Jitters--but No War : U.S. Still Looking for Signs of Flexibility by Hussein

An ominous silence hung over the Persian Gulf crisis today as troops, world leaders and Saddam Hussein awaited the apparently imminent outbreak of war.

As President Bush received a letter from Pope John Paul II appealing for peace, the White House said that a military strike against Iraq “could begin at any time.”

The war planning process continues in Washington “with some resignation,” said presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater.

At the same time, the Administration said it was looking for any signal from the Iraqi leader that he is willing to withdraw his forces from Kuwait.

Bush, meeting with education advisers, turned aside a question on whether he was giving Hussein a grace period before ordering a strike.

“Life goes on,” Bush replied as he turned the conversation to education. To a reporter who said the President looked grim, Bush laughed and said, “Lighten up.”

But more than 12 hours after the U.N. deadline for the pullout, State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said not a single Iraqi soldier had left Kuwait and that “we have had absolutely no word” from Baghdad that Hussein intends to retreat.

Fitzwater said Bush’s decision not to strike immediately after the midnight EDT deadline should not be taken as a sign of wavering.

“Our forces are still there. This is not over,” he said. “The President has gone the extra mile for peace. Saddam Hussein has yet to take the first step,” Fitzwater said.

In the Saudi desert, American soldiers poised for war increased live ammunition drills just miles from Iraqi forces today.

France committed its 10,000-member Persian Gulf force to fight, and President Francois Mitterrand told his nation it is likely “guns will talk.” Britain set up a three-member war cabinet. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said war is inevitable.

As skies over Saudi Arabia cleared after 36 hours of rain in the desert, more than 1 million soldiers were drawn up for battle. Mile-long convoys rolled past abandoned private cars in 60-degree temperatures in the Saudi desert, and twin-rotor Chinook helicopters swooped low.

Army M1 tanks, the military’s most sophisticated, were involved in live-fire exercises, while other troops were taking part in “mine warfare (and) joint air attack training with Apache attack helicopters,” Army Lt. Col. Greg Pepin told a news briefing.

Iraq remained defiant. The speaker of Iraq’s legislature said Saddam--already de facto military commander--would “from now on direct the battle.”