Life for Press in Kuwait Unlike Last War

ByABC News
March 4, 2003, 12:49 PM

K U W A I T, March 5 -- Life for the international press corps descending upon Kuwait to cover a potential war in neighboring Iraq is more than a little different this time around.

Twelve years ago last week, journalists from around the world followed coalition forces into a newly liberated but devastated nation.

In February 1991, Kuwait was a burning shell.Hotels, homes and government buildings were ruined bythe Iraqi occupation.

Oil-well fires ignited by retreating Iraqi troops at the order of Saddam Hussein released thick dark smoke that made the midday Kuwait City sky as black as night. Those entering Kuwait found their clothes stained by black droplets of oil fallout within minutes.

This oil-rich emirate worked quickly to erase all signs of the destruction left behind by the Iraqi occupation. In less than a year, the oil well fires were extinguished and a major rebuilding effort was well under way.

Now, both the troops and journalists gathering here find a nation that is much like it was before the Iraqi invasion.

Larger Obstacle Now Is Far Cry From Last War

The Kuwait City Sheraton has again become atemporary home for members of the news media.

Last timejournalists checked into a smoldering ruin thatoffered little more than singed walls and aquestionable roof. A shower meant splashing yourselfwith bottled water, and room serviceconsisted of unpacking what food you had carried in.

But soon after what is now being called the "first"Gulf War, the Sheraton Hotel, like much of Kuwait, wasreturned to world-class form.

Once again the roof of the Sheraton has been made intoa satellite-dish city, covered in transmissionequipment and newly constructed platforms, wherenetwork correspondents deliver live reports in frontof an illuminated Kuwait City skyline.

But now to make it to their live positions, reporters must weave their way through the busy kitchen of an Indian restaurant. An obstacle, but a far cry from the difficulties overcome by journalists who covered the liberation of Kuwait.