No Combat Troops To Zaire, U.S. Decides

By Jamie McIntyre/CNN

WASHINGTON (Nov. 19) -- U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said today the United States has scaled back the number of troops that it plans to contribute to a multi-national relief force for Central Africa. Pentagon sources put the number of troops at roughly 300.

Perry said the change was the result of more than 500,000 refugees peacefully returning to Rwanda in the last few days.

"This is a very positive development and we are modifying our plans based on this dramatic change," Perry said. "We are still planning for a Canadian-led operation authorized by the U.N. Security Council resolution."

Perry said the focus of the smaller force would be "the voluntary, orderly repatriation of refugees." He put the number of troops at fewer than 1,000 "and these will be support, logistics troops rather than combat troops."(288K WAV sound)

Advance teams of military air traffic controllers have already been dispatched to Kigali, Rwanda; Entebbe, Uganda; and Mombasa, Kenya. Perry said plans still needed to be coordinated with the other countries involved in the relief effort, and that would "take a few days."

Canada is leading a meeting in Stuttgart, Germany on Thursday to complete the planning and coordination process.

Perry did not rule out a greater number of U.S. troops if the situation in Zaire or Rwanda deteriorates. What the U.S. has done so far, he said, provides "the basis for a larger mission should that become necessary."

"I must emphasize the situation remains fluid," he said. "For the moment the peaceful return of so many refugees is a very positive development. But there still remains hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced outside the camps in Zaire. We do not have precise information on their number or location. The approach that we are taking is designed to help those that have returned while at the same time leaving the multi-national force prepared to help inside Zaire, if that would become necessary."

Last week, the U.S. began to lay the groundwork for sending combat troops, but political changes on the ground allowed the half-million refugees to head home into Rwanda.

No Combat Troops To Zaire, U.S. Decides

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