GULF WATCH: Day 29 : A Daily Briefing Paper on Developments in the Crisis

Diplomatic Front:

The State Department accused Iraq of “inhumane and disgraceful” behavior for creating bureaucratic roadblocks after promising that foreign women and children would be allowed to leave Iraq and Kuwait. President Bush said he will not allow the holding of hostages to influence his decisions on the Persian Gulf crisis, and he also announced that he will ask other nations to help pay the expenses involved in the gulf military deployment.

Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar said he believes Iraq is eager to find a solution as he prepared for talks today with Iraq’s foreign minister. And in New York, 36 Iraqi diplomats and their families boarded planes for home, obeying Washington’s expulsion order. Military Front:

Five new reserve units, including the 301st Military Airlift Squadron from Travis AFB, have been called to active duty. The first U.S. combat troops based in Europe were also dispatched to Saudi Arabia, and F-16 fighters from Spain were dispatched to Qatar.

For the second consecutive day, U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea boarded two commercial vessels but allowed them to proceed when it was determined they were not carrying embargoed goods for Iraq. Trade Front:

Stock prices closed sharply lower as investors fled the market, wary of developments in the Persian Gulf and the inflationary implications of a renewed jump in oil prices. The situation apparently convinced many investors that they should unload now, before the Labor Day weekend, with one analyst explaining, “No one wants to lug anything over the long weekend. . . .” Crisis Indicators:

U.S. troops on the ground: 50,000+

U.S. sailors aboard ships in region: 35,000

U.S. ships in region or en route: 70

U.S. reservists to be mobilized: up to 49,703

Iraqi troops in/near Kuwait: 265,000

Iraqi tanks in Kuwait: 1,500

U.S. diplomats remaining in Kuwait: 10

U.S. diplomats and dependents held in Iraq: 58

Other Americans detained in Iraq and Kuwait: 70

Total Americans in Iraq and Kuwait: 2,900

Total Westerners in Iraq and Kuwait: 12,000

High temperature in Mecca, Saudi Arabia: 109

Retail gasoline (U.S. average per gallon): $1.251, up $.01

Wholesale gasoline (spot price per gallon): $.9193, up $.060

Crude oil (spot price per barrel): $26.77, up $.85

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 2,593.32, down 39.11

Gold (per ounce): $386.70, up $1.20