DESERT STORM: DAY 13 : Military

Iraq claimed today that allied prisoners of war were hit in air raids and that at least one was killed in an attack on a government building. Baghdad said last week that it was moving some of its 20 or more allied POWs to strategic sites as “human shields” against air attacks.

The Pentagon increased to 100 its estimate of the number of Iraqi planes that have fled to sanctuary in Iran. Iran has vowed to remain neutral in the war and says it will not permit the planes to leave until the war ends. Iran also said today that it has protested the landing of Iraqi planes to the United Nations.

Army Brig. Gen. Pat Stevens IV said allies carried out 2,600 sorties today, with no losses since a Harrier jet was shot down Monday.

The U.S. Central Command said that the flow of oil into a giant oil slick in the Persian Gulf has stopped and that the slick appears to be breaking up. The slick is several days away from the Saudi city of Jubail, site of the world’s largest water desalination plant and one of many such facilities in the spill’s path. Environmentalists say the 460 million gallons of crude poured into the waterway will bring certain ecological catastrophe.

The Pentagon said the American military deployment in Operation Desert Storm totals more than 492,000 troops.

Political

President Bush made final preparations for his State of the Union address tonight, the first such wartime address to Congress since the Vietnam War. “The content is dominated by the discussion of the Persian Gulf conflict,” White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said. “The speech . . . will reflect the President’s thinking on the conflict, what it means for the country, what it means for the economy and our domestic agenda.”

Fitzwater said the Administration estimates the cost of the war at $60 billion for three months. He said the United States expects allies to pay $45 billion of that, leaving $15 billion for American taxpayers to absorb. The Administration will not ask for a tax increase to cover the cost, Fitzwater said.

Bowing to pressure from angry Americans and their elected representatives back home, the U.S. Embassy said it will offer gas masks to American citizens in Saudi Arabia. It said the masks will be handed out as long as the supply lasts.

French Defense Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement resigned today, saying he foresees the possibility that the Persian Gulf War will go beyond the liberation of Kuwait. The announcement followed a furor over Chevenement’s hesitant stand on French military involvement in the war against Iraq.

Financial

U.S. stocks were mixed today, continuing to show uncertainty after last week’s solid gains.

North Sea Brent for March delivery was being traded at $19.80 a barrel in mid-afternoon, little changed from closing levels in New York on Monday.