[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[August 13, 1992]
[Page 1354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the Military Airlift for 
Humanitarian Aid to Somalia
August 13, 1992

    The President has ordered the Department of Defense to offer a U.S. 
military airlift to transport a U.N. guard force and its associated 
equipment to Somalia. Authorized by U.N. Security Council Resolution 
751, the force of 500 guards will help provide the security needed to 
deliver food and other relief supplies so desperately needed in Somalia. 
Now that the relevant Somali factions have agreed with the United 
Nations, the guards should be transported to Mogadishu as soon as 
possible.
    This offer to the United Nations of airlift assistance is part of a 
broader U.S. effort to prevent suffering and starvation in Somalia. The 
total U.S. contribution to Somali relief to date has exceeded $76 
million, and we will be intensifying our efforts in the days and weeks 
to come.