Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search

File: DOC_86_CENTCOM_BRIEFING_006.txt
Page: 006
Total Pages: 17

     I'd li~c now to soit of rcpon whai's t}~~n ~uiz~g on last niSht and :odriy. if you look at this
posidon hcrc1 ycstcrday evening we had &n atiack In that atta by what was cstiinatcd to be a~ Lraqi
rncchaniwi battalion. It crossed the border. Ii was engaged by a Marinc iight armored infantry
baitalton and tacticai air. P~sult   ten Ira~I w~s £!t£troy~ four tncrny fOW'£, and the Marines
lost t'~'o light irniortd vehiclcs.

     At point n~n~ibtr ~wo.n8ht heit,0~tcr on tl~t ~amc evening anotbcr~aql battalion ~~~t
across the border. `These ~tre again enga£ed by AC-I 30's and Cobras. We destroyed four tanks and
13 `r:bicies. We have had ~ports that tite Iraqis did go into Al Kha~~i. Of course, a~ you know, Al
KIiafji has been abandoneti and deserted since the very tint day of 1)~scrt Storm, so tl)cfC was 110 OsiC
tI~erc.

     At position i'untbcr titre, in the very catly 1I1('rfl'ing, Iraqi tanks again erosstd the border.
1~is lirn: they ~~£~ inidally :ngagtd by the Saudi Ar~bIan National Guard, and then ~iMne Lac air
      shem and she ca~rriy wiLtm~h~w

     Early this fl~n'U')g, 40 more Iraqi w~k~ crossed (lie border again0 at the san~ placc ~hey Came
ac?~ss bc~or~  flght DYet btrv They w6aL (fliCt ~aw :ngaged by the Mar~ne :i£ht znQT~d fnfan~'.
This ~Ltnc the sesuits "ve~ 10 ~aqi sank. ~Acstroycd; and they capwrc~I 9 enetny prisoners of Wif. At
tbc prtscnt tirne, we' ha've 1tport~ that thc Saudis :rt tnovin~ forvts into Al Khafji to eject any Iraqis
Ihat may be in thai area.

      *Jbis, picaic, is a vcry freiif:4nary £tport because, as ycxi Can imagine, ~gliiin~ all ni~ht long
and ib~n fi~n'n~ ~gain tott~y.'ive tion't tLawt final tesults, but as a very ptt'liminary itport, the ~otal
lcrssca 10 date -- she ;`Uots are reporting rather sensational Josses of A 1 tanks destroyed; 12 `rehieles
des~roy~d; ihite r~£1 destroyed; seycri annorcd pttsonnel Caniers destroyed; ~nt 3Ornin de.~troyed;
four anillety positiwis destroyed; lix bun)ter positions destroyed. We have confirmed figures of 24
iraqi tanks dt~trc'ytd and 13 other ~ehiclcs dcst~yc~ The Marines IoS( two li~ht armored vehicles.
Unfortunately, 1'm very sad that I have to rcpori to you that tliey lust 12 kIA in (hat engagement,
and 2 w0A. ~bett Jut slie first ~CIA of any ~ound coafliCL

     Now I Want (0 turn, finally, to SCUDs, another subject tliat has been prominent in everyone's
mind. As I told you before, I think SC')Ds are rni1itariiy Wsignirtcant. I Uw one (he other day, and
after aeei~ one the other day, J'~ jot to tell you, ~`s even stiore eiiilitartiy Inslgni(~acsnt ihan I
thought it was. I went out and uispected one of Uic SCUD bodies. As faras accunscy is coneerncd,
jt ~uiainly ~s rniiitag~y insignificant, but it is ~ teIror weapon. It's a tcrrot wea~on tltai's been
tartetod against civiltan population centers, and that o~;kes it impmian~, 10 let's talk abuti SCVDs
for a ininute.

     As you know, the toLal SCUD launches have been 53 --27 against Saudi Arabia and 26 against
1sra~l. 1 thi(ik it's siSniflcant, however, that in the first week they iaunchcd 35 and In the second
week (hey launched 18. 1 like to feel that we're doing some good.

     We've flown almost l~OO saflics against LI)C SCUDs to date, and tlie Patnot success, of
course1 Is known to everyone. it's 100 pcrcer)( -- So far, of 33 engaged, there have been 33
destroyed.

)


Document Page: First | Prev | Next | All | Image | This Release | Search