GIs Hail Hostage Release, Cling to Free Kuwait Goal

American soldiers in Saudi Arabia had a message for Saddam Hussein today: It’s great the hostages may be home for Christmas, but the GIs aren’t going home until Kuwait is free.

“I think it’s all well and good but I don’t think we should leave here until this thing is resolved,” said Senior Airman Ken Hardwick, 23, of Charleston, S.C.

“It’s not about hostages. It’s about Kuwait. If we don’t get Kuwait back, then this guy’s going to have the power to run over other countries. We’ve got to stop him before he goes any further,” Hardwick said.

Any progress toward a negotiated settlement is cheered by the troops who were first ordered to the Saudi Arabian desert four months ago by President Bush. But they noted that the hostage issue is only one of the conditions Bush set to resolve the crisis.

“I think the hostages were a bad side effect of this whole thing,” said 1st Lt. Brian Ratchford, 26, of Spartanburg, S.C., and a member of the 39th Tactical Air Squadron.

“I don’t want to go to war, but if we have to, I think it’s better than the alternative of letting (Hussein) develop his nuclear weapons capabilities, which I see as the ultimate evil,” he said.

Most troops are suspicious of Hussein’s motive and timing, especially since he once referred to hostages as “guests” and deployed them around military targets as human shields.

“Is it a signal that he is caving in or is it that he’s trying to buy additional time to get support from someone else?” asked 1st Sgt. Jerry Carlton, 37, of Warsaw, N.C., and a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

However, Carlton added, “I think it’s a good gesture at Christmas time to give some hopes for all the troops and the families back home that we may be able to get back home.”

Other members of the 82nd Airborne, the first ground troops to arrive in Saudi Arabia, also distrusted the announcement.

“The majority of the people think it’s a ploy to stall for time,” said Spec. Mark Mattson, 30, of Port Huron, Mich. “We need to play some hardball. If you don’t knock him down, he’s going to be even stronger.”

Soldiers who came here primed for battle have ridden a roller coaster of shifting emotions while diplomats have tried to settle the crisis with talk instead of bullets.

“If we can get the mission done without firing a shot, great. We’ll pack up, he’ll move out and we’ll go home. Plain as that,” said Army Sgt. Anthony Sikora, 24, of Chester, Pa.

And Air Force Staff Sgt. Chester Smolarczyk, 28, of Jacksonville, Ark., said he’s willing to wait a while longer for diplomacy--even if the hostage release is just a stalling tactic.

“Which is cheaper, blood or oil?” Smolarczyk asked.