Buildup in Gulf Called ‘a Mistake’ : Military: A former Navy secretary says attacking Iraq would compound the error of committing more troops to the region.

A former Navy secretary today called President Bush’s 430,000-troop buildup in the Persian Gulf a mistake and said attacking Iraq would compound it. But the White House insisted that Saddam Hussein must know “that he could face military action at any time.”

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater also said Bush remains reluctant to call Congress back to discuss the gulf crisis, despite recent calls for a special session.

“Let’s wait and see,” Fitzwater said, suggesting that Bush would consult with members of Congress he has invited to the White House on Friday about the possibility of a special session.

James Webb, a former Navy secretary in the Reagan Administration, told the Senate Armed Service Committee today that “the President’s mistake in sending so many troops should not be compounded by a further error in using them in a premature, unprovoked ground offensive.”

Webb said the President should call for an “immediate resumption of the draft and then a declaration of war” by the Congress.

Webb is the third former top military official to urge caution in the gulf. Two former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that Bush should give sanctions against Iraq more time to work before opting for war.

But Fitzwater shrugged off the comments, as well as House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt’s announced opposition to any early use of force.

“We simply disagree with the congressman about that,” Fitzwater said.

The White House spokesman said the additional troop buildup was vital “to maintain an offensive capability should it be needed.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Dan Quayle argued against waiting too long before using military force against Iraq.

“Does patience today risk greater American casualties tomorrow?” Quayle asked in a speech to Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J.

“Even as we exercise patience and restraint, we must also be alert to the moral costs of such a course,” Quayle said. He said that “with every day that passes” the plight of the people of Kuwait “grows more desperate.”

Furthermore, Quayle asked: “Will continued patience with Iraq help make the world vulnerable to nuclear blackmail by Saddam Hussein? And if so, is this a moral course of action?”