US orders diplomats out of Kuwait, Syria and Israel

6.00pm

WASHINGTON - The US State Department has ordered nonessential US diplomats and embassy dependents out of Kuwait, Israel and Syria and urged US citizens to leave because of the threat of war with Iraq.

The steps, which mirrored US precautions before the 1991 Gulf War, were announced today after US President George W. Bush said there was only one more day to find a diplomatic end to the Iraq crisis before Washington moves to a war footing.

In three separate "travel warnings", the State Department told US citizens not to travel to the countries and strongly urged those there to leave, citing in part the danger of Iraq or "terrorist organisations" using chemical or biological weapons should war break out.

The United States has threatened Iraq with war if it fails to end its suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programmes.

Iraq denies having such weapons.

"The decision to move to ordered-departure status is a result of an overall assessment of the security situation in the region due to the threat of military action in Iraq," the State Department said in statements announcing its decision to pare down its embassy staff and to withdraw family members.

"In the event of military action in Iraq, there is a risk that Iraq or terrorist organisations may use chemical and/or biological materials which could affect the region," it said in each of the three statements announcing the decisions.

The department urged US citizens who remain to exercise caution, keep a low profile, vary their times and routes of travel to work. It said there was a possibility of "commercial flight disruptions" in the event of war.

Earlier, after a summit with US allies Britain, Spain and Portugal on the wind-swept Azores Islands in the eastern Atlantic, Bush signaled that the window for finding a diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis had nearly closed, saying Monday would be "the moment of truth for the world".

US officials told Reuters last week the State Department was expected to order its nonessential diplomats out of the three countries this week as the United States braced for war.

State Department spokesman Louis Fintor said no decision had yet been taken to go to war and he described the decision to remove the diplomats and dependents as a "prudent" precaution.

Echoing previous US warnings, he said the decision to withdraw diplomats reflected an assessment of security in the region, "a rise in anti-American sentiment" and "the potential for violence and terrorist action" against US targets.

In most of the region Washington already has "authorised departures" in effect, meaning it has offered dependents and nonessential diplomats free flights home in an effort to reduce its diplomatic presence without actually ordering people out.

The pattern is similar to US actions ahead of the 1991 Gulf War, when Washington first sought voluntary departures and then ordered diplomats and dependents out of the region shortly before the start of hostilities against Iraq.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq