File: 082696_d50028_070.txt
Page: 070
Total Pages: 274

Administration has agreed to a high-level meeting of the military arm of the U.N.
Security Council in a step that will broaden the U.N. umbrella for any military action
against Iraq. (Los Angeles Times, October 24, p. 11.)

October 24
Wednesday--.. In unusual closed door meetihgs today over the sale of Apache
helicopters and Hellfire missiles to the United Arab Emirates, Secretary of Defense
Cheney and Secretary of State Baker declined to make any commitments to House and
Senate members on consultation over possible action in the Gulf. Mr. Cheney says that
the Administration is considering sending additional troops to the Persian Gulf, what
rotations to establish for American troops deployed in the Region and what to do with
the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Mr. Cheney reportedly also told House members
that the Pentagon would be prepared to send reserve combat units to the Persian Gulf,
as some lawmakers have demanded, if Congress would amend the law so that the units
could be called up for more than six months. Mr. Baker also said that Saddam Hussein
had made overtures to German and Canadian officials for the release of their hostages
in an effort to split the coalition against him. (New York Times, October 25, p. A12.)

In a series of morning interviews with four television networks and at the regular
Pentagon briefing Mr. Cheney disclosed the decision to send more combat troops to the
Gulf. This decision came as William H. Webster, the Director of the CIA, says the
economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations have had little effect on the Iraqi
military. The units to be selected will be determIned after Mr. Cheney confers with
General Colin L. Powell, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who met with
military commanders in Saudi Arabia this week. (New York Times, October 26, p. Al.)

Yevgeny Primakov, a personal envoy of Soviet President Gorbachev, arrives in Cairo
commencing a tour of the Middle East seeking a peaceful settlement to the crisis. Mr.
Primakov has already visited Baghdad, Amman, Rome, Paris and Washington this month
to search for ways to end the crisis. (New York Times, October 25, p. A12.)

---In a joint statement to the press today House Speaker Thomas Foley (D-Washington)
and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine) name a group of 18 lawmakers
to consult with the President during the upcoming Congressional adjournment. (Navy
Times, November 5, p. 37.)

---Iraq is dismantling and transporting back to Iraq piece by piece Kuwait's refineries.
Satellite reconnaissance is being utilized to track the stripping of the facilities. Experts
are struggling to interpret whether the effort is a sign of Hussein's intention to withdraw
from Kuwait or if it is an indication of Iraqi anticipation of a potential wartime surge in
demand for aviation fuel, gasoline and diesel fuel. (Philadelphia Inquirer, October 25,
p. 4.)

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