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In this issue: A Gulf War Chronology & Saddam Retreats

Volume 5, Number 9 February 27, 1991

Aug. 10

— Prime Minister Brian Mulroney declares that "Iraq, a U.N. member country, has violated the United Nations Charter and brutally attacked, without provocation, its smaller neighbour Kuwait."

— The PM announced that Canada "has suspended trade and economic relations with Iraq," and that he had decided to dispatch three ships to the Persian Gulf.

— The Athabaskan, the Terra Nova and the Protecteur, with a complement of 800 crew members, will join with naval vessels from Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and the Soviet Union and other countries already operating in, or destined for that region. Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Chuck Thomas names the task group "Operation Friction".

Aug. 17

— Saddam Hussein threatens to use Western civilian hostages, including Canadians, as human shields against coalition force attacks.

Aug. 18

— U.N. Resolution 664 demanded Iraq permit immediate departure from Kuwait and Iraq of third-country nationals and that Iraq take no action to jeopardize the safety, security or health of such nationals; demanded that Iraq rescind orders for the closure of diplomatic missions in Kuwait.

Aug. 25

— U.N. Resolution 665 called upon states deploying maritime forces to use such measures as may be necessary to halt all maritime shipping in order to inspect cargo and ensure strict implementation of U.N. Resolution 661; coordinate actions using "as appropriate" the Military Staff Committee.

Aug. 28

— Iraq declared Kuwait to be its 19th province.

Sept. 9

— The Bush/Gorbachev Helsinki Summit condemns the invasion of Kuwait and urges Saddam Hussein to withdraw his troops.

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A Comprehensive Gulf War Chronology

Sept. 13

— U.N. Resolution 666 established a framework for determination of "humanitarian circumstances" and distribution of foodstuffs in Iraq and Kuwait as per U.N. Resolution 661: 661 Committee must report and recommend; food should be provided and the distribution supervised "through the U.N. in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross or other appropriate humanitarian agency".

Sept. 14

— Orders were issued effective September 15 to the Canadian task group while in the Mediterranean Sea to proceed to the Persian Gulf on "active duty". "Operation Friction" became "Operation Scimitar" and the task group was assigned a patrol area south of Qatar and north of the Strait of Hormuz. The task group would join coalition naval forces enforcing an economic embargo against Iraq.

Sept. 16

— HMCS Athabaskan, Terra Nova and Protecteur entered the Red Sea bound for the Persian Gulf.

— U.N. Resolution 667 strongly condemned the Iraqi actions against diplomatic premises and personnel in Kuwait and demanded the immediate release of foreign nationals.

Sept. 24

— The Canadian House of Commons returned from recess to debate the Gulf Crisis and a September 24 Order-in-Council putting Canadian forces with the Persian Gulf task group on "active service". U.N. Resolution 669 entrusts the 661 Committee of the Council with the task of examining requests for assistance under the provisions of article 50 of the U.N. Charter. Under this article, states can consult the Council for a solution to economic problems arising from carrying out sanctions imposed by the Council.

— The Prime Minister announced that Canada would increase its contribution of $2.5 billion to international relief agencies to assist displaced people, principally in Jordan.

Sept. 25

— U.N. Resolution 670 extended maritime embargo to air traffic by "taking such measures as may be necessary, consistent with international law, including the Chicago Convention"; affirmed that U.N. specialized agencies must comply with sanctions; decided to consider measures against sanctions-busters; and reaffirmed that Iraq is liable under the Fourth Geneva Convention (war crimes).

Oct. 10

— According to a report (The Military Balance) issued by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Iraq has 955,000 soldiers in 7 corps. Baghdad has as well: 7 tank divisions; 40 infantry divisions; 6 elite divisions of the Republican Guard (two armoured); 21 commando brigades; 5,500 tanks, mostly Soviet, but some "Chieftain" tanks; more than 10,000 LAVs and APCs; 3,500 pieces of heavy artillery; 200 rocket launchers with many missiles; 4,000 antiaircraft missiles and launchers; 689 combat aircraft, including 16 Su-24s; 22 air

wings of ground attack fighters, including 360 MiG-23s, Su and Mirage F-1 fighters; 17 air combat fighter air wings, including 275 MiGs (including MiG-29s) and Mirages; 159 attack helicopters and 330 other helicopters; al-Abbas (900 kilometer range), al-Hussein (600 kilometer range), and Sa'ad missiles — the report says at least 6 al-Hussein batteries stationed on the Jordan-Iraq border are aimed at Israel.

Oct. 29

— U.N. Resolution 674 demands that the Iraqi authorities and occupying forces immediately cease and desist from taking third-state nationals hostage, mistreating and oppressing Kuwaiti and third-state nationals and any other actions such as those reported to the Security Council and described above that violate the decisions of the Council, the Charter of the United Nations, the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations and international law.

Nov. 8

— U.S. President George Bush announces that he will authorize another 150,000-200,000 troops to be sent to the Persian Gulf region, bringing the total number of U.S. troops authorized to proceed to the region to 400,000.

Nov. 17

— U.S. Marines conducted a practice invasion exercise on Saudi Arabian territory south of Kuwait.

Nov. 24

— Parliamentarians Lloyd Axworthy (Lib.), Robert Corbett (PC) and Svend Robinson (NDP) leave Canada for Baghdad on an unofficial mission hoping to negotiate with Saddam Hussein for the release of Canadian hostages. The group did not meet with Saddam but Corbett and Robinson arranged a meeting with PLO leader Yasser Arafat during their stay in Baghdad.

Nov. 28

— U.N. Resolution 677 condemns the attempts by Iraq to alter the demographic composition of the population of Kuwait and to destroy the civil records maintained by the legitimate government of Kuwait.

Nov. 29

— U.N. Resolution 678 demands that Iraq fully comply with U.N. Resolution 660 and all subsequent relevant U.N. Resolutions and decides, while maintaining all its decisions, to allow Iraq one final opportunity, as a pause of goodwill, to do so. The U.N. Security Council in a vote of 12-2 gave Iraq six weeks to pull its troops out of Kuwait (by January 15, 1991) before the United States and its allies were free to launch a military strike. Yemen and Cuba opposed the vote; China abstained. The Resolution authorized the use of "all necessary means" to expel the Iraqis if they did not leave Kuwait by January 15, 1991.

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Nov. 30

— U.S. President George Bush invites Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz to visit Washington for talks and suggests that Secretary of State James Baker visit Baghdad for talks with Saddam Hussein.

Dec. 1

— Saddam Hussein says he will accept the suggestion for talks with the U.S. but no dates are set.

Dec. 6

— Saddam Hussein releases Western hostages.

Dec. 9

— Iraq and the U.S. are in a deadlock over when talks can take place. The U.S. suggests that they should occur before January 3. Iraq suggests January 12 as if ignoring the U.S. deadline.

Dec. 17

— The Wednesday Report learned from intelligence sources that British forces' surface craft were burned during a covert reconnoitering mission on Kuwait's Gulf coast. Sources revealed that high voltage, high current traps had been set in the shoals along the Kuwaiti waterfront.

Dec. 21

— Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) General John de Chastelain thanks Canadians for "tremendous outpouring of

support". Said the CDS, "By sharing the Christmas spirit with them, you have shown that although they are many miles from home, they are with us in our thoughts."

Dec. 22

— Saddam declares that Iraq will not leave Kuwait and that it will use chemical weapons against attackers, and further, that it will attack Israel if attacked by coalition forces.

Dec. 31

— The crew of HMCS Preserver left Canada to fly to the Persian Gulf. Preserver's crew would replace those aboard Protecteur and take the ship south in the Gulf for training exercises. Protecteur's original crew will return home.

Jan. 9, 1991

— U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III meets with Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting continued for more than three hours giving rise to some hope for a solution, but none emerged. In a speech to reporters following Baker's, Aziz again declared that Iraq would destroy Israel if attacked by the U.N.-backed forces.

Jan. 10

— The crew of HMCS Protecteur returned to Canada from the Persian Gulf to a hero's welcome. The crew of HMCS Preserver had replaced them on board Protecteur.

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A Comprehensive Gulf War Chronology

Jan. 12

— The United States Congress gave George Bush a strong majority vote authorizing him to go to war in the Persian Gulf region.

Jan. 15

— Iraq continues to occupy Kuwait while Iraqi president Saddam Hussein declared that his forces would expel any "aggressors and their allies" and that U.S. and coalition troops will "be swept away in rivers of their own blood".

Jan. 16

— Less than 19 hours after a U.N.-mandated deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, allied warplanes streaked across a moonless desert sky striking at Iraqi C³ facilities, chemical, nuclear, military-industrial and other key centres. Bombers pounded targets in both Iraq and Kuwait. Television cameras in Baghdad captured scenes of Iraqi skies over Baghdad alive with the flashes of antiaircraft fire and the distant shimmer of bursting bombs and exploding Tomahawk warheads.

— Iraq attacked Israel with al-Hussein missiles.

— At 7:06 pm EST (3:06 am Thursday, Saudi Arabia time), White House news secretary Marlin Fitzwater announced in President Bush's words: "The liberation of Kuwait has begun." In a 9 pm EST televised address, Bush described the marshaling of American and allied forces into "Operation Desert Storm".

Jan. 17

— Canada's Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of backing the Canadian government's support of Operation Desert Storm after a debate that first had the Liberal Party of Canada opposing participation and asking the federal government to withdraw the CF from the Gulf region.

— "Things are going well," President Bush said before dawn EST. Allied warplanes continued hammering Iraq.

— Crude oil prices had their greatest one-day fall in history.

— Iraq struck at Israel with at least eight al-Hussein missiles. Although the warheads were of the high explosives (HE) type, injuries were limited.

Jan. 18

— U.S. attack aircraft struck at Iraqi SS-1 Scud/al-Hussein/al-Abbas missile launchers.

— President Bush extended U.S. reservists' tours to up to two years. He said it "will take some time" to liberate Kuwait.

— CNN reported an Iraqi official claimed American pilots had been captured. Four American aircraft were reported lost in the first 48 hours of the war.

— The Pentagon said 11 of an estimated 700 Iraqi warplanes were destroyed. Anti-war protests continued worldwide.

— Oil prices dropped.

Jan. 19

— Israel's antimissile force was boosted by additional Patriot missile batteries and U.S. crews.

— A second Iraqi missile attack causes 29 injuries in Tel Aviv, Israel. Twelve Iraqi prisoners of war were captured.

— Bombardment began on Iraq's Republican Guard making up about one-fifth of the 545,000 Iraqi troops.

Jan. 20

— Iraqi missiles were shot down by Patriot rockets as they approached Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

— Iraqi TV showed two blindfolded PoWs being paraded through Baghdad streets. Later, Iraqi TV broadcast heart-wrenching interviews with the downed pilots who appeared to be suffering from facial bruises, cuts and other injuries. The PoWs were identified as three Americans, two British, one Italian and one Kuwaiti. A total of 15 allied warplanes were reported lost, including nine American aircraft.

Jan. 21

— Iraqi TV showed captured American pilots making statements criticizing the allied war effort.

— U.S. Patriot missiles thwarted Iraq's early-morning missile attack aimed for Saudi Arabia.

— Iraq said it scattered prisoners of war at key installations, using the prisoners as human shields against allied attacks.

— U.S. Air Force Major-General Burton Moore said 8,100 sorties had been flown since the start of the war, though allies were "nowhere near" their objective of knocking out Iraq's SS-1 Scud/al-Hussein missile launchers.

Jan. 22

— Iraq set some Kuwaiti oil facilities ablaze. Oil prices jumped sharply. Six al-Hussein missiles were fired into Saudi Arabia before dawn. All were either intercepted or fell in open areas.

— An Iraqi al-Hussein missile eluded the Patriot antimissile defence system and struck Tel Aviv. One person was killed, two died of heart attacks and at least 70 people were injured.

— Two more men identified as captive American fliers were displayed on Iraqi television. There were 24 allies missing in action, including 13 Americans, eight British, two Italians and one Kuwaiti. Total U.S. aircraft losses stood at 14.

— Twenty-three Iraqis were reported held as PoWs.

Jan. 23

— After more than 12,000 sorties, the allies claim air superiority and focus strikes on the Iraqi ground forces around Kuwait. Morning skies cleared and U.S. warplanes thundered off on more bombing runs against Iraq.

— Two Americans were wounded in a clash with an Iraqi patrol just inside Saudi Arabia.

— Six Iraqis were captured. Forty-one Iraqi aircraft, out of an estimated 700, were reported destroyed.

— At about 10:30 p.m. Israeli time, Israel came under an Iraqi missile barrage. No one was reported injured. Air raid sirens also sounded at about the same time in Saudi Arabia.

— Fire continued to rage at an oil field in southern Kuwait.

Jan. 24

— A brief skirmish high above the Persian Gulf marked a series of firsts in the war: the first Iraqi combat jet attack, the first air-to-air kill by a Saudi pilot and the first double kill by any coalition flier. The skirmish at 12:35 pm (4:35 am EST) involved a Saudi pilot who shot down two Iraqi jets carrying Exocet

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missiles.

— Kuwait's news agency claimed that allied forces drove Iraqi troops from a Kuwaiti island, the first piece of emirate territory reported freed from Iraqi occupation. A U.S. military spokesman said 51 Iraqis were taken prisoner and three were killed in a battle at the island.

Jan. 25

— First news of a major ecological tragedy came when allied officials said Iraq sabotaged Kuwait's main supertanker loading pier, dumping millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.

— The exiled government of Kuwait pledged $13.5 billion to the war effort.

— Missiles fired from western Iraq struck in the Tel Aviv and Haifa areas (after 6 pm local, 11 am EST), killing one Israeli and injuring more than 40 others. Saudi Arabia also was struck by al-Hussein missiles.

— Iraqi captured soldiers were reported covered with lice when taken prisoner. The PoWs said they had only one meal per day. Allied forces were holding 100 Iraqi PoWs.

— The Pentagon said the past 24 hours had been the busiest day of the air campaign, with 2,707 sorties flown in good weather above Iraq and Kuwait.

Jan. 26

— In a surgical military mission designed to stifle the Iraqi attempt at "ecological terrorism", "Paveway" bombs were dropped (10:30 am local, 2:30 pm EST) by U.S. F-111s at oil facilities in Kuwait to stop Iraq from pumping as much as 84 million gallons of crude oil a day into the Persian Gulf. The slick was drifting toward Saudi desalination plants.

— Iraqi al-Hussein missiles firings reached 51, 26 at Saudi Arabia and 25 at Israel, coalition briefers said.

— Along the northern front, Iraqis and the U.S.-led coalition exchanged harassment fire.

Jan. 27

— Two F-15s shot down four Iraqi MiG-23s southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. said. No U.S. planes were lost in the past 48 hours, the allied command announced.

— A total of 39 Iraqi aircraft flew to neighbouring Iran since the war began, the allies said. This included 23 — most of them fighter aircraft — in the past 24 hours.

— U.S. Defence Secretary Cheney conceded that air attacks alone would not drive Iraq from Kuwait. Cheney said the final go-ahead for a land offensive remained "a presidential decision".

— The White House ruled out financing the war with a new tax. U.S. Budget Director Richard Darman said upwards of $40 billion had been pledged thus far by members of the anti-Iraq alliance. Estimates on the cost of the war ranged as high as $1 billion a day once ground forces were committed.

Jan. 28

— More than 80 aircraft from Iraq's air force found refuge in Iran, the U.S. military command said. Iranian officials said Iran would impound the Iraqi planes until the war ended.

— The Iraqis reported that captured allied pilots were injured during air attacks on "populated and civilian targets in Iraq". The Baghdad government claims more than 320 civilians have

been killed in Desert Storm air raids.

— The U.S. command said its precision air strike on Kuwaiti oil facilities may have turned off the source of the vast oil spill that is devastating the Persian Gulf.

— Iraq fired more al-Husseins at Saudi Arabia and Israel. Patriots knocked out an incoming al-Hussein over the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Parts of another fell on Arab villages in the occupied West Bank.

— The allies reported losing a Marine AV-8 Harrier, apparently downed by Iraqi ground fire.

— The allied command reported that Navy attack planes bombed two Iraqi naval vessels in the Bubiyan channel in northern Kuwait, a patrol craft in Kuwait harbour, and patrol boats at an Iraqi naval base.

— CNN's Peter Arnett interviewed Saddam Hussein and said Saddam claimed his missiles have NBC capability.

Jan. 29

— Iraq claimed that allied prisoners of war (whom Iraq says are used as human shields) were hit in coalition air raids and that at least one was killed in an attack on a government building. There was no independent confirmation.

— The allies reported that allied warplanes caught an Iraqi military convoy moving across the open desert in southern Iraq the night before and destroyed 24 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and supply vehicles.

— The United States vowed to shoot down any Iraqi plane that tried to rejoin the war after taking refuge in Iran. The Pentagon said about 90 Iraqi fighter-bombers and transport planes flew to Iran.

— In Washington, Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Soviet Foreign Minister Alexander A. Bessmertnykh said a cease-fire could be called if Iraq took "concrete steps" to withdraw from Kuwait.

— President Bush, in his State of the Union address, assured Americans that the war will be won.

Jan. 30

— The first major ground battle of the war was fought in and around the frontier port of Khafji in the northeast corner of Saudi Arabia. Eleven U.S. marines were killed and two wounded (in the battle that started at 10:30pm local time, 2:30pm EST), the first American ground forces to die in battle in the Persian Gulf War.

— Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf said that two weeks of bombing raids forced Iraq to abandon centralized control of its air defence. He said the allies have air supremacy.

— Allied forces had destroyed all of Iraq's nuclear reactors, half of its biological warfare plants, and chemical storage and production sites, he said.

— The allied military commander threatened to bomb an Iraqi site reported to be the source of a new oil slick in the Persian Gulf.

Jan. 31

— Allied troops took back the coastal town of Khafji in a battle that saw the Persian Gulf War's first sustained ground fighting. But Iraqis continued to shell Saudi, Qatari and American forces.

— Israel said an Iraqi missile struck the occupied West Bank, but there were no reports of injury or damage. The attack (about

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A Comprehensive Gulf War Chronology

— Allied warplanes pounded Baghdad before dawn. Witnesses said communication centres, government offices and industrial installations were hit — some of them for the second and third times since the war began nearly three weeks ago.

— U.S. Marine light armoured vehicles exchanged cannon and small arms fire with Iraqi troops in Kuwait, U.S. Marine officials said. No casualties were reported.

— President Bush proposed a $295 billion military budget for fiscal 1992 that scales back strategic weapons geared to a once formidable Soviet threat and plans for conflicts like the Persian Gulf War. The budget does not include any of the costs of the military buildup in the Persian Gulf or the actual expense of war. The Pentagon plans to submit a supplemental budget later this month addressing those costs.

Feb. 6

— King Hussein of Jordan angled sharply toward Iraq, describing the Gulf War as an effort by outsiders to destroy that country and carve up the Arab world.

Feb. 13

— In the "Baghdad Bunker" affair, Western television viewers were given a most tragic and horrifying view of the war. F-117As with two Paveway bombs destroyed an underground C³ facility in Baghdad and officials there say more than 300 civilians were killed. The U.S. called the target a military command centre.

— The U.N. Security Council voted 9-2, with four abstentions, to hold closed formal session on the Gulf War.

Feb. 15

— Saddam used Baghdad radio to offer a conditional pullout, but George Bush, Brian Mulroney and U.K. Prime Minister Major dismiss it as a "cruel hoax". Bombing continued.

Feb. 16

— American attack helicopters made their first night raids on Iraqi positions, the U.S. Command says. Soviet envoy Yevgeny Primakov met with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.

Feb. 18

— Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz held 3.5 hours of "peace talks" in Moscow with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. A secret peace plan was formulated overnight.

Feb. 19

— U.S. commanders say they have evidence that Iraq's military commanders plan to use chemical weapons in response to an allied ground assault.

Feb. 22

— The Soviet peace plan is revealed. It allows Iraq to withdraw its forces within 21 days of a cease-fire.

— Iraq gets deadline for a pull-out from Kuwait. Allies give Iraq until noon Saturday EST to begin a pullout from Kuwait or face an all-out attack. The Iraqis denounce the ultimatum and say they agree to the Soviet peace plan.

6 pm, 11 am EST) was the eighth Iraqi missile attack aimed at Israel since the war began.

— Two soldiers — a man and a woman — not directly involved in the fighting at the northern Saudi port of Khafji were missing. Army Specialist Melissa Rathbun-Nealy, 20, was the first female soldier reported missing in action in the war. She disappeared near the Kuwaiti border with Army Specialist. David Lockett, 23.

Feb. 1

— The U.S. military command confirmed reports that a Special Forces AC130-H Spectre gunship was missing behind Iraqi lines. All 14 crewmembers aboard the aircraft were reported missing. Allied command spokesman General Pat Stevens said the gunship was in hostile territory when it sent out an emergency signal before apparently crashing.

— Saudi and Qatari troops ferreted out Iraqi units driven back to the northern fringes of Khafji. Baghdad first described the battle as an Iraqi victory. It later acknowledged in a military communique that its troops had withdrawn.

— Iraqi border positions were being hit in hundreds of sorties by allied bombers. B-52s joined in pounding the Iraqi troops.

Feb. 2

— Iraq fired at least one al-Hussein missile at Saudi Arabia early Sunday (12:55 am, 4:55 pm Saturday EST) and the U.S. Patriot air defences destroyed the incoming missile over Riyadh. Iraq had fired 28 missiles at Saudi Arabia and the same number at Israel.

Feb. 3

— An Air Force B-52 bomber and a Marine Cobra helicopter gunship crashed in separate incidents, killing at least two U.S. airmen and leaving three missing. Both crashes apparently were not related to combat.

— U.S. military investigators found that seven Marines were killed by a "friendly" missile fired by an American aircraft during a fierce armour battle along the Kuwaiti border last week. Officials said four other Marines killed in the battle were hit by an Iraqi tank round, apparently the first U.S. ground fatalities from enemy fire.

— The allied air war passed the 40,000-sortie mark — some 10,000 more missions than were flown against Japan in the final 14 months of World War II.

— U.S. Defence Secretary Dick Cheney expressed confidence the allied coalition can liberate Kuwait without using nuclear weapons.

— White House Budget Chief Richard Darman said the government forecasts the war will cost the United States $15 billion, with an additional $51 billion coming from the allies for the first three months of 1991.

Feb. 4

— Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani made a surprise offer to hold direct talks with both Iraq and the United States to try to end the Persian Gulf War. The new diplomatic effort by Iran was reported by Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency. White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater reacted cautiously to the reported initiative.

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Feb. 23

— Intelligence sources revealed that Iraq had begun a new campaign of terror in Kuwait City over night, killing civilians at random as the 12:00 noon EST coalition-imposed deadline for pullout from Kuwait approached. The Pentagon said from 2,000 to 10,000 Kuwaitis had been victims of "atrocities" in recent days.

— "There is a systematic campaign of executions of people they've tortured before ... they are grabbing people and summarily executing them," said Marine Brig. Gen. Richard Neal, U.S. command chief spokesman. Exiled Kuwaitis suggested that Iraq was destroying evidence of yet unreported atrocities by killing detained Kuwaitis.

— Iraqi troops set ablaze Kuwaiti oil wells, storage facilities and terminals. By the end of the day in Kuwait, Neal said the number of oil well fires now burning had climbed to 190 as of 2 pm EST, in another "systematic campaign of destruction of wellheads, terminals and production facilities".

— The United States and its allies launched a large-scale ground assault — matching almost letter-perfect the U.S. "AirLand 2000" doctrine proposed for Europe in the late 1970s — against Iraqi defensive troops. U.S. Army Special Forces sever the main fibre-optic communication lines cutting the last links between Saddam Hussein's command units and his troops in Kuwait.

— Canadian CF-18s participated in bombing raids dropping Mk-82 500-pound bombs on Iraqi military assets in Kuwait.

— The 18th Army Corps, the 7th Army Corps, along with French and British units move north and east into Iraq in a flanking maneuver heading deep into Iraq.

— The U.S. Marines engage Iraqi troops around Kuwait City after occupying Failakka Island.

— British, French, American, Saudi, Egyptian, Kuwaiti, Omani, Syrian and other Arab forces drove hard into Kuwaiti territory taking thousands of Iraqi prisoners.

Feb. 24

— HMCS Huron departed Halifax bound for the Persian Gulf. Huron will replace HMCS Athabaskan as Canadian Command Ship in the logistics and resupply task group now operating in the southern portion of the Persian Gulf.

Feb. 25

— Baghdad radio at 5:35 pm EST announced that Saddam Hussein had issued an order to his troops in Kuwait to withdraw to the positions they held prior to August 2. The White House responded by saying that the war continues and that any troops moving with their weapons will be considered to be "repositioning troops" and reminded of the Khafji incident wherein Iraqi tanks indicated surrender by pointing tank guns to the rear, but when approached, opened fire on coalition

forces. The fight continues.

— The U.N. Security Council met to discuss an Iraqi withdrawal that the Soviet representative described as being a direct offer from Saddam Hussein to Soviet President Gorbachev. The Council worked in a closed session through the night but emerged without conclusion before dawn Tuesday to reports that Iraqi troops were retreating Kuwait.

— An Iraqi missile struck U.S. military barracks in Dhahran killing 27 soldiers and injuring 98.

— The coalition claimed that its ground invasion had destroyed 275 Iraqi tanks and that 20,000 prisoners of war had been taken. According to some PoWs, their officers had fled north when the invasion first started.

— Military analysts in Norfolk, Virginia say the Navy SEALs have already carried out missions in the Gulf War.

— A column of Iraqi Republican Guard tanks was reported to be heading south.

— The allies, enjoying total control of the skies, flew about 2,600 sorties in the past 24 hours.

— Marine Brigadier-General Richard Neal, U.S. command chief spokesman said more than 600 fires were burning in Kuwait, about 500 of them at oil wells. "Terrorism continues as the only Iraqi success to date," he said.

— Iraq, for the first time during the Gulf War, fired Silkworm antiship missiles. One was shot down by a British destroyer and the second ditched in the sea.

— At Mina al Zour part of the allied thrust toward Kuwait City slowed as Saudi tanks and artillery shelled Iraqi units that appeared to be amassing to defend the capital.

— U.S. Marines and other elements of the coalition thrust to liberate Kuwait were reportedly engaged in major battles. In one instance, two U.S. armoured divisions had engaged three Iraqi armoured divisions.

— Some coalition commanders reported the sporadic use of chemical weapons by Iraqi units.

— Prime Minister Brian Mulroney confirmed in the House of Commons that Canada is prepared to commit additional assets to the Gulf War, should they be required.

— Minister of National Defence Bill McKnight confirmed that the cost for Canadian participation in the Gulf would be $60 million per month, but the additional cost of bombing missions was not yet estimated.

— Iraqi troops were driven from Kuwait City late in the day.

— A new oil slick was spotted in the Persian Gulf.

SADDAM'S "SCORCHED EARTH" EXECUTED PRIOR TO RETREAT

Saddam said Tuesday he had ordered his troops to withdraw from Kuwait. But from all appearances they were retreating under fire of a massive coalition-force advance. Some reports

WARSAW PACT MILITARY ARM DROPS OUT OF EXISTENCE

Early this week, in Budapest, Hungary, the defence and foreign ministers of the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria signed agreements scrapping the Warsaw Pact as a military structure effective March 31. The political wing of the Warsaw Pact could be killed off later this year after a meeting of the Political Consultative Committee planned for Prague in July .

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Iraqi Troops Retreat From Kuwait As Nation Is Scorched

suggested the Iraqis had taken hostages. Meanwhile, the Soviets sought a cease-fire through the U.N.

Urgency to push for the liberation of Kuwait City by coalition forces had been driven by news of horrible atrocities committed against Kuwaiti citizens by Iraqi troops. From 2,000 to 10,000 Kuwaitis had been victims of "atrocities" in the days prior to last Saturday's land offensive. "There is a systematic campaign of executions of people they've tortured before ... they are grabbing people and summarily executing them," said Marine Brigadier-General Richard Neal, U.S. command chief spokesman. "We knew they were conducting a campaign against the resistance. Maybe they think the game is up, and they're trying to destroy the evidence," he said on February 23.

At a Pentagon briefing Saturday, Navy Admiral Mike McConnell said 100,000 Kuwaiti civilians had been detained since the invasion. Many had been executed. Information from the Kuwaiti resistance and other intelligence reports indicated the killings persisted through Monday.

Solidarity International for Kuwait, an international group of Kuwaiti exiles and supporters claimed it had information from inside Kuwait that the situation was "extremely bad because of the brutal treatment of the Kuwaiti citizens by the Iraqi occupation forces." It said that any Kuwaiti between 15 and 55 found in the streets was seized, blindfolded and sent off to Iraq as a prisoner of war. It also claimed that Iraqi jailers had been ordered by Baghdad to execute all the detainees remaining in Kuwaiti jails — about 65 people. During a rare excursion by resistance members before the City's liberation, the bodies of eight young women and eight young men had been found. The women were all about age 20, some were shot in the head, some hanged, and some were nude.

A "systematic campaign of destruction of wellheads, terminals and production facilities" was launched by Iraqi troops. Hundreds of oil well fires have been burning in Kuwait since Saturday.

Baghdad Radio denied on Monday and Tuesday that there has been a "scorched earth policy" for Kuwait and claimed that Iraq is complying with U.N. Resolution 660 by leaving (retreating?) Kuwait.

CF-18 `BOMBERS' HELPED FORCE SADDAM'S RETREAT

One hour into the allied ground offensive, four of Canada's CF-18s based in Qatar began air-to-ground attacks against Iraqi military targets inside Kuwait as Iraqi troops soon began a panic-stricken retreat. The `bomber' or air-to-ground role for the aircraft was authorized early last Wednesday and announced an hour later in a statement made by Defence Minister McKnight.

Armaments for the aircraft are shipped to Qatar from Canadian bases in Germany. In addition to the M-61 20mm cannon, each CF-18 can carry four types of "air-to-mud" ordnance including four Canadian-designed CRV-7 rocket pods, each containing 19 rockets; six Mk 20 `Rockeye' cluster bombs, each containing 247 antitank bomblets; four BL755 cluster bombs, each containing 147 bomblets which fall in a pattern and are capable of puncturing thick armour; and up to ten Mk 82 `Snakeye' bombs which are general purpose gravity bombs weighing 248 kilograms each. The type of ordnance used "will depend on the circumstances" said a DND spokesperson. Pilots have been given brief "refresher" air-to-ground training.

U.S. NAVY TESTS IMPROVED TOMAHAWK BLOCK III

The Tomahawk Block III upgrade development programme was recently put to the test when a U.S. Navy Tomahawk sea-launched cruise missile completed a 700-mile, fully guided flight over California. The flight test successfully demonstrated Block III system improvements including the addition of a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and antenna; an upgrade of the Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation (DSMAC-11A) for additional computing power; time-of-arrival control; and a new payload section. A significant Block III upgrade which was not demonstrated in this mission is the improved conventional warhead and fuse to increase the Tomahawk's lethality and range. The missile's new Williams International 402 turbofan engine will be part of future Block III missiles providing an increase in thrust and a decrease in fuel consumption. The Tomahawk Block III changes — engineered and developed by McDonnell Douglas Missile Systems Co. in St. Louis, Missouri — can be fully retrofitted to all Tomahawk conventional land-attack variants.

HMCS HURON DEPARTED SUNDAY FOR THE PERSIAN GULF

Under crisp, clear Atlantic skies, HMCS Huron left Halifax Sunday morning for the Persian

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Gulf. Although the liberation of Kuwait is well under way, Huron's Commander Richard Melnick says that his crew of 320 is ready and prepared for its task "whatever that may be". Huron is to replace its sister destroyer HMCS Athabaskan which has spent the past five months in the Gulf enforcing the United Nations embargo, and since the conflict began on January 16, helping to guard allied shipping supply lines.

Huron arrived in Halifax January 26 and a week later began its retrofitting at Ship Repair Unit Atlantic (SRUA) where it was reequipped with modern surface weapons and sensors. A visibly restrained Melnick said that he had every confidence in SRUA's handiwork, even though it now looks as though the ship may not be required to fire a shot in anger. It is due on-station in the region in four weeks' time.

Bidding the ship and crew a farewell were a handful of family members who had flown out from the destroyer's west coast home port at CFB Esquimalt, B.C. a week ago. Rear-Admiral Robert George, commander of Maritime Command also gave the crew a farewell pep talk on the ship's helicopter deck. Huron's send-off was a muted affair compared to the departure of HMCS Athabaskan, Terra Nova and Protecteur last August, when more than 10,000 flag-waving Haligonians lined the harbour to wish the navy Godspeed. The brisk North Atlantic wind may have been a factor in the lower turnout, as well as the ship leaving one day ahead of its earlier announced schedule. (See The Wednesday Report, February 20, page 11, "Update: Huron And Restigouche Soon To Sail For The Gulf".)

GORBACHEV'S PRESIDENCY IN DIFFICULTY OVER GULF WAR

The Mayor of Moscow reportedly said early this week that pressure for Mikhail Gorbachev to reverse his support for the U.N.-backed coalition was nearly overwhelming. Pravda has accused the United States of wanting to "destroy Iraq". Gorbachev has not offered any support for the coalition's land invasion, but analysts in Moscow say that Gorbachev will not do anything to create permanent rifts between Moscow and Washington. Cynics in the Soviet Union say Gorbachev seeks "to have a chicken and an omelette from the same egg" by trying to appease Arab interests and yet remain in the good books of the Bush administration. In a brief statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Vitaly Churkin said the Soviet Union's 11th-hour peace proposal had caused a "qualitative" shift in Iraq's position toward retreat, but "the instinct for a military solution won out."

Monday's edition of Pravda, the newspaper of the Communist Party said, "(The war) is waged first of all for the ambitions of the U.S. toward sole leadership of the world." Conservative factions in Moscow are furious with Gorbachev for not opposing the U.S. on the issue.

Some hard-line Generals in Moscow have claimed that the Soviet Union will not be cutting its defence spending because the U.S. has been using the conflict with the Soviets' former ally, Iraq, as a method of testing the West's latest weapon systems.

PMO LLAD UPDATE: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Readers may recall our article written almost a year and a half ago in which we reported that four people were removed from DND's Project Management Office, Low Level Air Defence (PMO LLAD) amid rumours of an office romance and an alleged security breach (see The Wednesday Report, October 18, 1989, page 2, "PMO LLAD Shakeup Simmers Down").

The Wednesday Report inquired into the fate of the quartet which departed the LLAD PMO. The three men involved are all doing fine in a top job, a consultancy or as head of a new project within DND. But the woman, Janet McCoy, tells a different tale. Although she was cleared and commended "for her excellent work" prior to the charges, she claims she was an innocent victim of an internal DND power struggle. (See April 18, 1990, page 1, "What Happened At PMO LLAD?") Incidentally, she has not been able to get a steady job since. Was she blackballed? She believes she was. It seems that DND looks after its own — but perhaps that doesn't include women.

GE AEROSPACE TO BUILD $10 MILLION FACILITY IN MANITOBA

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GE Aerospace Canada of Mississauga, Ontario recently announced a $10 million investment plan for a new aerospace electronics facility to be constructed in Winnipeg by 1993. The investment plan forms part of GE Canada's Industrial Benefit programme in support of the federal coastal radar project as well as the final phase of Manitoba's Limestone hydroelectric project.

Extensive training of employees — the initial development phase — is already under way. The facility will eventually employ 70 people to design, manufacture and market advanced communications and signal processing systems for naval and air applications. Products to be manufactured at the facility include a new acoustical receiver based on a proprietary electronic chip, the technology for which will be acquired from GE Aerospace Electronic Systems department of Utica, New York. This electronics system has been offered for use on the EH101 helicopter in DND's NSA programme and could be the launch order for the new business. Navies in the U.S., Japan, Australia and Great Britain have also been identified by GE as potential customers for the system.

PARAMAX GIVES "1990 QUALITY AWARDS" TO SIX COMPANIES

Paramax Electronics Inc. of Montreal, Quebec announced on Monday the presentation of its 1990 Subcontractor Quality Awards to three Canadian companies which are members of the Paramax subcontractor team for the Canadian Patrol Frigate (CPF) programme. The Surveillance Systems Group of Westinghouse Canada Inc. in Burlington, Ontario was recognized for its outstanding performance in the provision of the navigation switchboard system for the CPF combat system. C-Tech Limited of Cornwall, Ontario was cited for excellence in production and delivery of the data acquisition system which is also part of the CPF combat system. Des Roberts of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec was awarded for its implementation of quality processes in the manufacture of metal components used in the racks for the CPF Exterior Communications and Command and Control systems. The awards — part of Paramax's Total Quality Management programme — were also received by three foreign suppliers.

PEOPLE: CANADAIR APPOINTMENT TO REGIONAL JET DIVISION

Steven M. Horner has joined the Canadair Regional Jet (RJ) division as senior analyst, market research and airline analysis. Horner is now responsible for developing and managing Canadair's market research activities to support sales and marketing of the Regional Jet. Prior to joining Canadair, Horner was employed by AVMARK Inc. of Arlington, Virginia as a senior analyst.

In another announcement last week, Canadair says C. Itoh Aviation, an affiliate of C. Itoh & Co. Ltd. will be its exclusive sales representative for the new generation Canadair Regional Jet airliner in Japan. This announcement follows the sale by the Tokyo-based company of the eleventh Challenger 601-3A wide-body business jet to Japanese investors. With this appointment Canadair hopes to continue making significant inroads in Japan while enhancing its overall profile in the expanding Pacific Rim market.

MARCONI SATCOM ANTENNA CERTIFIED ON BOEING 747 AIRCRAFT

The Canadian Marconi CMA-2100 antenna has been awarded FAA certification on board a Boeing 747-400 aircraft, making it the first ARINC 741 phased array High Gain SATCOM antenna to be FAA type certified on an air transport aircraft. The CMA-2100 is a major component of a complex airborne satellite communications terminal which enables mid-air telephone and facsimile communications to take place from anywhere in the world. Qantas Airways of Australia was the first airline to specify this antenna subsystem for a variety of wide-body and narrow-body applications.

ROSS CAMPBELL AT INTERCON CONSULTANTS HAS NEW PARTNER

Intercon Consultants of Ottawa has announced that Major-General (retired) Ernest B. Creber has replaced General (retired) Fred R. Sharp as partner. Following this change in partnership, Sharp has continued his association with Intercon as an associate.

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AIRSHOW CANADA '91 OVERVIEW

Airshow Canada, the biennial North American aerospace tradeshow, will be held this year in Abbotsford, B.C. from August 7-11 and will consist of three components. The international aerospace tradeshow exhibit adjacent to the Abbotsford airport will be open from August 7-11, with August 7-9 reserved as professional days. Approximately 12,000 professional visitors are expected to view more than 300 exhibits — housed in 120,000 square feet of air-conditioned space — from over 20 countries. The Airshow Canada Symposium which is expected to attract over 600 delegates is scheduled to take place at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre from August 7-9. Speakers and panels will address the Symposium's 1991 theme "Sharing the Skies". An impressive number of papers written on this theme have already been received for discussion at the panel sessions. A design competition based on designs predating the flight of the Wright Brothers entitled "Seeking Wings That Work" has to date attracted 11 entries from teams of aeronautical engineering students worldwide. The 30th anniversary of the Abbotsford International Flying Show, the final component of Airshow Canada '91, has been slated for August 9-11 and is likely to attract over 350,000 members of the public. For additional information on Airshow Canada '91 call (604) 852-4600.

BOEING DELIVERS 737 NUMBER 2,000

Deliveries of the Boeing 737 reached 2,000 when Lufthansa German Airlines received a new 737-500 model on Monday. This order represents the 100th delivery of a Boeing 737 aircraft to the airline. To date, announced orders for 737-300, -400 and -500 models total 2,887. Boeing is expanding its Renton, Washington plant to accommodate world demand for 737s and expects to increase the rate of production from a record pace of 17 to 21 aircraft per month by mid-year.

GATT WILL MEET ON MARCH 6 TO CONSIDER AIRBUS SUBSIDIES

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) organization has deferred a meeting until March 6 to consider an American complaint about German subsidies to the European plane maker Airbus Industrie. The Subsidies Committee was previously scheduled to meet tomorrow. The U.S. asked the GATT committee to create a dispute panel to rule on a German insurance scheme protecting manufacturers from dollar/mark fluctuations. The U.S. claims the plan violates GATT's subsidies code. Airbus is a consortium of Germany's Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm (a unit of Daimler-Benz AG's Deutsche Aerospace AG), British Aerospace plc, Ste Nationale Industrielle, Aerospatiale of France and Casa of Spain.

DOUG BELLIVEAU SEEKING FIRMS FOR AUSTRALIA'S TCCCS

Doug Belliveau, formerly of CFN Consultants, has formally established his new consultancy — Australia Pacific (Rim) Opportunities Associates (APOA) — with offices in Sydney and Canberra, Australia. Belliveau, who was visiting Toronto at the end of last week on a sales tour through North America, is approaching client prospects who wish to seek a role in Australia's version of Canada's TCCCS project (AUSTACCS) valued at $150 million (Aus.) and "Parakeet", the IRIS equivalent ($256.4 million Aus.). The AUSTACCS project manager, says APOA's president, is looking for a company with specialties in data/voice multiplexing.

Belliveau points out that tax rebates for incoming R & D invested by firms teaming with Australian companies are 150 percent until April 1991. He believes the Australian government has a broad, liberal definition for research and development activities it will accept under the programme. Duty-free imports of necessary special gear or systems apply throughout 1991. The Australian Defence Force has thirty-one new projects of which eight are for the Australian Navy, 14 are army, six are air force and three are ADF development projects. According to Belliveau, the minor capital project limit has been approved at a higher level from $10 million to $20 million (Aus.) for 1991. (See The Wednesday Report, November 29, 1990, page 5, "Reader's Consultancy Moves To Australia".) Doug Belliveau can be contacted at APOA, Level 67, MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place, Sydney, NSW 2000. Tel: 61 2 238 2365.

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Guest Commentary

SOVIET BRASS HIGHLIGHTS GAINS FROM EURO-ARMS CUTBACK

The jury is still out on the Soviet side as to the treaty on reducing conventional armed forces in Europe, now awaiting final ratification. Most experts, myself included, would say that the treaty is a reasonable compromise based on equal security. However, there are those who argue that by jettisoning more weapons than the U.S. and NATO, we have damaged our security and will be forced to budget tremendous resources to build and redeploy elsewhere the weapons we have phased out and destroyed in Europe.

In the West it is generally conceded that NATO has come out on top. The Soviet Union is reducing more weapons. There is talk of the demise of the Soviet military threat. The unprecedented scope of inspections enables the West "to read the Soviet armed forces like an open book".

I think Western diplomacy is claiming the following victories. First, the aggregate troop ceilings in Europe include paramilitary formations (troops of the Soviet interior ministry, KGB and DOSAAF — the Voluntary Society of Assistance to the Army, Air Force and Navy). Second, the limits slapped on shore-based naval aviation do not include carrier-based warplanes. Third, under the ceiling of 6,800 aircraft on both sides set by the treaty, NATO can actually increase the number of warplanes deployed in Europe.

Under the treaty, we will reduce more weapons than the West because we have had more tanks, aircraft, artillery systems and armoured fighting vehicles deployed in the reduction zone. Equally, the scope of inspection to verify compliance will indeed be unprecedented — but that is true for both sides. On our side, we will allow one inspection daily. And after the troop reductions are completed, NATO will have 50 percent more ground forces in the treaty area than the U.S.S.R.

Some Soviet military experts have been quick to argue that this troop imbalance does not contradict the criteria of our country's newly proclaimed doctrine of minimum defence sufficiency. I think it is too early to be so categorical in this narrow sense. What might be more correct is that the ceilings established for the U.S.S.R., coupled with our powerful nuclear force, are sufficient to maintain our defence capacity in any circumstances.

There is no doubt that the armed forces reduction treaty is in complete accordance with Soviet policy of freeing Europe from the mountains of weapons, of dismantling the fences created by the Cold War, and of establishing a completely radical system of European security. Crucial to the Soviet Union, we must unburden ourselves of the economically crippling baggage of military spending so that our country can tackle its economic problems and ensure our people a greater degree of prosperity.

This is entirely within the realm of possibility. It will take some time however, before the positive economic impact of the treaty will be felt at home. At first, we will have to spend a great deal to eliminate weapons and undertake inspections. Disarmament happens to be a costly process to initiate. But the long-term economic impact will be fantastic.

Soviet security will also be strengthened through reduced levels of military strength on both sides, the elimination of the risk of a surprise attack, and the fact that it will no longer be possible to undertake large-scale offensive operations.

In a few years, the military map of Europe — troop strength, composition, deployment, intensity of combat training, etcetera — will have changed beyond recognition. With the advent of the recent Paris Summit, its charter for a new Europe, and the joint 22-country declaration on non-aggression, universal security has indeed been reinforced. Soviet interests have not been damaged. Everybody gains.

As for the future, two tasks await us. First, the disarmament process in Europe must be extended to include naval forces and tactical nuclear weapons. Second, NATO must be true to its word and take practical steps to implement the decisions of its London Declaration on transforming the organization and revising its military doctrine and strategy.

Military reform is also an immediate point on the Soviet agenda. We have to review our military and defensive strength within our borders, streamline our armed forces by eliminating obsolete weapons and overlapping chains of command and command structures, and upgrade our levels of technology. This all must be done in light of changing values, values not of Cold War and confrontation, but of peace and human welfare.

Colonel-General Nikolai Chervov, Aide to the Soviet Chief of the General Staff

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