Iraq Beefs Up Kuwait Force to 500,000
Iraq has placed 20,000 more troops in and around Kuwait in the past week, expanding the Iraqi armed force in the area to more than half a million soldiers, the Pentagon announced today.
The United States buildup also is continuing. Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said today that an additional 10,000 U.S. troops have arrived in the Persian Gulf area since last week, increasing the total U.S. force there to 260,000.
Williams also said that more than 220,000 ground, sea and air forces of other allied nations are arrayed against Iraq. These include forces from Britain, France, Egypt, Syria and several gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia.
Last week, the Pentagon said Iraq had sent 480,000 troops to Kuwait and southern Iraq. That represented an increase of 30,000 from the week before.
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