Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 19, 1991 TAG: 9102190491
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
A military official said a ground assault could begin any time. "The machinery is in place. If the president wants us to go tonight, we'll go tonight," a senior official said at the Pentagon.
Bush did not disclose details of the Soviet plan, but said it "falls well short of what would be required." He said he had talked to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev about the proposal "and I've been frank with him."
"As far as I'm concerned, there are no negotiations," Bush said at a picture-taking session at the beginning of a meeting with congressional leaders. "The goals have been set out. There will be no concessions, not going to give."
House Speaker Thomas Foley, D-Wash., said after the hour-long meeting that Bush "did not give a timetable" on when a ground offensive would begin and did not spell out why the Soviet peace plan was unacceptable.
Bush told the lawmakers "that there were some aspects of it that fell short, but he wasn't going to comment on it any further," Foley said.
The speaker said he got the impression that Bush still hadn't made a decision yet on when to begin the ground war. But, Foley said he believes a ground war is inevitable "unless there is a willingness on the part of Saddam Hussein to withdraw before that point."
It was the second peace plan that Bush has dismissed in five days. On Friday, he rejected a condition-laden Iraqi proposal as "a cruel hoax."
At the Pentagon, a senior military official speaking on condition of anonymity said the desert campaign was proceeding "as though those talks were non-existent."
"The focus of the decision-making has shifted to the political and diplomatic field," he said.
"I do appreciate President Gorbachev's providing me a copy of his proposal," Bush said. "We provided comments last night to the Soviet Union."
Bush noted that Gorbachev asked him to keep the details of the Moscow offer confidential "and I'm going to do that."
"I will respect that request in the interests of thoroughly exploring the initiative," Bush said. "But, very candidly . . . while expressing appreciation for his sending it to us, it falls well short of what would be required."
"I would leave it right there for now," he added.
Asked if that meant a ground war would be forthcoming, Bush reiterated, "It means I'm going to leave it right there for now."
Bush received a letter from Gorbachev on Monday giving an account of the Soviet discussions with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz in Moscow and details of a peace plan Gorbachev gave Aziz earlier in the day. Aziz headed back to Baghdad with the Soviet proposal.
In Moscow, a government spokesman said the plan was a way to end the war with a political settlement.
The newspaper Bild in Hamburg, Germany, said it had learned the plan specifies Iraqi withdrawal, no punishment for Saddam Hussein, maintenance of Iraq's borders and later negotiations about Palestinian rights. The BBC early quoted a Moscow spokesman as saying the plan calls for keeping Iraq intact and the newspaper Le Monde in Paris said Iraq had been given 36 hours to accept.
The president returned Monday from a holiday weekend at his Maine vacation home and met for more than two hours with his top war advisers to discuss the Soviet offer.
Asked about a report that the Soviets had requested Bush hold off on launching a ground war while the plan was under consideration, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the Soviets asked nothing of the United States except that there be no public comment on the substance of the plan.
"There was no request for us to do anything with regard to the ground war while this is being considered, and there's no change," the spokesman said.
He said Bush would be calling other world leaders and Republican leaders of Congress to discuss the latest development.
In the meantime, he said, "Our military campaign remains on schedule."
On Sunday, Bush said he expected the war to end "very, very soon."
Following his return from Maine, Bush convened his close circle of advisers in the Oval Office. In addition to discussing the Soviet plan, they gave Bush an update on the progress of the war, which began Jan. 17.
"It's proceeding very well. It is on schedule. We've made great inroads against their ground forces" with the allied bombing campaign, Fitzwater said.
Cheney and Powell today were scheduled to answer congressional questions about the war in an appearance before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
Bush also was putting the final touches on his request for $56 billion to pay for the war.
White House officials have said Bush will propose paying for the war with $41 billion in foreign contributions and $15 billion in taxpayers' dollars.
by CNB