HoustonChronicle.com
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
New York Times
WASHINGTON -- As the Clinton administration once again considers using force against Iraq, the Pentagon has drafted separate plans for a sharp, swift strike that could begin at any time, and a larger, more punishing assault that would require sending more forces to the region, officials say.
President Clinton met for two hours Sunday with his senior national security aides at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., to discuss strategies for responding to the new defiance by Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein, of the U.N. weapon inspections.
What To Do About Saddam? |
With no 11th-hour diplomatic initiative in sight and with frustration over Iraq growing not only within the administration but among allies in Europe and the Persian Gulf, the possibility of a strike has loomed larger than at any point since the showdown last winter with Saddam.
Either of the two plans now under consideration could cause significant damage to Saddam's bases of power, including Iraq's military and special police and factories or other sites suspected of producing chemical and biological weapons, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
. "The trade-off is speed vs. power," said one official familiar with the planning.