European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes tuesday november 27,1990 Terence Hun message to Saddam time is running out president Bush expressing growing impatience appears grimly determined to show tie is willing to go to War against Iraq to end its takeover of Kuwait the resounding message of Bush a just concluded trip through Europe and the Middle East was that time is running out for a peaceful Retreat by iraqi president Saddam Hussein. For the first time Bush raised the possibility of setting a deadline for Baghdad. He also spoke bluntly of a a commitment to use  and. He offered a chilling justification for amassing military forces against Iraq warning that Saddam was moving closer to building an Arsenal of nuclear weapons. A the world is getting tired of this Quot Bush declared of iraqis nearly four month occupation of Kuwait. Bush a theme was that he Hopes for a peaceful Resolution but is laying the foundation for possible War. He said he was not bluffing. Prodded by the United states the United nations Security Council is expected to meet within Days on a measure authorizing Force to remove Iraq from Kuwait. Bush said the United states is very close to winning . Approval. Even without it he said a we have the authority to do what we have to  Congress was uneasy about Bush a Saber rattling before his trip and the hardening of his rhetoric is sure to raise new concerns. Senate minority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas said he would urge Congress to reconvene immediately if the United nations endorsed a Resolution on Force. He said he hoped Congress also would endorse Force. Bush made the persian Gulf crisis the constant Centrepiece of his eight Day trip to Czechoslovakia Germany a 34-nation Summit in Paris saudi Arabia and Egypt. A a we re not walking away until our Mission is done until the invader is out of Kuwait a Bush told marines and British a desert rats during a thanksgiving Day visit to a Remote desert outpost in saudi Arabia. A and that May be where you come  the 230,000 american troops in the persian Gulf area and 200,000 More on the Way give real credence to the presidents implied threat. Yet despite Bush a resolve there Are signs of Wear in the global coalition against Iraq and there is reluctance a or mixed signals a from some nations about the military option. Soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev counselled patience to allow diplomacy to work. So did German Chancellor Helmut Kohl warning of the consequences of War. On the other hand Margaret Thatcher ordered 14,000 More British troops to the Gulf even As she announced her resignation As prime minister. Bush got Public backing from Egypt and saudi Arabia for using Force and Syria agreed that iraqis aggression must not stand. However there were divisions in the Arab world. Yemen which will assume the rotating chairmanship of the Security Council in december criticized the military buildup in the Gulf and refused to endorse tougher action. Yemen a attitude is a key reason Why Bush wants . Action before the end of the month when the United states has to relinquish the Council chairmanship. Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii who has circled the Globe in recent Days lobbying for tougher action cautioned against a the Siren song of partial  and Baker said disapprovingly that some nations Are beginning to talk of allowing Iraq to hold on to disputed islands in the Gulf or be granted Access to the Gulf. A so called partial solutions Are out of the question a Bush declared. Stopping in Cairo Bush vowed a a we re going to pull this coalition together. We re going to keep this coalition together and we re going to see what  egyptian president Hosni Mubarak known for his caution spoke gloomily about prospects for a peaceful ending. A i am pessimistic a he said. A i done to see the slightest movement by Saddam. Bush got encouragement for Quick action from some of the american troops he visited to saudi Arabia and aboard the amphibious assault ship Nassau in the Gulf. A we either want to fight or we want to go Home a said Marine Lance Cpl. David Kimmel of Jonestown a. A i wish it would happen because in a tired of being Here a agreed Lance Cpl. Doug Mitchell of Hattiesburg miss. Troy Knapp a 19-year-old Corporal from Denver said he thought Bush was looking for a military solution. A a you re going to wonder if hell take the political heat for keeping the troops Here for another five months a Knapp said. Bush told the troops a no american will be kept in the Gulf a single Day longer than necessary but we wont pull punches. We Are not Here on some exercise. This is a real world  Bush has refused to specify How Long hell wait for sanctions to work against Iraq. But he said that at the United nations a a we la be discussing not Only the need to consider further action but perhaps a time  associated press Tom . Con no longer afford to be superpower now that the soviet Union has been deflated and May even be breaking up does the world still need the United states As a remaining superpower can the . Still play that role its Clear that maintaining superpower status is becoming More difficult a nearly impossible a for the United states. Even in the Middle East allies Are having to pick up much of the Tab allies necessarily have substantial control Over . Actions and an ultimate Triumph is by no Means assured. At Home and no matter what . Policies Are abroad american society and the american Economy Are anything but super. Congress and the president have just demonstrated that they can to even manage the Federal budget. And Washington veterans will be surprised if the nation finally sees anything like the $460 billion in savings projected for the next five years. Nor is the deficit the Only economic problem. Billions Are needed for investment a in education in infrastructure in environmental cleanup to restore the dwindling ability of states and cities to provide necessary Public services. The shameful savings and loan scandal adds to the problem. A struggling g and badly under capitalized banking system limits the availability of needed credit for the present and threatens economic collapse for the future. The nations Energy vulnerability has been dramatized by the Middle East crisis. But the country seems paralysed when confronted with the obvious need for greater Energy Independence. Research and development once a prime . Strength lag behind the efforts of Japan and Western Europe. Even a president who denies being a a gloom and doom person concedes that the Economy is heading into a recession. Some economists think it May be the worst of the postwar Era. Compounding All this is the apparent reluctance of the voters a who now Are Only about half or less of those eligible a to approve of any form of new taxes. Yet after a decade of reduced taxes and inflated military spending there May be no Way to attack some of these problems without Well targeted taxes a on gasoline for instance to reduce Oil imports help Clear the air we breathe and produce needed new revenues for say education and infrastructure. Better such a tax even if stiff than the higher Price now being paid at the pump mostly to enrich foreign potentates. Where is the superpower in All of this and where is it to be found in other american ills a crime homelessness inadequate child care limited and costly medical care a growing underclass even the military upon which so much american wealth has been lavished in the last half Century demonstrated crucial weaknesses in the great victories in Grenada and Panama a not to mention Vietnam. If the most pressing . Problems therefore lie at Home not to mention the political will to face the playing the superpower role abroad is hard to defend it also emphasizes the corollary is it necessary j the need to match a second superpower Dollar for Dollar bomb for bomb has disappeared. R he need to organize Arm and Lead the a m deterring and or defeat ing the communist world no longer exists. Used to h.jvr0vlde-capital t0 what used to be the communist world As Well As to latin America and other Friendly  j? met japanese and european financial interests a who the us m0st a a a Mil at stake a in a Multi Polar world composed of at least Japan Western Europe China and the United states As Well As whatever Power including nuclear remains to the soviet Union the need for any one of these to claim status As a Lone superpower a policeman and banker to the world the dominant voice among All a is hard to see. The ability for anyone to achieve or maintain such status May be non existent. Regional discord no doubt will continue to require United states military Power to be projected occasionally at least in the third world. Few would wish such Power to be japanese German or chinese. But that a a different scale of Power for a far More limited purpose than the vast military establishment once required for what looks More and More like the outmoded concept of the superpower. 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