WITH MARINES IN OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT                                  59

   Multinational and interservice planning proved to be no problem because so
many allied officers had attended foreign schools or had been "seconded1,
(assigned) to foreign units during their military careers. This was particularly
true for the Marines; many French, British, and Dutch officers attended Marine
schools at Quantico, Virginia. Additionally, the Marines had a long history of
making combined landings in the Mediterranean. The 24th MEU (SOC) had
conducted three such exercises before being assigned to Operation Provide
Comfort. This training paid off handsomely because the Marines had already
became familiar with British, French, Italian, and Spanish operating procedures.
   The unique cooperative spirit and the good humor of the allies was shown
at one of the 24th MEU's morning meetings. After a discussion of future
operations by the MEU staff, Colonel Jones repeated what was said in French (he
had lived in France for 12 years), a language understood by the French, Italian,
and Spanish liaison officers. After this impressive recitation, Jones apologized for
not being able to translate for the only unit whose language he could not
understand, that of our British allies! A ripple of laughter quickly spread across
the room, and no one appeared to laugh harder than the British representative,
Lieutenant Colonel Graham Kerr, commanding officer of the 29th Commando
Regiment, Royal Artillery. Largely because of this spirit, Operation Provide
Comfort seemed a model of international and interservice cooperation.70 With
preparations complete, the next order of business for the 24th MEU (SOC) was
moving across the Turkish border into Kurdistan.

                                       Zakho

                                    Into  Iraq


   At noon on 19 April 1991, Lieutenant General Shalikashvili was escorted by
a Marine security detachment when he met with Brigadier General Nashwan
Dahnoun, the senior representative of the Iraqi Army General Staff. The meeting
was held near Zakho and was described as a "polite, proper, frank [discussion
that] clarified all views. "~   Rather than beat around the bush or engage in
lengthy pleasantries, General Shalikashvili told the Iraqis what was going to
happen in a straight forward manner. He outlined CTF Provide Comfort's
mission. He emphasized the humanitarian nature of the operation, but made it
very clear that Iraqi interference risked military confrontation. The noise of
American jets passing overhead reinforced this point, providing overall an
excellent example of "aggressive restraint."
   General Shalikashvili went over plans to build refugee camps, and the
prospective sites were located on a map. To ensure the safety of the refugees and
the combined task force, General Shalikashvili also requested information about
Iraqi minefields around Zakho. He reminded General Nashwan about the limits
on Iraqi military operations and inquired about the scheduled withdrawal of
troops.72 Nashwan balked at the request to pull back, stating Iraqi "police" were
needed to ensure public order, but promised to provide information about the