defense Department dispatched four amphibious warships carrying 2,000 combat-ready Marines to the waters off the coast of Haiti. The Pentagon revealed that three weeks ago Army Rangers and Navy Seals had conducted practice runs for an invasion of Haiti: staging a mock attack on an isolated airfield at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and "capturing" a port...