GULF WATCH: Day 89 : A daily briefing paper on developments in the crisis : Political Front:
President Bush said he will discuss the Persian Gulf crisis with congressional leaders but added that he would have “no hesitancy” about ordering an attack on Iraq without their approval.
Diplomatic Front:
Secretary of State James A. Baker III said “all options are being considered” to achieve peace in the gulf. But, in a speech in Los Angeles, he warned that Iraq “must realize there is a limit to the international community’s patience.”
His tough tone contrasted with that of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Speaking in Paris, Gorbachev said a military solution to the crisis is unacceptable, and he called for a meeting of Arab countries to seek a political settlement.
The U.N. Security Council voted to demand that Iraq resupply beleaguered Western embassies in Kuwait city, and it also established a framework for financial claims against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait. In a step toward charging Iraq with war crimes, it urged states to collate information about Baghdad’s human rights violations.
Hostage Front:
A total of 257 French citizens arrived in Paris from Baghdad on a flight to freedom. Among them were some who had been held as human shields and the last seven French diplomats who endured a siege of their embassy in Kuwait.
U.S. Citizens in Iraq and Kuwait:
* Before invasion: 3,500
* Now in Iraq/Kuwait: 700-plus
* Held as human shields: 106
* Seriously ill: 63
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