GULF WATCH: Day 64 : A Daily Briefing Paper On Developments In The Crisis
Diplomatic Front:
Three Britons and two Frenchmen who escaped from Iraq by sailing more than 200 miles across the Persian Gulf aboard a 10-foot boat were rescued off the Saudi coast.
The United States has chartered another aircraft to evacuate U.S. citizens from Iraq and Kuwait. The flight, scheduled for next Wednesday, will carry Americans who indicated their desire to leave since the U.S. airlift ended Sept. 22. Military Front:
The aircraft carrier Independence left the Persian Gulf and sailed into the northern Arabian Sea.
A U.S. warship assigned to enforce the sea blockade against Iraq stopped a Sudanese cargo vessel in the Red Sea and prevented it from entering the Gulf of Aqaba. U.S. officials said the ship was carrying industrial equipment, and the manifest did not match its cargo. Crisis Indicators:
Number of ship interceptions: 1,675
Number of ships boarded: 170
Number of ships diverted: 7
U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf: 15
U.S. warships in the Arabian Sea: 21
U.S. warships in the Red Sea: 9
U.S. warships in the eastern Mediterranean: 10
Total ships deployed in crisis: 55
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