U.S. Issues Call for Ships, Planes
The United States asked its NATO allies Friday to lend it ships and planes to ferry reinforcements to the Persian Gulf, NATO sources said.
The urgent request for transport to be lent “at no cost” was made at the headquarters of the 16-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization, they said.
The transport would be used to take recently announced U.S. reinforcements from Western Europe and the United States.
Washington is dispatching more than 200,000 extra troops over the next few weeks to give it an offensive capability.
“The Americans want airlift and sea-lift capability so that they can get troops and tanks to Saudi Arabia fast,” said one source, who asked not to be identified.
Washington requested help to transport cargo in September, as it rushed forces to protect Saudi Arabia from a possible Iraqi invasion.
The new request included a specific demand for planes that can carry passengers in addition to cargo. The United States told the allies that more precise details of its transport needs would be given soon.
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