Bush Urges Less Talk on Readiness : President Shows Irritation Over Troop Comments

President Bush today said officials should stop talking about the readiness of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, but he did not directly deny reports that the force will not be prepared for offensive action on Jan. 15.

“I think it would be very useful if from the President and others there were fewer comments about readiness. . . . There’s been enough said about readiness,” Bush said, showing a touch of irritation at news accounts saying military officials have warned him that the U.S. troops will not be prepared by mid-January.

The United Nations has given Iraq until Jan. 15 to withdraw its occupying troops from Kuwait.

He said that Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a report to him after their trip to the gulf that was “quite different than most stories I’ve been reading in the last few days.”

Bush made the comments to reporters as he departed by helicopter to resume his holiday vacation at Camp David, Md., after a morning visit to the White House that included a meeting with the Soviet ambassador to the United States.

While avoiding direct comment on the issue of readiness, Bush said: “I read one report about what Powell and Cheney told me and it was 180 degrees wrong.” He declined to say what report.

“There are a lot of false leads out there,” he said.

Bush also said there would be “no compromise” with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on a date to meet with Secretary of State James A. Baker III and discuss a peaceful solution to the gulf crisis.

Bush, who interrupted his Camp David vacation for several hours of White House work, also met with Soviet Ambassador Alexander Bessmertnykh. The diplomat delivered a letter from Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Aides said they did not know the content of the message, which came as the Soviet Union is embroiled in domestic political turmoil.