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| Iraq | |
| UN observers pull troops and civilians back from the Kuwaiti border | |
| 2003-03-11 | |
| The United Nations withdrew its civilian staff and a fifth of its peace-keeping troops from the border between Kuwait and Iraq yesterday amid growing signs of preparations by US troops for a military strike. The holes in the fence was a good indicator! The Kuwait-Iraq Observer Mission (Unikom), which has monitored the border for the past dozen years, upgraded its alert status to "red" as senior officials conceded that chances of avoiding a conflict appeared to have disappeared. Raising the alert status meant that about 230 civilian staff and 150 Bangladeshi peace-keepers were sent back to Kuwait City, while the 195 military observers and the remaining 625 troops were told their patrols must be confined to daylight hours. A UN official said the civilians had been moved back from the border "for their own safety". Daylight hours? That will make monitoring the border, um, effective. With the Security Council deliberating on a resolution from Britain and the US that would pave the way for military action, Unikom officials admit the alert status could be raised again soon, which would force the observers and peace-keepers to be withdrawn. Arrangements have already been made to move observers out of the region in the event of a war, with Westerners having been given visas for Italy and non-Westerners with Bangladeshi visas. Observers said they had seen continuing activity by US troops in the so-called Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) in preparation for a northward move by troops, tanks and artillery. On Friday it was revealed that private contractors had been cutting holes — big enough to accommodate a tank — in the 125-mile fence that marks the border between Iraq and Kuwait. Yesterday it was reported that American troops had started dismantling sections of a sand ridge that also runs along the border. Who hired the private contractors? It was also said that US troops had been seen moving in ready-made bridges that could be used by tanks or other armoured vehicles to cross defensive trenches that were dug by the Kuwaiti authorities in the southern part of the DMZ.
The rules work about as well as their resolutions. The red-alert status is the third highest level used by Unikom. If this was raised to the next level the peace-keepers would stop all operations. At stage five they would evacuate the country. What's the color code for that? | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 not brown? > On the eve of battle between Germany and France... > > On the German side the general turns to his aide and > says, "Aide, get me my red jacket. In the event that > I am wounded, I don't want the men to see me > bleeding. I don't want anything to discourage them. > I want them to carry on and win this battle." > > On the French side the general turns to his aide and > says, "Aide, get me my brown pants." |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-03-11 18:43:58 |
| #2 Steve---Color code for evacuation is yellow. Elementary, my dear Watson. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-11 18:13:44 |
| #1 Does anyone know what countries make up the "peace keeping" force there? I'd be interested in that. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-11 09:58:07 |