GULF WATCH: Day 45 : Diplomatic Front:

The Bush Administration said it is discussing with other nations possible steps to punish Iraq in the wake of raids on foreign embassy compounds in Kuwait by Iraqi troops.

French President Francois Mitterrand said his country will send more troops to Saudi Arabia and expel some Iraqi diplomatic and military personnel in response to the raid on the French diplomatic quarters in Kuwait.

At a joint news conference in West Germany, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Secretary of State James A. Baker III said Bonn will contribute about $2 billion toward the gulf effort.

A flight carrying about 285 American and Canadian citizens evacuated from Kuwait arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. A second group of about 150 Americans was headed from Baghdad to London and was scheduled to arrive in the United States today.

President Bush’s videotaped message to the people of Iraq was delivered to an Iraqi official in Baghdad. The State Department said that if the message is not broadcast by Iraq within five days, the United States will release a copy to the international media.

Military Front:

France said it will send 4,000 troops to join its forces already in the gulf region. The new troops include a regiment of 1,100 men equipped with 48 combat helicopters, an armored regiment equipped with 48 tanks, an antitank regiment of five companies, and 30 Mirage and Jaguar aircraft.

The Bush Administration’s plans to sell $20 billion in jets, tanks and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia could tip the balance of power in the Middle East to favor Arab nations, said an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. Israel is expected to seek an offsetting arms deal.

In London, Greenpeace said that at least 20 warships carrying up to 450 nuclear missiles are in the Persian Gulf region.

Trade Front:

France called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to impose an air blockade as part of the trade embargo against Iraq and to punish other countries that are violating the embargo.

In Rome, Secretary of State Baker said he favors imposing sanctions against countries that help Iraq evade the international trade embargo. The proposal also was endorsed by Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.

President Bush signed into law a bill that will keep the strategic petroleum reserve in operation for four more years.

Crisis Indicators:

* U.S. troops on the ground: 100,000-plus

* U.S. sailors aboard ships in region: 35,000

* U.S. warships in region: 50-plus

* U.S. reservists to be mobilized: up to 50,103

* Iraqi troops in/near Kuwait: 265,000

* Sky condition and temperature range in Dhahran, staging area for U.S. military deployment in Saudi Arabia: Clear, low 79, high 104