WAR ERUPTS IN GULF

Six months of fevered negotiations and anxious prayers culminated in war tonight, as U.S. forces began bombing targets in Iraq and Kuwait shortly before 7 p.m. EST.

A squadron of F-15E Eagles took off from air bases in Saudi Arabia at 4:50 p.m. EST., and correspondents in Iraq began reporting flashes of light and heavy anti-aircraft fire around Baghdad shortly before 6:30 p.m. CBS News reported that the U.S. launched unmanned Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iraqi targets. No ground fighting was reported.

In a televised address at 9 p.m. tonight, President Bush said that the international coalition arrayed in the Persian Gulf had commenced an air attack to drive Iraqis forces out of Kuwait and to destroy Iraq's chemical weapons capability and nuclear potential.

"We will not fail," Bush said.

Bush said that he had ordered the attack because all efforts to negotiate a peaceful withdrawal of the occupying forces with Iraqi President Saddam had failed, leaving military action as the only recourse.

"Some may ask, why not wait?" Bush said. "The answer is clear, that the world could wait no longer."

Bush said "all reasonable efforts" to resolve the Persian Gulf by diplomacy had failed and that Iraqi President "Saddam Hussein met every overture of peace with contempt."

He said he had been assured by the top American military commander that the air operations were proceeding according to plans. He said no ground forces were involved in the assault against Iraqi positions in Kuwait and Iraq.

Bush repeated his oft-standing pledge that "this will not be another Vietnam," vowing, "I have said this before and I repeat this here tonight, our troops will not be asked to fight with one hand tied behind their back. Our troops will have the best possible support."

At a press briefing at 9:30 p.m. this evening, Gen. Colin Powell, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the air attack had not yet met resistance.

"The preliminary reports that we have received...are very encouraging," Defense Secretary Richard Cheney said at the briefing.

Cheney said that no reports of any Iraqi reprisals had been confirmed.

U.S. officials confirmed the attack--officially dubbed "Operation Desert Storm"--at 7:05 p.m. tonight, when presidential spokesperson Marlin Fitzwater declared that "the liberation of Kuwait has begun."

"As of 7:00 p.m., Operation Desert Storm was engaging targets in Kuwait and Iraq." Fitzwater said.

The offensive included U.S.-allied forces and was aimed at Iraqi troops in both Iraq and Kuwait, U.S. officials said. Bush said that he had not ordered any ground attack.

Air raid sirens were sounding in Riyadh, as allied forces prepared for an Iraqi strike against Saudi Arabia's capital city. American journalists in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, were told to take shelter at about 7:20 p.m. EST in preparation for an attack by Iraqi Scud missiles.

At press time, there was no immediate sign of an Iraqi attack on Israel, as Hussein had threatened. But the Israeli army declared a state of emergency at about 7:30 p.m. and asked all Israeli citizens to open their gas mask kits in preparation for an Iraqi attack with chemical weapons.

CBS news reported that the U.S. embassy in Jordan, which lies directly between Iraq and Israel, had been evacuated as a precaution.

CBS said Iraqi radio was reporting "wave after wave" of bombing attacks over Baghdad, but these reports could not be confirmed.

Ambassadors to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also scheduled an emergency meeting to be held in Brussels tonight.

The U.S. warplanes took off in pairs, disappearing in red dots that winked out as they gained altitude. The aircraft were heavily loaded with bombs and underwing fuel tanks for the long trip north. They also were armed with cannon and air-to-air missiles for self-defense.

"This is history in the making," said Col. Ray Davies, he chief maintenance officer at the Saudi base from which the F-15 fighter-bombers were launched.

"It's absolutely awesome. The ground shook and you felt it," Davies said.

The attack came a scant 17 hours after the United Nations deadline for Iraq to withdraw all forces from Kuwait or face possible military reprisals for its August 2 invasion.

As of this morning, the international coalition had 680,000 troops in the Gulf region, including 415,000 American troops. Iraq had 545,000 troops in the region.

The U.S. has also arrayed a total of 1350 warplanes and 108 Navy ships in the region. Two of the six American aircraft carriers in the region had entered the Persian Gulf last night, putting them within striking distance of targets in Iraq and Kuwait.

The early-morning assault was the climax to a crisis that had built over more than five months, after Iraq's President Saddam Hussein ordered a lightning invasion of neighboring Kuwait on Aug. 2.