Ariel Sharon has urged the United States to launch an immediate military strike to dislodge Iraq from Kuwait, instead of waiting for the long-term effects of an embargo on Iraqi oil.
If military action is contemplated at all, strike now to force Iraq out of Kuwait, the former Israeli defense minister advised in a weekend radio interview. He gave his reasons:
“Soon we shall see pictures on television of hungry babies and children in Iraq. In the United States, the demand will grow to bring the boys home. The hostage problem will intensify, and America’s allies will grow tired of sitting in the desert,” Sharon said.
The former Israel Defense Force general and Yom Kippur War hero criticized Washington for not establishing a military presence in Kuwait in response to Saddam Hussein’s threats before he invaded. If only a few U.S. troops were there, Hussein would not have invaded, he contended.
But now Iraq is entrenched in Kuwait, and the longer it stays, the more the world will get used to the idea that Kuwait is part of Iraq and the harder it will be to get the Iraqis out, said Sharon, who is now Israel’s housing minister.
He predicted that if Hussein is not ousted from Kuwait, he will be tempted to further acts of aggression, including an attack on Israel.
But Sharon does not consider that a real threat at the moment, “because Iraq knows full well that Israel has a deterrent response.”
Sharon predicted Hussein would not attempt to attack Saudi Arabia either at this time.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
