Bush Hopes Nation’s Will Is Steadfast : Home front: He acknowledges wondering how long support would last in case of war.

President Bush said Monday that the nation has been “magnificently united” behind his stand against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but he acknowledged wondering how long the support would last if a war broke out or a protracted, costly stalemate developed.

Conspicuously omitting the nation’s long, divisive experience in Vietnam--and the ruined presidency of another Texan, Lyndon B. Johnson--Bush instead said that he hopes he will find the sort of backing that Americans showed for the Allied effort in World War II.

“I’m old enough to remember a clear-cut case, different circumstances, different times--World War II. There was a lot of sorrow; there was a lot of regret. Everyone identified with the families who lost loved ones. But the country stayed fairly well together,” Bush said.

So far, public opinion polls have shown overwhelming support for the President’s actions. A Washington Post-ABC News poll made public a week ago found that 78% of those surveyed approved of Bush’s handling of the situation.

“I’m not clear in my own mind at how long this kind of support holds up,” Bush said.

He said he will not predict “how the American people would respond” if casualties numbered in the thousands. And, asked if the support would erode if a stalemate evolved, he said that he has read predictions that it would. “I think about those questions,” he said.

Until Monday, there had been little, if any, public talk on the part of the President about public support for Operation Desert Shield, which has sent more than 150,000 U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf in the largest such speedy deployment since World War II. But, in response to questions at a news conference with reporters from outside Washington, Bush returned several times to the topic.

The issue is particularly sensitive because of the Vietnam War, in which eventual lack of public support became a key factor in the course of the war. On a recent political trip to Topeka, Kan., and Tallahassee, Fla., Bush made a point of mentioning local GIs serving in Saudi Arabia, in effect reminding his audience that support for the policy means support for young men and women from their own communities.

In addition, the question of public support has been raised repeatedly by troops deployed in the Saudi Arabian desert when they are visited by senior officials from Washington, who are themselves mindful of the impact public opinion back home can have on the morale of military personnel.

Bush was asked Monday about the possibility that the Pentagon has been given “a blank check” to pay for the operation--which the Defense Department has estimated will cost $11.3 billion next year. In his answer, he referred to his stated goals--removing the occupying Iraqi troops from Kuwait, which they invaded Aug. 2, restoring the Kuwaiti government, defending Saudi Arabia from Iraqi attack and gaining the freedom of Iraqi-held hostages. Then he said:

“I think the American people want me to do exactly what we ought to do to fulfill our four objectives over there. And if that means that we have to ask others to support certain aspects of this in a burden-sharing way, we’re going to continue to do that.

“But I believe that the American people have confidence in the decisions that we’ve taken, and I don’t think that they would want to shortchange that effort no matter how serious the budget complications are right now,” he added.

In other developments:

The leading Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. William S. Broomfield of Michigan, said the United States cannot afford the Administration’s decision to cancel Egypt’s $7.1-billion military sales debt to the United States.

The Administration said it will seek help from international lending agencies to ease the economic hardships of Middle East nations suffering from the Persian Gulf crisis. Japan, West Germany, Saudi Arabia and the exiled government of Kuwait have contributed to the $28-billion pool of money the Administration is trying to gather.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens pressed the United States for more arms and received assurances from Defense Secretary Dick Cheney that his country will be compensated for the huge U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon said that Cheney “reiterated the U.S. commitment to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge.”

At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering met with his four colleagues who hold permanent seats in the Security Council--the representatives of the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China--to discuss further tightening of the U.N. sanctions against Iraq. One diplomat said the Soviet Union and China objected to further measures until members could evaluate the effectiveness of the current embargo.

Staff writer Don Shannon, at the United Nations, contributed to this report.