GULF WATCH: Day 156 : A Daily Briefing Paper On Developments In The Crisis

Presidential Radio Address:

President Bush will make a nationwide radio address at 9 a.m. PST today to update the nation on diplomatic efforts in the Persian Gulf, the White House announced.

Diplomatic Front:

Iraq accepted President Bush’s invitation for talks between Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Iraqi Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz in Switzerland on Wednesday, just six days before the Jan. 15 deadline for an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.

Baghdad said it still intended to address Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Syria’s military intervention in Lebanon during any discussion of Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait. The White House said no such linkage would be considered.

Bush is scheduled to meet at Camp David today with U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar to discuss the gulf crisis and the prospects for war if Iraq does not withdraw from Kuwait by Jan. 15.

Military Front:

The Administration said it had dropped plans to seek congressional approval of a $15-billion sale of advanced fighter jets and other military hardware to Saudi Arabia. Officials said the proposed arms sale would be reassessed after the gulf conflict is resolved.

Operation Desert Shield will cost the United States $30 billion this year even if no shots are fired in the gulf, according to the congressional General Accounting Office.

Latest Iraqi Deployment Figures:

Artillery pieces deployed: 2,700

Armored vehicles deployed: 2,500

Iraqi troops in or near Kuwait: 530,000

Tanks deployed: 4,000+

Military aircraft: 700