5r.r^. News digest
Bush hopes Hussein
‘got the message’
WASHINGTON—President Bush declared
the military strike on Iraq “a big success”
Thursday and said he hoped Saddam Hussein
“got the message.”
The Pentagon said allied warplanes had
damaged the four Iraqi air defense sites they
targeted and destroyed one mobile missile bat
tery.
The Pentagon said three other missile batter
ies were dismantled by the Iraqis, after the
attack.
Administration officials said the limited al
lied attack demonstrated to a defiant Saddam
that the United States had the political will to
strike and might do so again at any time.
President-elect Clinton said he would judge
Saddam’s behavior by his future conduct but
could not imagine normalizing relations.
“The aggressive military tyrants achieved
much less than what their sick minds had
dreamed of,” said an Iraqi military communi
que, which counted 19 dead and 15 wounded
from Wednesday’s strike at eight targets in
Iraq’s southern “no-fly zone.” Iraq also said it
would cease its incursions into Kuwait and let
United Nations weapons inspectors resume their
flights.
The Pentagon called the attack “a very small
mission” with only 40 planes bombing Iraqi
radar stations and surface-to-air missiles for
just 15 minutes. An additional 70 U.S., British
and French aircraft provided air cover, refueling
and other support.
“This wasn’t even the second cousin of all
battles,’’said Pentagon spokesman Pete Wil
liams.
He said the radar installations in southern
Iraq were “seriously degraded”and the targeted
mobile surface-to-air missile batteries were
either hit by the allies or dismantled by the
Iraqis. One was hit for sure, he said.
Williams declined to quantify the damage,
saying, “J don’t have a box score for you.” But
he ran videotapes from cameras mounted on the
attack aircraft that showed two bombs striking
targets, two missing and cloud cover obscuring
- ii
The skies are safer and the
message is clearer today
because of the courage of
those young air crews that
did the Lord’s work yester
day.
-Bush
-ff -
another target.
Allied aircraft resumed patrols Thursday
over the “no-fly zone,” taking photographs to
verify the damage reports and searching for any
sign that Saddam might strike back.
Brent Scowcroft, Bush’s national security
adviser, provided the first indication thatnolall
the targets were hit.
Scowcroft said on ABC’s “Good Morning
America” that the attack knocked out “in the
neighborhood of half’ the targets. He added,
“we accomplished our objective.” Bush said
he thought the mission “was a big success.”
“Let’s just hope that Saddam Hussein got the
message,”hc said. “1 hope that he will now
comply with these United Nations resolutions.”
Later, at a military salute to the outgoing presi
dent at Fort Mycr, Va., Bush said, “we showed
Saddam Hussein once again that he cannot
violate international law with impunity.”
“The skies arc safer and the message is clearer
lodaybccausc of the courage of those young air
crews that did the Lord’s work yesterday,” said
Bush in a voicecracking withemotion. “Wcare
grateful to each and every one of them.”
Clinton lent full backing to Bush’s decision
and said he would not rule out authorizing force
himself if warranted.
In an interview published Thursday in The
Ndw York Times, Clinton said his message to
Saddam was: “If you want a different relation
ship with me, you can begin by observing the
U. N. requirements, and change your behavior.”
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85 Bosnians reportedly dead from cold and hunger
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — day reported 85 deaths m the previous 24
Hoping to stem a reported wave of deaths hours, including 51 children in the mountain
from cold and hunger, U.N. officials Thurs- area about 35 miles east of Sarajevo,
day assembled a convoy for Zepa, the east In addition, Bosnian TV reported that 17
Bosnian town cutoff from aid since the nine- people, including nine children, froze to
month old ethnic war began. death or starved in Srebrenica, a town near
The convoy, scheduled to arrive Friday in the Serbian border.
the mountain town of Zepa, was in response Serb gunmen and mines have prevented
to reports of new deaths in and around the U.N. convoys from crossing snowy roads to
Muslim enclave in Serb-held territory. Zepa, where some people are living in caves.
Amateur radio operators in Zepa, the U.N. officials say up to400,000 Bosnians
only contact to the outside world, on Wedncs- could die of starvation or cold this winter.
_ - - . - i *ii i i __i. z
Colombian volcano erupts, Kins ai least u
BOGOTA, Colombia — A volcano
erupted in southern Colombia on Thursday,
spewing a huge column of ash and killing at
least six scientists taking gas samples on its
side, according to the Colombian Red Cross.
Eight other scientists— three Americans
and five Colombians—were injured and 10
were missing, the Red Cross said.
“I can hear people below in the crater
screaming for help,” said RCN radio re*
porter Jose Mcncscs. Rescue workers were
turned back by showers of super-heated
rocks and ash on the 14,109- foot-high Galeras
volcano near Pasto, about 375 miles south of
Bogota. . _ , .. f
The scientists were in Colombia tor a
conference attended by about 100 vulca
nologisls and scientists from around the
world.
Letterman draws laughs on his way out ot NBC
NEW YORK — David Lettcrman told
his audiences on Wednesday and Thursday
that he’s leaving NBC for CBS and a $14 to
$16 million-a-year salary.
And, you can be sure, he’s laughing the
whole way out.
Letterman, during the Wednesday after
noon taping of his show, lipped his hand by
starting with a joke about how he would be
visiting outgoing President Bush to pick up
any extra moving boxes.
Letterman then announced that his last
show on NBC would be June 25.
“Shortly thereafter we’ll be taking this
program to another network, taking it over
there to CBS,” he said.
Marines finding frustrating line
between constraint and attack
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A U.S. Marine
patrol runs into gunfire. The Somali bandite
drop their weapons and insolently raise their
hands as the troops close in on them.
A young punk pulls a long knife on a soldier
and refuses to drop it for several moments.
“In Vietnam we would have blown him
away,” said veteran Sgt. Maj. Robert Sexton, of
Marianna, Fla.
In these and ether confrontations, troops
would probably have been justified in pulling
their triggers. But they did not — risking their
own lives to save civilians and stay within
bounds of the current rules of engagement.
Such restraint bespeaks of highly disciplined,
well-trained troops, which the Americans in
Operation Hope have so far proved to be.
But as they scour the blighted, sprawling
capital of one million people for snipers, some
Marines arc getting frustrated. Just before the
first fatal shooting of a Marine, the. Marine
commander issued an “attitude adjustment''
memo noting some hoops had “lost sight of the
humanitarian nature of their mission.
“If we arc not careful,” said the memo from j
Maj. Gen. Charles Wilhelm, “we will start 1
thinking that we’re at war and we may forget y
that our mission here is one of peace and
humanitarian assistance.”
Wilhelm admonished those whodidn’t wave
to Somali children, blow their horns in traffic
jams and push crowds aside while on patrols.
But where it counts, Marine behavior gener
ally has been exemplary.
On Thursday, for example, the same Marine
unit that a day earlier killed a Somali who
confronted them with a machine gun went to
apologize to the man’s widow.
The shooting was regarded as justified by
the U.S. command, but an order to apologize
was issued anyway.
Commanders arc aware that more American
deaths in situations where soldiers feel they’re
confronting an enemy with one hand tied be
hind their back could fray morale and spark
aggression against Somalis.
Homosexual seaman’s brutal death
sparks controversy over military ban
SAN DIEGO— A month after he informed
the Navy he was gay, 22-ycar-old Seaman
Allen Schindler was beaten to death.
Now, he has become a martyr for gay activ
ists in their crusade to end the military’s ban on
homosexuals.
“The death of Allen Schindler is the gay
version of Rodney King,” said Mike Petrclis,
national spokesman for Queer Nation.
“We know that lots of gays are harassed and
treated brutally by the military," Petrclis said
from Washington. “In the case of Schindler,
just like thecase of Rodney King, the difference
is this time we found out about it.”
The Navy has released few details of
Schindler’s death. He was killed the night of
Oct. 27 in a public restroom near the port of his
ship, the Bellcau Wood, in Sasebo, Japan,
officials say.
He had disclosed that he was gay to his
captain and asked for a discharge in September,
the Navy said. Friends say he wanted out be
cause shipmates had harassed him.
Airman Apprentice Charles A. Vins of
Sturgis, Mich., was convicted at a court-martial
Nov. 23 of concealing a crime and resisting
arrest. Vins, 20, was sentenced to one year in
custody and given a bad conduct discharge.
A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in
Yokosuka, Japan, to determine whether an
other airman apprentice — Terry M. Helvey,
20, of Eloise, Mich. — should face court
martial on a murder charge. Navy officials
won't discuss details of the case.
Petrelis accuses the Navy of trying to cover
up a hate crime.
Gay activists have joined forces with
Schindler's mother, who might normally be an
unlikely ally. She didn’t believe her son was
gay and is uncertain about allowing gays into
the military, an idea supported by President
elect Clinton. “It doesn’t make any difference
whether he was gay, they didn’t have the right
to kill him,’’ Dorothy Hajdys said.
Ms. Hajdys,46, will travel to San Diego, her
son’s hometown before his amphibious assault
ship was moved to Japan, tor a memorial
service Sunday.
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