Bush Reassures Schwarzkopf of 100% Support

President Bush phoned Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf on Thursday to offer his full support, assuring him that the public dispute over comments that the Desert Storm commander made in a televised interview amounted to “much ado about nothing,” a Bush spokesman said.

After the morning telephone call, Deputy White House Press Secretary Roman Popadiuk said that “the President is totally relaxed about it,” referring to the flap over Schwarzkopf’s recollection that he had wanted to keep fighting Iraq until the enemy was annihilated.

“The President is convinced that they are on the same wavelength,” Popadiuk said, adding that Bush “stands 100% solidly behind” the four-star general.

The White House and Pentagon clearly appeared to be trying to put an end to the controversy--but only after having taken Schwarzkopf to a kinder, gentler, Bush-style woodshed by issuing a sharp public denial of the general’s comments.

Nevertheless, by merely disclosing that Bush had called Schwarzkopf, the White House again drew attention to the dispute between leaders in Washington and the senior field commander in Saudi Arabia over what was said during the final hours of the allied offensive.

At the center of the controversy is Schwarzkopf’s statement in a television interview that on Feb. 27, the day the ground war was called off, he had wanted to continue pounding Iraqi troops and armor as they tried to withdraw from positions in Kuwait and southern Iraq.

The issue involves more than just an unusual public airing of a difference of opinion between the President and a powerful general.

Schwarzkopf’s recollection that he advocated continued military action against Iraq has fueled speculation that Saddam Hussein’s regime would have been more severely damaged if Bush had not called a halt to the offensive action.

The decision to end the fighting before Hussein’s troops and armor were destroyed may have allowed the embattled leader to mount a more potent defense against rebellions by Kurdish insurgents in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. As a result, Hussein may stand a better chance of surviving the current turmoil.

In his interview with British television personality David Frost, which was broadcast Wednesday evening, Schwarzkopf said:

“Frankly, my recommendation (to Bush) had been, you know, continue the march. I mean, we had them in a rout and we could have continued to reap great destruction on them. We could have completely closed the door and made it a battle of annihilation. And the President made the decision that we should stop at a given time, at a given place that did leave some escape routes open for them to get back out, and I think it was a very humane decision and a very courageous decision.”

That was not the way the decision was recalled in Washington. Bush told reporters on Wednesday that Schwarzkopf and the President’s other top military advisers were in “total agreement” that after 100 hours of ground battle, it was time to call a halt to the fighting.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, in a more pointed retort, had said Wednesday that the decision to halt the shooting on Feb. 27 “was coordinated with and concurred in by the commander in the field, Gen. Schwarzkopf.”

White House officials noted that Bush and Gen. Colin L. Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both spoke by telephone that day with Schwarzkopf and obtained his concurrence in the temporary cease-fire.

Despite the pointed public disavowals the previous day, the White House insisted on Thursday that it was not peeved by the general’s remarks.

Bush placed the call to Schwarzkopf at 9 a.m. EST, Popadiuk said.

“He just wanted to reassure the general that this is much ado about nothing,” the spokesman said. “There is no difference in views. They’re on the same wavelength, and this is one of those little irritants that shouldn’t become any big thing.

“The President told Gen. Schwarzkopf not to worry about this incident,” he added.

Asked whether Schwarzkopf offered an apology, Popadiuk replied: “The general was very pleased and appreciative of the President’s phone call.”

The extensive public discussion of the flap at the White House was met by silence from Schwarzkopf’s Central Command headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Asked why Bush thought it necessary to provide reassurances to Schwarzkopf, Popadiuk replied: “The President realizes that this has become a little bit of a story and that the general is probably feeling awkward in this situation. He just wanted to take the opportunity to reassure him that there was no need to be concerned about this.”

Schwarzkopf, Popadiuk said, “has the respect of the President and the American public, and he has a lot to be proud of. And something like this should not take away from that image at all.”

Another White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the telephone call reflected Bush’s concern that the initial reports of differences with the general appeared to put Schwarzkopf “in the doghouse”--and the White House did not want him there.

Besides, he said, dryly, “we’re always nice to war heroes.”

At the Pentagon, one knowledgeable official said that “Cheney’s proud of Schwarzkopf; he’s a good guy.”

He added that Cheney had made no effort to encourage Schwarzkopf to renounce or explain his earlier remarks to erase any remaining uncertainty.

“It’s Norm’s call to do what he wants to do,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the White House announced that Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady will visit the Middle East and Europe next month to assess the impact of the Persian Gulf War and developments in Eastern Europe in a variety of arenas, particularly international financial markets.

Popadiuk said that Brady will attend the inaugural meetings of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has been established to funnel financial assistance to the struggling nations of Eastern Europe, on April 15 and 16 in London. He also will look into the financial ramifications of rebuilding Kuwait.

Times staff writer Melissa Healy contributed to this report.