News

ACCESSION NUMBER:271156

FILE ID:POL203

DATE:03/09/93

TITLE:DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, TUESDAY, MARCH 9 (03/09/93)

TEXT:*93030903.POL

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, TUESDAY, MARCH 9



(Bosnia, Iraqi casualties, Somalia)  (680)

NEWS BRIEFING -- Spokesman Bob Hall discussed the following topics:

U.S. DROPS MORE FOOD, MEDICAL AID IN BOSNIA

Hall said the United States air dropped 45,350 military meals and more

than 38 metric tons of medical supplies into Bosnia-Hercegovina in the

early morning hours of March 9.



The eastern Bosnian towns of Srebrenica and Gorazde were chosen for the

latest round of supplies, the spokesman said, because of the rapidly

increasing refugee population in those areas.



Hall said there is "increasing anecdotal evidence" -- from such sources as

United Nations personnel, ham radio operators and reporters -- that the

deliveries are being recovered and the food is being consumed.



"We are convinced the (air drop) operation is meeting with success," the

spokesman said, "and is worth continuing."



Since the Air Force began parachuting supplies into Bosnia, Hall said, 342

food bundles and 41 medical packages have been delivered.



Aircraft deliveries into the airport at Sarajevo, first begun in July 1992,

continue, he said.



While the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has told the United States

that the humanitarian supplies are reaching some of the dispossessed in

Bosnia, Hall said, there still remains "a tremendous need" to be filled.



The spokesman said he expects other nations to begin providing relief

supplies to Bosnia shortly.  He mentioned Turkey's commitment to provide

bulk rations of wheat, flour and canned meat and fish; Norway's plan to

1rovide military rations, medical supplies and baby food; and the United

Kingdom's offer of food rations.



Hall said a Russian advance team will travel to Frankfurt shortly to discuss

various aspects of participation.  "We believe that this (Russian

participation) is something that is doable," he said, indicating that

Russian flights may begin around March 12.



The spokesman also noted that the Germans are conducting air drop training

and may become participants.



Asked about the safety of air drop operations to date, Hall said all

missions have taken place "without any apparent threat."  But the spokesman

pointed out that the situation on the ground is "still uncertain" and

presents a certain amount of risk to the air crews.



Asked about the status of ground convoys into Bosnia, the spokesman said

some are moving under pressures from diplomatic and journalistic sources,

and that sanctions and the airdrops are pressuring those who have impeded

the land convoys to let them pass.



NO OFFICIAL U.S. ESTIMATE ON IRAQI CASUALTIES

Hall said no U.S. government agency, including the Defense Department,

has any official estimate on the number of Iraqi casualties which occurred

during the Persian Gulf war.



Hall was asked about a March 4 Washington Times article quoting a former

U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) analyst whose private estimate put

Iraqi dead at about 1,500 -- much lower than an earlier DIA study which

suggested that 100,000 Iraqis were lost during Operation Desert Shield.

Press reports put the Iraqi dead figure as high as 250,000.



Hall insisted that there is no reliable information on which to base such

estimates.  The only figure that is known, the spokesman said, is how many

Iraqis "we actually buried," but he did not provide that figure.



U.S. WITHDRAWAL FROM SOMALIA CONTINUING

Hall said the United States continues to withdraw its military personnel

from Somalia.



There are currently 12,909 Americans on the ground in Somalia as part of

Operation Restore Hope, he said, and another 608 offshore.



The spokesman said coalition forces participating in the humanitarian relief

effort total 12,701 on land and 148 at sea, with six of nine sectors now

controlled by coalition forces.



He said the Bale Dogle area was recently turned over to Moroccan forces,

while the Kismayo sector is now controlled by the Belgians.



The spokesman cautioned that some U.S. controlled sectors may not be ready

to be turned over to coalition forces by May 1 -- the administrative target

date set by the United Nations secretary general.



NNNN



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