SIGHTINGS


 
Pentagon - Troops Staying
For The Foreseeable Future
By Andrew Quinn
 
WASHINGTON - The 38,000 U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf region will not be going home anytime soon, the Pentagon's spokesman said Thursday.
 
"We are going to maintain our forces in the region for the foreseeable future," said spokesman Kenneth Bacon, adding, "There's no decision yet made to reduce the forces."
 
Bacon said the troops would remain until Iraqi compliance with the U.N. Security Council agreement over weapons inspections had been tested.
 
The U.S. military force in the Gulf region includes 18,000 sailors and Marines, 9,000 Air Force servicemen and women, 7,800 Army soldiers and 2,600 other personnel assigned to headquarters staffs, officials said.
 
Bacon, asked about the disposition of Iraqi forces, said some of Saddam Hussein's troops appear to be stabilizing their positions.
 
"They are going back to more normal operations," Bacon said.
 
In the past weeks, Iraqi forces had adopted a defensive posture by dispersing, making it harder for them to be attacked.
 
Bacon said that while Iraqi air forces remain dispersed in such defensive positions, there has been a return of some ground forces and air defense forces to more concentrated units.
 
By The Associated Press


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