European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday. January 23. 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 11william Safi re �&5 Quot Quot 1. A 1 a a a a a a a. 1 a a a a a a Israel weaves through Gulf War s minefield there is the Story of the masochist who says to the sadist a Hurt me a and the sadist replies with exquisite cruelty  Israel under the most extreme provocation to respond to missile attack a and thereby to satisfy Saddam Hussein a desire to shift the focus from his tape of Kuwait to the Arab War against the jews a has dealt Baghdad a devastating blow. At least for now while the dictator lusts for the linkage of engagement the crudest israeli response is no response at All. Certainly such restraint seems out of character. To turn the other Cheek is a Tenet of christianity Modem Israel survives by the predictability of its 10-Eyestor-an-Eye answer to terrorist acts. Pride is involved too never again the unknowing March to extermination or misplaced Trust in the kindness of strangers. A _ but the words of president Wilson Are Worth ret Nark ing in this context. A there is such a thing As a Man being too proud to fight a Wilson said after the sinking of the Lusitania. A there is such a thing As a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by Force that it is  As Wilson Learned such Pride has its limits and nobody expects Israel to suffer in silence through a Poison Gas attack. But by using its head instead of its arms Jerusalem is denying an enemy a strategic goal while showing the world it is on the Side of the right. Saddam Hussein a scud terrorism is no More militarily effective than hitlers v�?T-2 harassment of London but makes the Case that israelis need for defensible Borders is hardly paranoid. This proof of the implacable hatred israelis face has embarrassed some of the palestinians defenders in the United states. Even Mike Wallace of lbs Felt it necessary to air a sympathetic interview with the Gutsy mayor of Tel Aviv the objective Abc colleagues of Peter Jennings showed visible discomfort at his persistent pique at Israel and when Helen Thomas of up asked president Bush Why we should get so upset at iraqis a retaliation a Bush was moved to a genuinely outraged answer about terrorist strikes at civilians in a country not even in the coalition making War. The american fears of splitting that coalition Are exaggerated. The helpless Gulf states have no other place to go. Egypt has made Clear it won it be tricked into a knee Jerk jihad and Britain and Turkey Are Stalwart. That leaves Syria which might have made a mild contribution if it had moved its tanks to the iraqi Border but As one . General reminds me a the last time they tried that half the syrian tanks broke  we encouraged Israel to outsmart Iraq by offering inducements to absorb attacks without reacting missile defences which . Planners should have shipped months ago and a White House Promise to go after the James Reston tie wis matter s voice scud launchers More vigorously lest israeli commandos conduct on site inspections. Diehard Israel washers saw this As a nefarious a Deal a diverting our bombers from More serious purposes than saving lives they warned Wackly that Bush promised no International conference in this millennium. All this is Saddam Hussein a sideshow. We have been focusing most of our attention on about a score of missiles that have come into Friendly territory in Israel and saudi Arabia most of which flew astray or were shot Down by our breathtaking hardware while More than 50,000 bombs have landed on Iraq. Wisely we rejected the queasy French egyptian advice to limit our action to Kuwait and have gone to the troubles source mass destruction plants in Iraq its air defense communications and elite armoured Reserve. Our strategists will now be tugged in two directions 1 to pause to give a cease fire and the Nightmare scenario a Chance or 2 to land the marines and unleash the army in a Saddam preferred land War. Forget both. Give Airpower a Chance at the rate of 2,000 sorties a Day we have not yet begun to bomb. After the unprecedented pounding of the first 50,000 sorties and the cutoff of water and supplies to the invaders of Kuwait As radio free Iraq reminds the people of Baghdad that their leaders family has already fled to safety with a massing of the turkish army in the North an uprising of the kurd and perhaps a coup of realistic colonels a we should have a better picture of the need for ground forces. Gradualism no the air War presses Allied strength against enemy weakness. As it succeeds peace will come in Wilson swords a with Healing in its wings.�?T.�?T. C new York time forces is a better option the allies have won the first phase of the War with air Power and Are talking about How to win the land War against iraqis half a million men in Kuwait. Fortunately this time they Haven to Given themselves an ultimatum to Start the second phase by a specific Date but officials talk about the desert Battle As if it were inevitable. This reminds me of former undersecretary of state George balls Story about How the . Got into the Vietnam mess a Man took his Little boy to the zoo and pointing to a , said a that is a  and the boy said a Why a that Ball said explained our Rush to War. A we just did no task the Giraffe question Why Why Why a president Bush did ask a Why a and answered that the . Had intervened in the Gulf to defend . Principles and resolutions. He committed himself with Congress support to get the iraqi army out of Kuwait and restore Kuwait a government. But the . Resolutions did not Tell him he had to fight a land War. They authorized him to use what Force he deemed necessary and left it to the other . Members to do likewise. Since then Bush has emphasized this is not a War Between the . And Iraq but a joint . Operation that entails the least possible loss of life. He has warned against overconfidence and has expanded his authority to Call up More reserves to Back the 460,000 americans preparing for the decisive Battle. A a a a a a a a iraqi president Saddam Hussein mocks the almost unopposed raids Over  a but he got his wife out of town banished All . To networks except can in order to limit pictures of damage and apparently Waits confidently for More than a million men to clash in the desert. This is what raises the Giraffe question. Nobody to my knowledge has explained Why we should accommodate him by fighting on the Battlefield of his Choice under conditions familiar to his troops and unfamiliar to ours. Nor has the administration explained Why it refuses to aim its a smart bombs at Saddam himself while old generals and Warrior journalists recommend land Battles for Young men to fight. The answer seems to be that the weapons can destroy nuclear laboratories and chemical and biological factories but cannot be As effective against iraqis underground armies. They can a soften them up from the air it is said but the army and marines must a Root them  this is like benching Joe Montana and grinding out yardage through the line. No doubt Saddam a armies arc Well concealed but they have to eat and get other supplies in trucks that Are not invisible to bombers even at night. Also some of our commanders Are convinced that continued bombing at present Levels can destroy Saddam a communication system and Cut him off from control a maybe not in a few Days but within a few weeks. At least some observers ask Why hurry to the land War before giving the bombers time to Cut them off from their essential supplies if the air Force and the Navy can drop bombs Down chimneys they should be Able to hit Supply trucks Down to the last Sandwich. The army and marines done to like Dwight Eisenhower so courage of patience a for they want to prove they re As efficient As the air Force and Navy. But Bush has different problems. He has had two wars in his first two years in office and his popularity is High a mainly because casualties have been so Low. A bloody land War is not Likely to in crease his standing in the polls or usher in his new world order which is More Likely to rely on what happens in the soviet Union than in Iraq and Kuwait. A ids Best Chance of reducing Saddam a authority in the Arab world is not to Slaughter his armies in Battle but Force them to surrender. It is not in americans interest to create a military wasteland in Iraq and leave the country to the tender mercies of Iran and and Syria. So at least a prolonged Effort to destroy Saddam a communications and starve his armies into submission is necessary before any land struggle begins. Meanwhile the bad news has to reach iraqi soldiers in the desert. For if they have nothing to eat but leaflets some might prefer to leave Kuwait and go Home a before they have no Home to go Home to. C new York tiros the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government