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Postwar occupation plans (news from the Pentagon)
Topic 126 Pentagon Outlines Occupation Plans 1 response
mideastdesk News of the Persian Gulf 12:16 pm Feb 26, 1991
© Pacific News Service (PNS) all rights reserved.
>From peacenet Tue Feb 26 12:05 PST 1991
PENTAGON PLANNERS OUTLINE KEY U.S. MILITARY ROLE IN
KUWAIT RECOVERY
EDITOR'S NOTE: An unclassified Pentagon document obtained
by Pacific News
Service details an extensive role for U.S. military forces in
Kuwait's recovery for as long as five years. Planners also project
civilian casualties of up to 25 percent of Kuwait's population;
martial law conditions for up to one year; and harsh security
measures aimed particularly at ""stay-behind Palestinians and
Iraqis'' who are described as potential terrorists. PNS editor
Sandy Close and associate editor Dennis Bernstein prepared this
report on the document. Sam Sternberg, a veteran intelligence
analyst, also contributed to this report.
BY SANDY CLOSE AND DENNIS BERNSTEIN, PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE
U.S. military forces will assume full control over Kuwaiti
affairs for up to
three months following its liberation, according to an
unclassified Pentagon document detailing plans for Kuwait's
post-war reconstruction. Despite the absence of a U.N. mandate
authorizing such a role, U.S. forces will then assist the
Government of Kuwait (GOK) in the country's rehabilitation for up
to five years and even longer.
The document, obtained by Pacific News Service, projects
an enormous toll in Kuwaiti casualties from the ground war.
Planners estimate that ""the number of killed or injured in a
conflict scenario could exceed 25 percent'' of Kuwait's population
(estimated at 800,000).
The 200-page document also states that martial law
measures will be in effect during an emergency phase of up to
three months but could be extended by the GOK for up to one year.
It contains no mention of plans to expand democratization in
Kuwait during its reconstruction. Instead, even after martial
law is lifted, planners assume that all political restrictions
that existed prior to the war -- including a 1976 press law
banning criticism of the Emir -- will be restored.
The brunt of tough security measures both during and after
the emergency phase will be borne by Palestinians and other
""expatriates'' who accounted for as much as 61 percent of
Kuwait's pre-war population. The document in several sections
equates ""stay-behind Palestinians'' with Iraqis and states that
terrorist action is expected from both groups.
The document, issued by the 352nd Civil Affairs Command
now based in Riyahd, was compiled by teams of military planners
working in consultation with officials of the GOK between the
first week of November and January 16 (the latest date entered in
the report). A spokesman for the Command, reached by phone in
Riyahd, would neither confirm nor deny the existence of the
document.
Dry, full of charts, maps, graphs, tables, the document's
26 appendices cover every imaginable reconstruction need from
burying the dead to caring for the wounded, from repairing the
airport and restoring the flow of oil to the capture of
surbersives and the guarding of government documents. Section
after section details requirements for the number of chairs,
desks, English and Arabic typewriters, types of computers and
software, staples and scotchtape -- even the number of daily
calories to be provided each civilian resident. Also itemized are
the numbers of nurses, doctors, morticians, and specialists in
police, fire, psychological and intelligence operations needed to
get Kuwait back on its feet.
A careful reading of the appendices, however, highlights
several problem areas that go well beyond logistics and
will inevitably present a mix of political, economic and human
rights issues for post-war Kuwait.
First and foremost is meeting the health care needs of the
surviving population. After one week of ground war, Pentagon
planners are prepared to meet some 40,000 dead civilians, 100,000
wounded and 42,000 sick, and virtually no functional medical
facilities. ""Long term and tertiary care for non-combatants in
Kuwait will be difficult if not impossible during the emergency
period,'' it states. ""Evacuation of seriously ill, injured to
medical care in hospitals outside the country may be essential to
save lives.''
The document goes on to state that while the GOK has
standing contracts with extramural hospitals in the Gulf, ""they
do not plan to fund such medical care for non-citizens.''
Presumably, that care will be left to private voluntary agencies,
the U.N., the International Committee of the Red Cross, all acting
under the supervision of U.S. forces. But even citizens may not
receive timely care because plans only call for air transport for
up to 150 patients per day.
If the ground war lasts longer than a week, the report
predicts ""the general level of the population's health will be
severely degraded by stress, lack of medical care, war and severe
diarrhea.'' With 40 percent of Kuwait's population under the age
of 15, the report notes that ""large numbers of children may be
lost.''
To restore and maintain security in liberated Kuwait, the
report calls for the creation of a Kuwaiti security force of up to
10,000. It adds that ""use of U.S. military, security and safety
equipment may be required in the short term and in the
intermediate term as well.''
During the initial emergency phase all residents of
Kuwait will be issued
identity cards and screened for interrogation. Camps will be
constructed to provide housing for displaced civilians and to
separate out prisoners of war, Iraqis and other ""potential
terrorists'' who have remained behind.
Even after the emergency period is over, the report notes
that the GOK will ""impose martial law, using emergency
legislation, for a period of up to a year.'' War crimes will be
prosecuted in Kuwaiti tribunals ""conducted by personnel from GOK
public safety and security agencies, with assistance from allied
personnel.''
Under an appendix titled Telecommunications/Public
Communications, the document details plans for imposing total
press censorship and control until the end of the emergency
period. ""Broadcasting (will be) limited to Government of
Kuwait-owned or operated stations,'' the report states.
Throughout the reconstruction phase,the Kuwaiti media --
described as one of the liveliest and freest in the region prior
to the war -- will revert to restrictions defined by the 1976
press law. These specifically ban ""criticism of the Emir;
quoting from the Emir without his permission; publishing
information affecting the value of national currency or creating
misgivings about the Kuwait economy; criticizing other Arab
leaders.''
The most sweeping structural changes described in the
report have to do with Kuwait's banking and business sectors.
""Senior Kuwaiti officials intend to restructure the financial
system,'' the report states. ""This is a very sensitive political
decision because the prominent merchant families are linked
through the interlocking ownership of these institutions. The
Palestiians virtually controlle the banking system.''
he goal of financial resructuring,the report ggests, is
ecnll b mre tightly cntolle bythe rulinginorityto e
detrimentof the Palestinian expatriate population.
The document states that a new currency will be introduced
but emphasizes that this will occur only after all residents are
issued new ID cards. Palestinians, it warns, will push for the
currency reform to be implemented prior to the issuance of ID
cards.
The document's most detailed plans are for putting out
oil well fires. As early as Nov. 8, the day Washington announced
increased troop deployments in the Gulf, Pentagon planners were
calling for the completion of contracts already being negotiated
with the world's four companies capable of dousing oil field
fires.
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