GULF WATCH: Day 72 : A Daily Briefing Paper On Developments In The Crisis : Military Front:

The number of U.S. troops deployed in the Persian Gulf has topped 200,000 as the military buildup begins to slow, U.S. officials said. The official troop count still stands at 175,000, but an upward revision is expected soon.

An Army Reserve unit based in New Orleans will be released from active duty next Friday. The 1192nd Transportation Terminal Unit will be the first of 259 reserve units called to active duty in the gulf crisis to be sent home.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu asked the Japanese Parliament to pass a law authorizing him to send soldiers to the Persian Gulf.

Diplomatic Front:

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said he would hold Western leaders responsible for the deaths of any Iraqi children caused by lack of food or medicine as a result of the international embargo against Iraq.

In another warning, Iraq told the Soviet Union that its military advisers and other technicians in Iraq will not be allowed to return home if the Soviets provide Iraqi military secrets to the United States.

Hundreds of influential Kuwaitis in exile were scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia today to press efforts to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait and to discuss the kind of country they hope to rebuild if the occupation ends.

Hostage Front:

About 250 Americans and their dependents and a handful of Canadian refugees from Kuwait arrived in Raleigh, N.C., in what may be the last U.S.-sponsored airlift of Western citizens trapped in the occupied nation.

Terrorism Front:

In Cairo, the Speaker of Egypt’s Parliament and three bodyguards were killed by gunmen on motorcycles. The government previously had warned of possible terrorist strikes in response to Egypt’s opposition to Iraqi aggression.

U.S. Casualties in Operation Desert Shield:

* Army: 2

* Navy: 1

* Air Force: 20

* Marines: 8

* Total: 31