Word: saudi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...young sergeant is lying prone in the sand, the butt of his M-16 rifle tucked against his shoulder. It is late afternoon in the Saudi Arabian desert. The sergeant's squad is manning a defensive line while several officers scout the top of a nearby hill. The officers are deciding where to position antitank weapons that could turn the road below into a shooting gallery if an Iraqi armored column moves along...
...scenario, lashing out in desperate attempts to relieve the siege, even if his efforts pull him down too. Some suggest he might invade Jordan in order to provoke Israeli intervention and turn the struggle into an Arab-Israeli war. Others believe he might launch air and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil fields, take millions of barrels of oil out of production and create a world financial crisis. And there is widespread worry that he might torture or kill his hostages...
While those are serious possibilities, they would carry heavy prices. Pulling Israel, with the Middle East's best army and air force, into a war would open a second front and speed Saddam's military defeat. Executing hostages or attacking Saudi oil fields would instantly bring massive bombardment down on Iraq. "He would kill a lot of people," says the Brookings Institution's Judith Kipper, "but Iraq would be devastated and he'd be dead. He cannot believe...
...like the satellite and electronic capabilities of the U.S. What Iraq is good at is & fighting defensively. And when the going got worse, Saddam would probably fire his poison-gas weapons, much as he did against Iran when defeat looked imminent. He would also probably launch his missiles at Saudi oil installations. The resulting destruction could unhinge the world's economy...
...Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saadoun Hammadi a dressing down over the hostage affair. But Moscow is not keen to see a military solution -- which the U.S. would clearly dominate -- rule out a diplomatic one, for which the Soviets might be key. Aside from Hammadi, Moscow has played host to Saudi special envoy Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, and has dispatched diplomats to Iraq by way of Syria, Egypt, Libya and Jordan. The Soviets want to preserve their position as potential peacemaker, as well as their 30-year relationship with Iraq...