U.S. to Cut Major Military Force Near Iraq-SECOND JET CRASHES IN PERSIAN GULF
April 30, 1998 - 0:0
WASHINGTON President Bill Clinton is expected to decide soon whether to cut a major U.S. military force near Iraq, but that presence could be quickly increased if President Saddam Hussein does not remain peaceful and placid, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Defense Department Spokesman Ken Bacon said Clinton, with advice from Defense Secretary William Cohen, will decide whether to reduce a costly force of two aircraft carriers, over 300 warplanes and 38,000 U.S. personnel deployed in the Persian Gulf. He hasn't made that decision yet.
I anticipate he'll be making it in the next couple of weeks, Bacon told reporters in response to questions at a briefing. But he stressed that whether or not some warships, B-52 bombers or F-117A Stealth fighters are brought home in the near term, the U.S. military had shown since the 1991 Persian Gulf war it could surge into the Persian Gulf in response to defiance of the United Nations by Saddam. If he refuses to remain peaceful and placid, then we will have to build up our forces again if the circumstances call for that.
And I am confident that we will, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, according to another report a U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare plane crashed in Saudi Arabia shortly after takeoff Wednesday but its four crew members parachuted to safety, military officials said. It was the second crash of a U.S. military jet in the Persian Gulf this week. The prowler was flying from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia when it crashed in the desert shortly after takeoff, a Pentagon official said.
The four crew have been recovered one with minor leg injuries, an official at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, the official said, adding that an investigation was under way. On Monday, an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet operating from the USS Independence aircraft carrier crashed in the northern Persian Gulf, but its pilot ejected and escaped unhurt, the navy said.
(AFP)
I anticipate he'll be making it in the next couple of weeks, Bacon told reporters in response to questions at a briefing. But he stressed that whether or not some warships, B-52 bombers or F-117A Stealth fighters are brought home in the near term, the U.S. military had shown since the 1991 Persian Gulf war it could surge into the Persian Gulf in response to defiance of the United Nations by Saddam. If he refuses to remain peaceful and placid, then we will have to build up our forces again if the circumstances call for that.
And I am confident that we will, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, according to another report a U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare plane crashed in Saudi Arabia shortly after takeoff Wednesday but its four crew members parachuted to safety, military officials said. It was the second crash of a U.S. military jet in the Persian Gulf this week. The prowler was flying from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia when it crashed in the desert shortly after takeoff, a Pentagon official said.
The four crew have been recovered one with minor leg injuries, an official at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, the official said, adding that an investigation was under way. On Monday, an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet operating from the USS Independence aircraft carrier crashed in the northern Persian Gulf, but its pilot ejected and escaped unhurt, the navy said.
(AFP)