Iraqi Officers Hide in Schools--Schwarzkopf

The top U.S. commander in the Persian Gulf said today that Iraq’s senior military officers are shifting their headquarters into schools to escape relentless allied bombing.

Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf told journalists that the Iraqis were apparently doing so because nearly three weeks of bombing had severely disrupted communications and command structure and “they know we’re not going to attack civilian targets.”

He also said that heavy bombing by U.S. B-52s a few nights ago had apparently blown up 125 Republican Guard bunkers as well as an ammunition or fuel dump.

Asked if shifting Iraqi military command posts into schools would inhibit his ability to attack, Schwarzkopf said, “Yes, it gives them an advantage, but we are not going to reduce ourselves to that level of moral conduct just to even the score.”

Schwarzkopf also said he believed “there is no question” that much of the damage in civilian areas being shown to Baghdad-based reporters was caused not by allied bombing but by Iraqi anti-aircraft missiles missing their targets and falling back to earth.