U.S. Spurns Peace Bid : Bush Calls Iraqi Offer to Leave Kuwait ‘a Cruel Hoax’ : President Urges Overthrow of Saddam; the War Goes On

Iraq said today that it is prepared to pull out of Kuwait, raising hopes for the first time since the fighting began that the Persian Gulf War might soon come to an end.

But only hours after the announcement over Iraqi Radio, President Bush called the offer a “cruel hoax,” said there was nothing new in it and urged Iraqi citizens to rise up and overthrow President Saddam Hussein.

However, the offer could well be the opening gambit by Hussein to salvage a humiliating defeat on the battlefield, or at least buy some time before the imminent ground war begins.

In the field, thousands of allied ground troops were reported being repositioned in preparation for a ground assault.

And a high-ranking military officer said the basic strategy for the war against Iraq will remain unchanged until there is a directive from the President to the contrary.

“I think the President made it abundantly clear that our mission remains fundamentally the same,” said Brig. Gen. Richard I. Neal at a briefing this evening.

In dismissing the Iraqi proposal, Bush said it contained a number of provisions, some of them old, some new, while the allied stance from the beginning has been that Iraq must withdraw unconditionally from Kuwait as stipulated by the United Nations.

The drama of the day began at mid-afternoon in Iraq, when Baghdad Radio broadcast the stunning announcement issued by Iraq’s ruling Revolutionary Command Council that it would abide by U.N demands and relinquish Kuwait. However, the statement also contained specific conditions, chief among them being that allied forces pull out of the Gulf and that Israelis withdraw from the occupied territories. The allies have consistently rejected any kind of linkage between the Gulf crisis and any of the other long-term problems of the region.

Before the response from Washington, there was joy in Baghdad as residents believed the announcement meant an end to the incessant bombing that has wracked the city, including an air attack two days ago that destroyed a building that killed hundreds of civilians inside. Soldiers and citizens alike fired their guns into the air, a common way in the Middle East of expressing joy.

But it became apparent that the offer was far short of allied expectations when White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater issued a terse statement saying that “promises alone are not sufficient” and that the Iraqis had to back up their words with a massive withdrawal from Kuwait.

Later, Fitzwater said: “The more we look at it, the worse it gets.”

Washington was looking for an agreement on the part of the Iraqis to adhere to U.N. Resolution 660, the first to be passed after the invasion of Kuwait last Aug. 2. It called for the unconditional withdrawal from the emirate and urged the two countries to discuss their differences in negotiations.

The Iraqi media said the communique from the Revolutionary Command Council came after an overnight meeting of the five-member ruling group.

While there was joy in Baghdad, there was an initial sense of hope here in the Saudi capital, including the American military war room.

“Guarded optimism is the best way I could describe it,” said one senior American military official who was there. “But I don’t think it stopped anyone in mid-motion.”

Gen. Neal, in his briefing, said the Iraqi communique contained two things that gave him some cause to believe that the Hussein government might be more serious about retreating from Kuwait.

“One was that they made mention of withdrawal and they also used the term ‘Kuwait,’ ” he said. “The word has not been in their lexicon for a long time. It’s as if 1.7 million people had disappeared from the face of the Earth.”

While the initial overture by Iraq fell far short of allied expectations, Marine Corps commanders began repositioning tens of thousands of troops across the northern border of Saudi Arabia. Marines have begun shifting positions in response to changing war plans for potential ground combat against the Iraqis and moving with them is the corps’ largest supply base that will feed, fuel and arm most of the 80,000 Marines expected to move into Kuwait.

“Hopefully, this is the next-to-last move before we go home,” said Maj. Karen Schultz, assistant commandant of the Marines’ massive supply depot. “We expect the next one to be Kuwait City.”

Officials have said that the war plans to invade Kuwait have been revised significantly in recent days and many more adjustments are expected before the actual combat begins.

Meanwhile, Neal said an estimated 2,600 sorties were flown during the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 73,000. An A-6E jet was lost in a landing accident on the aircraft carrier America today.

A FEW KEY ‘BUTS’ TO IRAQ’S OFFER

Iraq today agreed to U.N. demands that it withdraw from Kuwait, but it also imposed conditions. Some key ones:

Iraq’s pullout “should be linked to an Israeli pullout from occupied” Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories.

Iraq’s withdrawal “must” be linked to a pullout from the region of allied forces, including arms sent to Israel after war broke out. The withdrawals are to be completed within one month of a comprehensive cease-fire.

The allies cease “land, sea and air operations” against Iraq.

The U.N. Security Council must repeal resolutions that condemned the Iraqi invasion, imposed an economic embargo meant to force its withdrawal and OKd a multinational coalition to use force to oust Iraq.

A future political arrangement in Kuwait must be based on “the wishes of the people” and not Kuwait’s ruling family.

The countries participating in the war against Iraq or financing the military effort must “undertake to rebuild what the aggression has destroyed.”