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

DATE: MONDAY, February 11, 1991                   TAG: 9102110167
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From The New York Times, The Washington Post/ and The Associated Pres
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CHENEY RETURNS TO BRIEF BUSH/ DEFENSE SECRETARY: MORE BOMB RAIDS NEEDED FOR

After a weekend of listening to the strategic advice of American field commanders in Saudi Arabia, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney flew back to Washington on Sunday for meetings with President Bush on the next steps the United States and its allies should take in the Persian Gulf war.

Cheney, who was accompanied by Gen. Colin Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. said the United States still needed to continue its bombing campaign before a ground attack might be opened against Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait.

But he steadfastly declined to confirm a report that senior American officers had recommended that the allied air campaign against President Saddam Hussein's forces continue for at least three weeks before a ground offensive is undertaken.

Meanwhile, Iraq has rejected Iran's attempt to negotiate an end to hostilities, Iranian and Iraqi spokesmen indicated Sunday.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saadoun Hammadi, said in Amman, Jordan: "We told the Iranians that the current issue is not the issue of Kuwait, but that of the American, colonialist and Zionist aggression to destroy Iraq and control the region."

Peace can be restored "after Muslims unite and drive out this aggression," Hammadi said.

Saddam made his first nationwide broadcast since Jan. 20. He congratulated Iraqis for their "steadfastness, faith and light" in withstanding the allied "warplanes of shame."

In Washington, the broadcast drew a rebuke from Bush. "I didn't hear him say anything about him getting out of Kuwait," he said. "Of course, that's what the whole world is wanting to hear."

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said he would send a special envoy to Baghdad with what was described in Moscow as "an offer to cease fire."

A return of fair weather over much of Iraq and Kuwait permitted allied aircraft to launch 2,800 sorties Sunday, including 200 missions against the Republican Guard. For the first time in a week, an American plane was reported lost on a combat strike. The Marine AV-8B Harrier went down over southern Kuwait. Teams hunted for the missing Marine pilot.

Cheney's comments, made en route to Washington, reinforced the idea that an allied land attack, while virtually inevitable, was not imminent.

The defense secretary declined to comment on the recommendations of the military leaders in Saudi Arabia or to suggest a date when a ground campaign might begin.

by CNB