The 82nd Airborne and Coaliton forces have reported that they are "in control" of Kuwait City. Reportedly led by Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian troops, with support from airborne assault "shock" troops, a large forces is said to be assuming authority for a large portion of the territory surrounding the Northweatern part of Kuwait. Linkage with the 1st and 2nd Marine Division (Task Force Ripper) was achieved yesterday and the combined force "rolled" into Kuwait City. Many Kuwaiti troops are said to be celebrating with the civilians that have come out of hiding.
The exiled Emir of Kuwait, Sheik Jaber al-Ahmed al- Sabah, is said to be moving to re-establish civilian control of the area by announcing "Martial Law". Ahmed is reported to have appointed members of the "Kuwaiti Resistance" as "peace keepers" until complete control of the city can be achieved. Reports of the capture of "hundreds" of "Iraqi collaborators and soldiers" are coming into custody of military police squads, which are responsible for assuming custody of non-Kuwaitis.
Several hundred U.S. civil affairs specialists are said to be coming into to Kuwait City to assist the Emir and civil authorities in beginning the reconstruction of key communications, command and control, and airport services. estimates of more than $100 Billion dollars in re- construction needs are being reported. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is said to promised at least $24 Billion dollars in re-contruction projects, by the Kuwaiti government.
As the Army of Saddam Hussein retreats into Iraqi, many logisitical and organizational questions are being raised in regard to the newly "liberated" country. New ideas of democracy for Kuwaiti citizens are being asked, although discounted under the Emir and his family in the past; State Department officials have indicated a willingness on the part of the al-Sabah family to "liberalize" the Kingdom and allow even greater freedom and rights to their subjects. It should be noted that in the past, free education, housing and healthcare were extended to all Kuwaitis. The task at hand remains one of gaining civil control of the country and beginning it's reconstruction, following the Iraqi devastation.