IRAQI FORCES ADVANCE INTO KURDS' ENCLAVE.Byline: Steven Lee This article is about the alpine skier. For other people named Steven or Stephen Lee, see Stephen Lee (disambiguation). Steven Lee (born August 6, 1962 in Falls Creek) is an Australian alpine skier. Myers The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Ignoring strong U.S. warnings, armored Iraqi divisions pushed into northern Iraq on Saturday and reportedly seized a main city in the Kurdish enclave, prompting President Clinton to place U.S. troops in the region on high alert and send in reinforcements. Iraq's action significantly heightened tensions in the region and threatened to spark a new confrontation with the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and other Western nations that created the enclave after the Persian Gulf War Persian Gulf War or Gulf War (1990–91) International conflict triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Though justified by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on grounds that Kuwait was historically part of Iraq, the invasion was presumed to be in 1991. President Clinton said Saturday that the situation ``caused me grave concern.'' ``I have placed our forces in the region on high alert, and they are now being reinforced,'' the president said, campaigning in Tennessee. ``It is premature at this time - and I want to emphasize that - it is entirely premature to speculate on any response we might have. But we are prepared to deal with these developments.'' The United States was consulting with its allies about how to react to the Iraqi moves. On Friday the president stepped up air patrols in the area and ordered the 23,000 U.S. troops already in the region to be ``prepared for any contingency.'' The action by Iraqi forces, estimated by officials here to include 30,000 to 40,000 troops backed by artillery and tanks, was the most significant military activity in northern Iraq since the United States, Britain and France began enforcing a so-called exclusion zone A zone established by a sanctioning body to prohibit specific activities in a specific geographic area. The purpose may be to persuade nations or groups to modify their behavior to meet the desires of the sanctioning body or face continued imposition of sanctions, or use or threat of to protect the Kurds, who have been waging a war for independence in Iraq, as well as in parts of Iran and Turkey. Administration officials confirmed that the Iraqi forces, including the elite Republican Guards, had seized Erbil, a town in the mountainous region about 200 miles north of Baghdad. The officials said Iraq's troops began shelling the city early Saturday morning, then pushed into it from the south and east, evidently overrunning it. It remained unclear, however, whether the Iraqi forces had complete control of the city, since there were reports that fighting continued through the day. Relief officials from the region said they were unable to assess the number of casualties in Erbil. The city is just above the 36th parallel, the edge of the exclusion zone where the Western allies The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples, within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. The term is generally understood to refer to the countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations and part of the military of Poland (from 1939), exiled have forbidden Iraqi aircraft, though not ground forces, from operating. In 1991 the United Nations passed Resolution 688, which the United States has used as justification for its protective actions in the north, demanding that Iraq's leader, President Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. , end his repression of the Kurds. By ordering the incursion in·cur·sion n. 1. An aggressive entrance into foreign territory; a raid or invasion. 2. The act of entering another's territory or domain. 3. , Saddam appeared willing once again to test the United States' resolve to protect the Kurdish minority. After pounding the rebellious Kurds in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, Iraq has periodically launched new attacks along the de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. demarcation lines in the north that have separated the Kurds and the Iraqis. In Baghdad, Iraq Deputy Prime Minister A Deputy Prime Minister or Vice Prime Minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting Prime Minister when the real Prime Minister is temporarily absent. Tariq Aziz Mikhail Yuhanna, later and more popularly known as Tariq Aziz or Tareq Aziz, (Arabic: طارق عزيز, Syriac: ܜܪܩ ܥܙܝܙ , said that the incursion into the Kurdish enclave was a ``limited military operation'' to answer an appeal by the Kurdistan Democratic Party Kurdistan Democratic Party may refer to:
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan claims to be working for self-determination, human rights, democracy and peace , have periodically appealed for help from Iraq and Iran in their conflicts. Aziz said that Iraq's forces were aiding the Democratic Party's leader, Massoud Barzani, to block what he called intervention by Iran on the side of the Patriotic Union, which has controlled the territory around Erbil. ``The leadership has decided to provide support and military aid to Mr. Massoud Barzani and his comrades to enable them to confront the vicious aggression,'' Aziz said in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, Reuters reported from Baghdad. Barham Salih, a spokesman for the Patriotic Union in Washington, said that Kurdish fighters in Erbil had been surrounded, but continued to resist. In contact by telephone until Saturday morning, Salih reported ``scores of casualties,'' including civilians killed by the Iraqi shelling. He said that the Iraqis had attacked not only Erbil, but other areas as well. ``It appears to be an all-out offensive,'' he said. The U.S.-led effort to protect the Kurds in northern Iraq began in 1991 under President Bush. Since then, the U.S. position has been complicated by the infighting in·fight·ing n. 1. Contentious rivalry or disagreement among members of a group or organization: infighting on the President's staff. 2. Fighting or boxing at close range. among the Kurds and their competing alliances with Iraq and Iran. That has muddled the mission - and the possible Western reaction - as President Clinton weighs how the administration will respond. National Security Adviser Anthony Lake briefed Clinton by telephone early Saturday, temporarily delaying the latest leg of the president's campaign bus tour with Vice President Al Gore. Lake, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and other senior officials met through the day to monitor the situation and consider how to proceed. Secretary of State Warren Christopher also cut short his vacation in California to return to Washington, a spokesman said, seeming to highlight the gravity of the Iraqi incursion. The United States has considerable military force in the region, including 21 ships in the Persian Gulf led by the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, that is part of a multinational force enforcing the international sanctions on Iraq. The fleet is equipped with powerful Tomahawk tomahawk [from an Algonquian dialect of Virginia], hatchet generally used by Native North Americans as a hand weapon and as a missile. The earliest tomahawks were made of stone, with one edge or two edges sharpened (sometimes the stone was globe shaped). missiles capable of striking deep into Iraq and includes an amphibious assault force of roughly 2,500 heavily armed Marines. The Navy and Air Force also have numerous fighter jets within range, including those based in Incirlik, Turkey, to patrol the no-fly zone. The Navy has ordered the aircraft carrier Enterprise, now in the Mediterranean, to be ready to proceed to the area, if needed. Its presence would be considered a key to mounting any kind of military response to the Iraqi action, officials said. Administration officials said that the president would rule out nothing in weighing a response. A senior administration official said that so far the Iraqi forces had not violated the zone from which Iraqi flights are banned, but that the incursion was ``a very grave matter.'' ``Saddam never misses an opportunity to miscalculate mis·cal·cu·late tr. & intr.v. mis·cal·cu·lat·ed, mis·cal·cu·lat·ing, mis·cal·cu·lates To count or estimate incorrectly. mis·cal ,'' the official said. ``It is hard to understand his motives at this point.'' After detecting the Iraqi buildup earlier this week, the United States began consulting with Western allies about ways to respond. The administration had clearly hoped that its public warnings would deter the Iraqis, but they appeared to have had little affect. The Iraqi incursion came at a volatile time in the northern enclave. In mid-August, renewed fighting erupted between the two main Kurdish factions, who have a long history of internecine in·ter·nec·ine adj. 1. Of or relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group. 2. Mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides. 3. Characterized by bloodshed or carnage. clashes and shifting alliances in their struggle for supremacy in the north. Worried about the intervention of Iraq or Iran into the Kurdish conflict, the United States mediated yet another cease-fire between the two Kurdish factions and sponsored a new round of peace talks that began in London on Friday. Iraq has reacted angrily to Washington's efforts, accusing the United States of meddling med·dle intr.v. med·dled, med·dling, med·dles 1. To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere. See Synonyms at interfere. 2. To handle something idly or ignorantly; tamper. in its internal affairs. At the same time, Iraq has strongly criticized Iran, accusing its troops of pushing into Iraqi territory to aid the Kurdish faction it sponsors. The State Department has repeatedly warned both Iran and Iraq not to try to exploit the Kurdish unrest. CAPTION(S): Photo, Map Photo: Saddam Hussein May be testing U.S. again Map: E rbil |
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