IRAQ CRISIS EASED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993                   TAG: 9301100098
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: STATE  
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
IRAQ CRISIS EASED
The White House said Saturday that Iraq has moved its missiles out of threatening positions in the "no-fly zone" of southern Iraq, ending the prospect of imminent U.S. military action. But it warned President Saddam Hussein to stop defying other U.N. demands or face "serious consequences."
Washington's decision not to launch an attack was announced by White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater, who said in a statement that clearing weather early Saturday enabled U.S. spy satellites to confirm "Iraq is acceding" to an ultimatum by the United States and Britain, France and Russia.
"Once again, Saddam Hussein has backed down in the face of coalition solidarity," the statement said. "Iraq remains isolated and a pariah among nations, due to its flagrant attempts to violate the cease-fire" that ended the Persian Gulf war.
But Fitzwater warned that the ultimatum issued Wednesday remains in effect and the United States would continue to scrutinize Iraqi activity in the no-fly zone. He said no further warning would be issued before action is taken if Iraq violates the allied decree again.
The administration also issued a stern demand that Iraq cooperate with other U.N. requirements, particularly that Baghdad rescind a Friday decision to bar U.N. weapons-inspection teams from landing in Iraq in their planes.
Administration officials said Washington would push for new consultations in the U.N. Security Council this week to intensify pressure on Iraq - possibly with another formal threat of military action if necessary - to stop interfering with U.N. operations inside that country.
Besides U.N. weapons-inspection teams, the White House cited activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which also is inspecting Iraq's weapons arsenal; the U.N. Iraq-Kuwait boundary commission, which is trying to resolve border disputes; and allied-run humanitarian relief missions to the Kurdish population of northern Iraq.
Saturday's combination of events eased the immediate threat of a possible U.S. air strike against Iraq, but tensions between the two countries remained at a seven-month high, and the prospect was raised that U.S. forces still might attack Iraqi territory at any time without notice.
Administration officials declined to speculate whether the reduced threat of military action would last at least through the inauguration of President-elect Bill Clinton on Jan. 20. "In a sense, it's up to [the Iraqis]," a senior policy-maker said.
In Little Rock, Ark., a spokesman for Clinton said the incoming leader would have no further comment on the situation. President Bush spent the weekend at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., where he received regular briefings on the situation from his advisers.
Clinton had told reporters late Friday that Saddam had received "a remarkable reprieve," and said he hoped the Iraqi leader "won't put us in this position again." He said that any hopes by Saddam that Clinton would be easier on him would be "a serious misreading of our political system."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB