Word: kuwaiti
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Reagan's blunt words came at the end of a week of intense debate about the Administration's plan to provide naval protection to Kuwaiti oil tankers traveling through the gulf. The proposal calls for eleven Kuwaiti vessels to be registered under the U.S. flag and manned by American captains. The Kuwaiti tankers will also receive U.S. naval escorts. The reflagging was initially scheduled to begin this week. But the Administration, caught between lawmakers demanding a greater say in the decision and military strategists trying to define how the Navy should react in case of attack, decided to delay implementation...
While Iran has so far refrained from firing on American vessels in the gulf, Tehran vowed to continue shooting at Kuwaiti tankers, regardless of the flag they fly. Since September the Iranians have attacked 29 ships in the gulf, 25 of them serving Kuwait. In a meeting with foreign journalists, the President denied that he was "daring" the Khomeini regime to open fire. But when asked how the U.S. would react, Reagan replied, "I think it's far better if the Iranians go to bed every night wondering what we might do than us telling them in advance...
...predicted Democratic Senator James Sasser of Tennessee. Said Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana: "The environment surrounding our Navy in the Persian Gulf is as dangerous as the exposure of our Marines in Beirut." Those fears were hardly allayed when Congress learned that U.S. ships had twice escorted Kuwaiti vessels, once in February and once last week. In both cases, Kuwaiti merchant ships delivered U.S.-manufactured M60 tanks and other military supplies to Bahrain. Last week the White House agreed to sign a bill requiring Reagan to report to Congress on the threat to U.S. forces in the gulf...
...cruisers or destroyers equipped with missiles. Radar reports would be provided by Saudi Arabia-based AWACS and Oman-based P-3C Orions, while air cover would primarily be supplied by a Navy carrier stationed outside the gulf. The Navy ships will probably escort small convoys of three or four Kuwaiti tankers through the gulf every ten days or so. The danger spot for U.S. vessels will be the 40- to 60-mile- wide Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has deployed Chinese-made Silkworm missiles...
...Murphy's remarks. "We disagree with Murphy," said Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. "Our position is that reflagging is just a deterrent but does not represent an increase in hostilities in any way." The dispute left many wondering, and worrying, about what the U.S. response would be if one of the Kuwaiti ships it is protecting were attacked by Iran. "We've now put a symbol out there in the Persian Gulf," said Senator John Glenn. "If they're sunk, what are we prepared...