Allied forces, led by Saudi troops, try to liberate small Saudi border town of Khafji after 1st major Iraqi ground assault had captured the town; reports say 12 Marines, perhaps as many as 500...
U.S.-Soviet joint statement says allied assault on Iraq could end now if Saddam Hussein makes "unequivocal commitment" to withdraw from Kuwait; statement appears to soften past U.S. insistence...
Segment of Egyptian population is seen as shifting in favor of Iraq in Gulf war; shift is evident enough to force gov't. to scale back its propaganda campaign against Iraq [NYT 1/24]; pro-Iraqi...
Pres. Bush sends letter to Congress calling on both houses to adopt resolution supporting use of force against Iraq if it does not withdraw from Kuwait by 1/15 [NYT, LAT, WP 1/9].
Chrmn. of...
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Allied forces, led by Saudi troops, try to liberate small Saudi border town of Khafji after 1st major Iraqi ground assault had captured the town; reports say 12 Marines, perhaps as many as 500 Iraqis are killed in the battle (cf. 1/31) [NYT, LAT, WT, WP 1/31].
Responding to questions about 1/29 joint U.S.-Soviet statement, U.S. officials say it was intended as gesture to keep Moscow's backing for coalition, and not a softening of previous demands for ending war. P.M. Shamir bitterly complains that he was not given advance notice of joint statement [NYT, LAT, WP 1/31].
U.S. commander Gen. Schwarzkopf tells reporters that 75% of Iraq's command, control, and communications facilities have been bombed, and that the Iraqi air force is no longer a viable military threat [LAT, WP 1/31].
Jordanian F.M. Taher Masri accuses U.S. of violating Geneva Convention by bombing civilian traffic near the Jordan-Iraq border, killing 4 Jordanians and 1 Egyptian; some refugees claim allies have deliberately targeted oil tankers, buses, and refugee convoys [NYT, LAT, WT, WP 1/31].
Jordanian officials say since 2 August, about 323,000 men and women have volunteered for Jordan's Popular Army; many have expressed desire to fight for Iraq [LAT 1/31].
As part of psychological war, U.S. has dropped at least 4 million leaflets on Iraqi troops, promising them safe passage if they wish to surrender [LAT 1/31].
Pres. Mubarak makes unannounced visit to Tripoli to meet with Libyan leader Qaddafi [LAT 1/31].
EC decides how to divide $685 million in loans and grants to Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan to help compensate for Gulf crisis losses: Egypt will receive $240 million grant; Jordan, a $205 million grant; and Turkey, an interest-free loan of $240 million. Individual EC states earlier gave the 3 nations $1.37 billion [NYT, LAT, WP 1/31].
Breaking long-standing official policy against shipping weapons to areas of tension, German gov't. announces $700-million military support package to Israel [LAT, WP 1/31; NYT 2/1]; Germany also offers Britain $535 million and military equipment for its role in Gulf war [WT 1/31; NYT 2/1].
Israel shells 2 villages in S. Lebanon's Biqqa Valley after rockets struck Israeli positions in "security zone"; no injuries are reported [LAT 1/31]; Israeli officials believe that PLO has begun operations against Israel on behalf of Iraq [WP 1/31].
U.S.-Soviet joint statement says allied assault on Iraq could end now if Saddam Hussein makes "unequivocal commitment" to withdraw from Kuwait; statement appears to soften past U.S. insistence that only "massive withdrawal" by Iraq would stop war (cf. 1/30) [NYT, LAT, WT, WP 1/30].
Pres. Bush, in State of the Union address, says Iraq's capacity to sustain war is being destroyed [NYT, LAT, WT, WP 1/30].
U.S. says it will shoot down any Iraqi plane trying to rejoin war after taking refuge in Iran; White House says it has received fresh assurances from Teheran that Iraqi planes will not be allowed to leave [LAT, WP 1/30].
Chancellor Kohl pledges additional $5.5 billion to war effort, and orders German anti-aircraft missile systems to Turkey [LAT, WP 1/30].
Pres. Bush meets in Washington with Egyptian F.M. Esmat Abdel Meguid; Egypt pushes for U.S. commitment to pressure Israel for settlement with Palestinians once Gulf war has ended [NYT, LAT, WP 1/30].
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies say they have detected more than 700 cases in which firms and individuals worldwide have tried to sell munitions and other goods to Iraq, including 20 incidents since August in U.S. [LAT 1/30].
Fateh official Abu Ziad [Rafiq Shafiq Qiblawi] is assassinated in ambush outside his home in Iraq-occupied Kuwait [WT 1/30].
French D.M. Jean-Pierre Chevenement, who had openly expressed his doubts about war with Iraq, is forced from office, and replaced by Interior Min. Pierre Joxe [WP 1/30].
Israel orders Palestinian leader Sari Nusseiben jailed without trial for 6 months as a spy for Iraq [WP 1/30].
Israeli gunboats and helicopters attack Fateh camps in S. Lebanon after barrage of rockets explode in "security zone" [WP 1/30].
Segment of Egyptian population is seen as shifting in favor of Iraq in Gulf war; shift is evident enough to force gov't. to scale back its propaganda campaign against Iraq [NYT 1/24]; pro-Iraqi sentiment is seen as increasing in N. Africa [NYT 12/26].
Allied command reports total loss of 20 aircraft-16 in combat-including 10 U.S. planes. Iraq says it has downed 178 allied planes [NYT 1/24].
Chancellor Helmut Kohl announces Germany is sending Israel $165 million in "immediate humanitarian aid" after Iraqi missile attacks, and that more money would be sent to support Gulf allies [NYT, LAT 1/24].
Japanese P.M. Kaifu sends military cargo aircraft for transportation of refugees to Middle East, and adds $9 billion to its financial support of coalition forces; Iraq says it now considers Japan a "hostile" nation [WT, WP 1/24; LAT 1/25].
Abul Abbas, leader of Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) has left Baghdad for Yemen because of lack of communications facilities in Iraq after allied bombing raids [WT 1/24].
Pres. Bush sends letter to Congress calling on both houses to adopt resolution supporting use of force against Iraq if it does not withdraw from Kuwait by 1/15 [NYT, LAT, WP 1/9].
Chrmn. of House Armed Services Committee, Lee Aspin (D-Wisc.) says if war breaks out in Gulf, U.S. will attack in phases, beginning with air campaign; ground attack would be used as last resort and in final phases of fighting [NYT, LAT, WP 1/9].
F.M. Aziz arrives in Geneva, says he has come for "constructive talks," but would not bow to pressure. Sec. Baker also arrives in Geneva after spending day in successive meetings in European capitals with leaders of France, Italy, and Germany [MEM 1/8; NYT, LAT, WT, WP 1/9].
King Hussein of Jordan visits Germany to discuss Gulf crisis; he is in Bonn at the same time as Sec. Baker, but the two did not meet [NYT 1/9].
Saudi D.M. "categorically denie[s]" that 6 Iraqi helicopter pilots sought refuge in Saudi Arabia on 1/7; allies say entire incident is mix-up [MEM 1/8; NYT, LAT, WT, WP 1/9].
Israel deports to Lebanon 4 Palestinians from Gaza Strip less than 24 hours after they dropped appeals to Supreme Court [IDF 1/8 in FBIS 1/8; MEM 1/8; NYT, LAT, WT, WP 1/9].
Washington Post/ABC News poll finds most Americans want Congress to support more strongly Pres. Bush's Gulf policy (68%), but equally large majority thinks Bush should get authorization from Congress before going to war (66%) [WP 1/8].
