Word: regionals
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...absorb almost limitless punishment. Such an attack would involve bomber squadrons as well as missiles, endangering American lives. It would also convulse the Arab world, which fears a destabilized Iraq--"Beirut with ballistic missiles," as a Gulf Defense Minister describes it--as much as it fears Saddam. The region is already roiled by the U.S. failure to push Israel into meaningful peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Those looking for a symbol of the fractious, anti-American climate that has emboldened Saddam need look no further than Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's lonely visit to the Middle Eastern economic summit...
Pentagon officials have no plans to send troops to the region beyond the 2,100 Marines already there with an amphibious-assault group. That is why, when the Washington started for the Persian Gulf--it will arrive later this week, though its attack planes will be in range much sooner--13 of the 18 vessels in its battle group stayed behind. The Pentagon is planning to use air power alone--escalating waves of ship- and submarine-launched missiles and aircraft-based missiles and bombs--to shove Saddam back into compliance. "I don't think anybody's looking at days...
Since a serious bombing campaign requires heavy, land-based aircraft--not the sleek little F-18 Hornets and F-14 Tomcats that take off from carrier decks--the Pentagon wants to dispatch 50 warplanes to the region, including fierce, moveable-wing B-1 bombers (which would be making their first combat appearance) and F-15 and F-16 fighters. Marine General Anthony Zinni, the U.S. Central Commander (Norman Schwarzkopf's job during Desert Storm in 1991), spent much of last week in the Gulf region, starting the process of securing bases for the U.S. firepower. Since Saudi Arabia...
...that military action against Saddam could be self-defeating: if he refuses to budge, the Arab world could rise up against the spectacle of sustained bombing. "Surgical air strikes will not eliminate [U.S.] suspicions," says Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Sergei Lavrov, "and they will raise hell in the region. Blanket bombing will turn everyone in the Arab world against...
...last week, trying to face up to the danger. The city has spent millions for training and equipment since the World Trade Center bombing, much of it from grants provided by the Defense Department, which paid for the VX exercise. Even so, some experts are unimpressed. "The New York region," says Isaac Yeffet, former head of security for El Al, the Israeli airline, "is no better prepared for a terrorist attack today than it was before the World Trade Center bombing." Building security is very poor, and "the airports are still wide open." Police commissioner Howard Safir agrees about...