On Capitol Hill, News of Raid on Israel Elicits Outrage, Apprehension : Congress: Lawmakers call attack a desperate act. They fear retaliation could split the anti-Iraq coalition.

Members of Congress reacted with outrage, defiance and trepidation Thursday evening to news that Iraq had attacked Israel.

Amid predictions that Israel would retaliate forcefully, some lawmakers expressed concern that such action could undermine the international coalition assembled against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. They characterized the attack as an effort to turn Iraq’s desert showdown with the United States and the allied forces into the sixth Arab-Israeli war.

Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that in the aftermath of the bombing, “it will be very difficult for Israel not to respond.” He cautioned that the coalition painstakingly arrayed against Iraq could unravel.

“It is troubling,” said Nunn, who had argued last week that President Bush should have given sanctions more time to work before attacking Iraq. “It could fracture the alliance.”

But Nunn said this was less likely as a result of the fearsome air power that the United States and its allies used to pummel Iraqi military targets this week.

Others, however, said Hussein’s aggression against Israel had only further insured his demise.

“This is the last murderous gasp of a tyrant who’s soon going to be removed from power,” said California Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City). “I’m horrified, but he’s done what he said he would do, and my guess is that the Israelis will retaliate.”

Berman, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a key Israeli ally, said he believed that, even then, the “Saudis and Egyptians will maintain faith with the coalition . . . and the Syrians will not find it in their interest to initiate a war with Israel.”

Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), meanwhile, called the missile attack by Hussein “a clear sign of desperation.”

The Capitol was virtually deserted Thursday when the cautious optimism evoked by the reports of Operation Desert Storm’s initial success was shattered by news that Tel Aviv, Haifa and unpopulated areas had been hit by Iraqi Scud missiles.

“This gives us a dose of reality,” aid Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), co-sponsor of the bill to authorize Bush to use force. “The man has no civil limits. It reinforces the need to stop Saddam and eliminate the threat.”

“If anybody wanted proof of how dangerous Saddam Hussein is, this is it,” said Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a staunch ally of Israel. “Iraq has deliberately bombed innocent people in residential neighborhoods so that he can expand the war and kill more innocent people.”

Senate President George J. Mitchell (D-Me.), Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) all declined to comment immediately on the Iraqi attack.

Congress had authorized Bush to use force against Hussein last weekend following an intense and lengthy debate that saw a majority of Democrats contend that economic sanctions should be given more time to dislodge the Iraqis from Kuwait. The United States and its allies commenced the offensive against Iraq on Wednesday evening Washington time.

On Thursday, hours before Iraq’s action against Israel abruptly ended the near-euphoria of the early U.S. and allied air strikes, the Senate moved quickly to express support for Operation Desert Storm.

The resolution, passed unanimously, endorsed “the efforts and leadership of the President as commander-in-chief” and praised U.S. troops for their “professional excellence, dedicated patriotism and exemplary bravery.” The House was expected to follow suit today.

Earlier, Mitchell and Dole engaged in a daylong tug-of-war over the wording of the measure. Mitchell and a group of liberal Democrats proposed to praise only the troops, but Dole insisted that the President be commended as well.

By day’s end, however, it was the prospect of a broader war with its consequent military and political perils that preoccupied lawmakers.

California Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento) said he feared that the response of either Israel or the allied forces would be so massive as to “make Iraq a parking lot.”