Time Is Running Out On Iraq
CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Scott Pelley reports that more U.S. warplanes and ground forces may soon be on the way to the Persian Gulf. The White House is now considering a final escalation of forces as time runs out on Baghdad.
Senior White House officials tell CBS News additional stealth attack aircraft are on the list, in addition to B-52 heavy bombers and dozens of support planes.
Also, to support the defense of Kuwait, the Pentagon is considering adding a marine amphibious unit, plus re-enforcement for American armor already in the region.
"All of us would prefer a genuine diplomatic solution," President Clinton said Tuesday. "I want to reiterate that to every single American, all of us would prefer a genuine diplomatic solution. One way or the other we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
Tonight the president is said to be "very impressed" with the support he is receiving from Capitol Hill. Mr. Clinton called the Egyptian president today to thank him for his support. The timing of any strike is uncertain, but it appears to be weeks rather than days -- something closer to the end of the month.
In a related development, the U.S. got a boost Wednesday from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who told reporters he considers it a mission "to tell people about the evils" of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"He is a nasty dictator sitting on an awful lot of nasty stuff," Blair told reporters on his plane enroute here for talks with Clinton.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, Blair's aides said Britian is contemplating a period of two to three weeks to educate the public about the extent of Iraq's arsenal and to exhaust diplomatic options.
There were strong signs of united bipartisan support in Congress for a get-tough policy with Iraq. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry expressed confidence that international backing for a military solution to the Iraq crisis would be forthcoming if diplomatic efforts failed.
"The president believes that if we exhaust diplomatic avenues and other options have to be pursued, that will be done with very strong support in the world community," McCurry said.
But Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel Meguid said in Jordan that it was difficult for him to believe "that any Arab country would accept a military strike on Iraq. We are endeavoring today to find a peaceful way out of the crisis." Jordanian and Syrian officials also said they opposed the use of force.
Al-Ahram, Egypt's leading state-owned newspaper, said, "the American position toward Iraq cannot be described as anything but coercive, aggressive, unwise and uncaring about the lives of Iraqis, who are unnecessarily subject to sanctions and humiliation."
The White House and the State Depatment, meanwhile, brushed aside a comment attributed to Russian President Boris Yeltsin suggesting Mr. Clinton might start a world war over Iraq. Officials pointed to subsequent comments by Yeltsin's spokesman that the Russian leader was misinterpreted.
State Department spokesman James Rubin also rejected as inadequate an Iraqi offer of foreign access to eight presidential sites that had been declared off limits. That offer, he said, falls short of the standard of "full and unfettered access" for U.N. weapons inspectors to all suspected weapons sites.
A CBS News Poll, conducted Sunday, shows that three-quarters of the public continue to support launching air strikes against Iraq if the Iraqi government does not cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors there.
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