The Day in the Gulf

KUWAIT CITY FIGHTING: Coalition forces said they crushed Iraqi resistance around Kuwait city. An intense, daylong tank battle raged at the city’s international airport as American, Saudi and Egyptian forces closed in on fleeing Iraqis. The first Kuwaiti forces from the allied forces entered and prepared to raise their national flag to celebrate the capital’s liberation.

BATTERED BY ALLIES: Pounded by air and ground attacks, Iraq’s forces were on the run in Kuwait. They were also threatened by more than 100,000 U.S. and allied troops who thrust hundreds of miles into southern Iraq, U.S. military officials said. “The Iraqi army is in full retreat, although there is some fighting going on,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Kelly, chief of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. More than 30,000 Iraqis were reported to have been captured.

BUSH STANDS FIRM: President Bush declared that the war will go on despite Iraq’s announcement that it is withdrawing its troops from Kuwait. “Saddam (Hussein) is not interested in peace, but only to regroup and fight another day,” Bush said. He also noted that Hussein made no formal commitment to renounce Iraq’s historic claim to Kuwait or to accept responsibility for war reparations.

UNITED NATIONS VIEW: Most U.N. Security Council members insisted that Baghdad accept all 12 council resolutions on the Persian Gulf crisis before a cease-fire can be considered, diplomats said.

QUAYLE ON HUSSEIN: Vice President Dan Quayle made it clear that the United States wants to render Hussein powerless. “Saddam and his military machine are simply incompatible with a lasting and just peace,” Quayle said in a speech at Ft. Dix, N.J.