2 Years After Gulf War, U.S. Marines Are Preparing to Go Ashore in Kuwait

Nearly 2,000 Marines prepared to come ashore today, some of them surprised to find themselves in the desert again and hearing increasingly bellicose statements from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The Marines are the first of thousands expected to land this week for joint maneuvers meant to show that the United States is ready to defend the oil-rich emirate against Iraqi attack.

State-run Baghdad Radio repeated Sunday that the emirate is part of Iraq. Iraq invaded Kuwait in August, 1990, and was ousted by a coalition force.

Officers and enlisted men both insisted that they have come to train, not to fight. Some said they had never expected to return.

“If you told me two years ago that I would be back, I would have said, ‘No way.’ But training is training,” said Lt. Kevin McNerney, 27, of Orlando, Fla.

The lieutenant led an advance team setting up camouflage nets at the container port of Shuwaik, where some 1,900 Marines are to land starting just after dawn today.

In all, more than 5,000 U.S. troops from all branches of the military are to take part in at least two weeks of exercises.

Some Kuwaitis say they are heartened by the sight of the military muscle.

“When you have a bully in the neighborhood and you are weak, you like having a tough guy standing next to you,” said businessman Fuad Ghanim.