More Countries Willing to Use Force, U.S. Says

Secretary of State James A. Baker III, completing four days of intense high-level diplomacy, said Friday that growing numbers of countries are ready to consider the use of military force to end Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait if peaceful means prove inadequate.

Talking to reporters at the start of a meeting with Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Boulares, Baker said most members of the United Nations hope that the Persian Gulf crisis can be resolved peacefully but that “there are a number of countries that make it quite clear that we should not foreclose (military) options.”

Asked if the number has increased this week after his discussions with more than two dozen foreign ministers, Baker said, “I think there are more countries that are willing now to express that view.”

So far, most foreign leaders who have spoken out publicly on the subject have said they would favor the use of force only if authorized by the U.N. Security Council, usually a time-consuming procedure.

However, the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council--the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China--issued a statement late Friday pledging to act quickly in the gulf crisis.

“The ministers stressed the importance of a further development of the ability of the Security Council to respond quickly to challenges to international peace and security,” the statement said.

The statement, issued after a private lunch with Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, reiterated the demand for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait without conditions and without delay.

A senior French diplomat said that existing Security Council resolutions do not permit offensive action by the U.S.-led multinational force in the gulf region. But he pointedly added, “The legal framework may change.

“The danger is that in a few weeks’ time, the embargo will not have produced any effect,” the French official, who spoke on the condition he not be identified by name, said. “At that point, the international community must decide if it will step up the pressure another notch. The only next notch is the use of force.

“With the measures that have been taken so far and the kind of equipment that has been put in, one can imagine what it might look like,” the official added. “There are more than 600 combat aircraft on the spot. That gives you air superiority. One would assume that those aircraft would be used. They are not there for an air show.”

Earlier in the week, Turkish President Turgut Ozal, whose country shares a long border with Iraq, said his government would take part in U.N.-sanctioned military action against the Baghdad regime.

Meanwhile, Tunisia’s Boulares told Baker that Hussein does not yet believe that the world is serious in its condemnation of the Iraqi invasion.

According to the U.S. official, Boulares, who met with Hussein on Sunday in Baghdad, said Tunisia and neighboring Algeria are trying to convince Iraq that the United Nations will persist in its effort to reverse the invasion.

He said the Tunisian reported that Hussein was convinced he could ride out U.N. sanctions, noting that the world organization has been unable to force South Africa to end its policy of apartheid or to require Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh, briefing Baker on Syrian President Hafez Assad’s just-concluded visit to Tehran, said Iran will continue to support the economic embargo of Iraq despite its repeated condemnation of the presence of American and other foreign troops in the gulf.

Meanwhile, senior U.S. officials confirmed that Baker has assured Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy that the United States will respond militarily if Hussein follows through on his threat to attack Israel.

“If Iraq attacks Israel, the United States will respond immediately and forcefully against Iraq,” one senior official said. “There are more than 100,000 American forces in the area. They are there to defend against Iraqi aggression. If there is Iraqi aggression against Israel, obviously, they will be used.”

Another senior official said: “We have a commitment to Israel that is rock-hard and unshakable. There is nothing new in that. If there is a threat to Israel, that commitment comes into effect.”

Although Israel receives almost $2 billion a year in military assistance from the United States, it has never asked for American troops to fight in any of its wars against its Arab adversaries. However, the officials said, Washington would certainly respond to any request for help from Israel.

The United States has urged Israel to maintain a low profile in the gulf crisis in order to avoid antagonizing Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab nations that are part of the international consensus against Iraq.

Later, Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze spent about 90 minutes trying to persuade Jordan’s Crown Prince Hassan to tighten the Hashemite kingdom’s compliance with economic sanctions against Iraq.

It was the first time that Baker and Shevardnadze had engaged in such two-on-one diplomacy since Washington and Moscow found themselves on the same side of the crisis.

Before the meeting, Hassan indicated that there is very little give in Jordan’s position.

“No country should be expected to commit hari-kiri in observing sanctions,” he said.