White House Praises Israel's Restraint

WASHINGTON--The White House praised Israel's restraint in the uncertain hours after an Iraqi missile attack on Tel Aviv yesterday, and some members of Congress said they could sympathize with Israel if it counterattacked.

President Bush met with his war planners at the White House shortly after a Scud missile struck a residential section of the Israeli city, with a toll of three dead and at least 70 wounded.

"We condemn this brutal act of terror against innocent victims," White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater said.

"Israel has shown remarkable restraint in the face of this aggression. We continue to consult with the government of Israel and will continue doing so as events unfold," he said.

"A nation clearly is on the firmest ground when they are defending their own people," said Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas).

"They have an absolute right to respond," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass).

At the Israeli Embassy, Ambassador Zalman Shoval declined to rule out a retaliatory strike but also said a response from Israel "would not necessarily have the character of retribution." He said "it's not necessarily eye for and eye" but how best to protect the Israeli people.

Bush reviewed the status of the war with Vice President Dan Quayle, Secretary of State James A. Baker III, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and his top national security advisers.

"The president expressed confidence in the military's performance," Fitzwater said.

Saddam also has fired a handful of missiles at Saudi Arabia.

U.S. officials puzzled over why Saddam powerful military was not putting up much of a fight and expressed frustration over the lack of information about damage inflicted against his forces.

"The truth is, we don't know why Saddam has chosen to react in the way he has," Fitzwater said.

Baker twice telephoned Lawrence Eagleburger, the deputy secretary of state who has been in Israel since the weekend, to discuss the attack, a U.S. officials said.

Pentagon briefers told Congress that allied bombing raids were creating large craters at Iraqi air fields and interrupting command and control systems, but that the damage was being quickly repaired. Much of Saddam's military machine remained intact.

"The early euphoria has changed into an unease that this way take longer than we thought," said Rep. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.).

Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chair of the Armed Services Committee, said "the losses have been so low they may have set an unachievable standard for the rest of the war."

The White House claimed satisfaction with the course of the war but reminded Americans that "this is not a conflict that's going to be over in just a few days...It's going to go on; there is a long plan and a long process."

Allied forces reported flying more than 10,000 air missions. Yet, both the Pentagon and White House complained about a lack of reports on the effect of bombing attacks.

"President Bush has asked for the same kind of damage reports that you have, and it's just not there," Fitzwater told reporters. "But it will be made available to you as soon as it is there."

Pentagon spokesperson Pete Williams conceded, "We don't have a fully accurate picture" about damage. Bad weather has complicated the assessments, officials said.

"Damage is obviously being inflicted, I think, because of the number of bombs that are being dropped and so forth," Fitzwater said. "You get pictures during the bombing runs that show when the bombs are being dropped but you don't always get good reports on the damage that was done afterwards," he said.

Lawmakers said the allies had targeted Iraq's broadcast operation but had been only partially successful in inflicting damage. Yet, Lt. Gen. Thomas Kelly told a Pentagon briefing, "I don't think there are many people watching television in Baghdad."

Fitzwater described the president as "pensive and fairl preoccupied. This is on his mind a good deal of the time."

U.S. officials made no attempt to conceal their surprise that Saddam has refused to come out fighting as his country is being pounded from the air.

"We did not imagine it to be possible, no," Fitzwater said. "And we're gratified that casualties have been relatively low. I think everyone is surprised by that and we're glad that that's occurred."

`Doing Little or Nothing'

The Pentagon's Kelly said Saddam was "doing little or nothing" except launching Scud missiles at Saudi or Israeli cities in an attempt to create terror. Because of that, Kelly said, "We're not going to punch ourselves out."

Saddam has lost only a handful of his 700-plane air force against a vastly superior allied air fleet. His 545,000-strong ground force, including the powerful Republican Guard, remain firmly entrenched in Kuwait, and Saddam's threat of terrorism against his enemies does not appear diminished.

There was a diplomatic overture toward Jordan, which has been sympathetic toward Iraq. Bush sent Richard L. Armitage, a former assistant secretary of defense, to confer with King Hussein.