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Vol. CI, No. 76 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Thursday, January 17, 1991 Tha MiciganQ i1
---I
U.S.
-led
air
orces
attack Iraq
Bombs fall in
'Baghdad day
after deadline
Students in South Quad gather to watch television coverage of the U.S. attack on Iraq. "I don't think this war is winnable," said one student.
Shocked
students
crowd
CENTRAL SAUDI ARABIA-
(AP) - The United States
launched air attacks against
Iraq late yesterday afternoon
EST, hurling its air force
against an Arab power that for
five months has held Kuwait.
"The liberation of Kuwait
has begun," President bush de-
clared in Washington.
In Baghdad, television re-
porters said bombs were falling
on the center of the Iraqi capi-
tal. They said exploding bombs
shook the ground; an oil refin-
ery 10 miles away was in
flames; and flashes of light
brightened the night sky with
apparent antiaircraft fire.
"Operation Desert Shield"
be-came "Operation Desert
Storm" around 12:50 a.m. (4:50
p.m. EST) as F-15E fighter-
bombers took off from the
largest U.S. air base in central
Saudi Arabia and streaked
north. "This is history in the
making," said Col. Ray Davies,
the base's chief maintenance
officer.
The offensive included U.S.-
allied forces and was aimed at
Iraqi troops in both Iraq and
Kuwait, U.S. officials said. Ac-
cording to early National Public
Radio reports, the initial attack
lasted only 10 minutes. Experts
speculated that the intent of
this raid was to get Saddam's
forces to turn on their radars so
subsequent U.S. attackers could
lock on to them. The targets of
the raid appeared to be the air-
port and oil refinery and an area
on the western side of the Tigris
River, where a variety of impor-
tant buildings are located, in-
cluding: the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the Ba'ath Party Head-
quarters and an Iraqi TV station.
But there was no immediate
word on whether ground attacks
had been mounted against the
dug-in Iraqi army in Kuwait.
Nor was there any immediate
sign of an Iraqi attack on Israel,
as threatened.
Arabia, a staging base for the
U.S. force, said air raid sirens
sounded about 3:20 a.m. (7:20
p.m. EST) and journalists were
told to take shelter.
The AP's Richard Pyle, in
the Saudi capital of Riyadh,
said sirens also wailed there,
but there was no sound of any
attack.
The American warplanes
took off in pairs, disappearing
in red dots that winked out as
they gained altitude. The air-
craft were heavily loaded with
bombs and underwing fuel tanks
See WAR, Page 2
Bush:,*'The
liberation
of Kuwat
has begun'
by Melissa Peerless
and Tami Pollak
Daily Staff Reporters
TV s
by Henry Goldblatt
and Lynne Cohn
Daily Staff Reporters
ets as
U.S. goes to war
As the United States began
bombing Iraq last night, hundreds
of disbelieving students packed resi-
dence hall lounges and living rooms
to watch the events unfold.
"I never thought I would see a
war in my lifetime," said Sunita
Tummala, an LSA first-year
student.
Students sat, their eyes glued to
the television, and solemnly
watched newscasters report the
latest in U.S. air forces attacks.
"I was expecting it, but not so
soon," first-year LSA student, Paul
Guthrie said. "I heard the troops
weren't prepared for desert warfare."
As Operation Desert Shield
transformed into Operation Desert
war, to actively pacifist. Other stu-
dents were not sure of their opinion
on the situation, but expressed a
concern for the troops in the Middle
East and for a peaceful resolution to
the conflict.
"I'm against (the war). I feel
Bush is there because of oil and be-
cause of his interest in world
power. It has nothing to do with
Kuwait," said Solange Munoz, an
RC first-year student.
"By not listening or adhering to
diplomacy and reason, Saddam Hus-
sein has left the United States and
the allies in a situation that can
only be resolved with force,"
Business School junior Jeffrey
Gerson said. "I support President
Bush and believe his actions are
justified."
Napoleon, and Xerxes might have
marched on forever unless they were
defeated. Saddam will do the same."
"I don't see any other options.
Bush has given Saddam more than
enough options and time to get out
of Kuwait," said Nicole Frohm, an
LSA sophomore.
"I expect it to be long because
Saddam Hussein won't give up and
Bush won't give up," said Stuart
Belizaire, an LSA sophomore.
Students predict the next few
days will bring an upheaval in their
lifestyles. Many students expressed
concern about concentrating on
their schoolwork, while an event of
such importance is going on. One
student reported that a professor said
he understood the difficulty of
studying during a world crisis
With the outbreak of war, stu-
dents are questioning the role of mi-
nority groups in conflict.
Some students saw this conflict
on a national scale. "Every war-
time society brings changes on
people's attitudes about their lives,
attitude towards their friends that are
in a position to be drafted as well as
changes in the economy which
affect students... ," said Ann Ter
Beek, a LSA junior
"I plan to live in Israel someday,
if it still exists," First-year LSA
student Annette Powers said. "It's
ironic that it took 2,000 years to
get Israel, and in its 42 years as a
state, Israel has repeatedly been in
economical and physical conflict.
This could seriously devastate, if
not kill, Israel."
Less than two hours after
American forces began an air at-
tack on Iraq, President Bush ad-
dressed the nation from the Oval
Office last night.
President Bush began his
speech with direct words.
"The allied air forces began
attack on Iraq earlier tonight,"
Bush said. "These attacks con-
tinue as I speak."
The president's speech re-
viewed the events that have un-
folded since Saddam Hussein's
Aug. 2 attack on Kuwait. He re-
peatedly pointed out the deci-
sion to go to war came only after
months of attempted negotia-
tions.
"Now, the 28 countries with
forces in the gulf area have ex-
hausted all peaceful resolutions
... The world could wait no
longer," Bush said.
"Sanctions showed no sign of
I