U.S. HAS WILL, WEAPONS TO CARRY OUT OBJECTIVES

H. Norman Schwarzkopf American general, allied commander in the Persian Gulf and something of a gruff military poet provided a compelling description Sunday of ground war strategy. Allied forces, he said, are going "around, over, through, on top, underneath and any other way it takes to beat them." The attitude is refreshing as the candor. The United States and the coalition fighting to liberate Kuwait are using all means necessary to get the job done. Our hope is this total commitment to a goal will result in a limited loss of allied lives and a quickly accomplished mission.

President Bush called the launching of this all-out offensive a "final phase" of a military operation that began last August. The United States has led an alliance of nations in trying to annul Iraq's savage annexation of Kuwait and block further aggression in the region. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has defied all attempts to reach a peaceful solution to the dispute, refusing to meet United Nations terms for restoring the rightful government of Kuwait.

Saddam promised the "mother of all battles" and, to the great dismay of Iraqi people, has gotten his wish. Since fighting began 40 days ago, Iraq's leader has shown a terrifying disregard for human life, particularly in regard to his own countrymen. As allied forces have swept through the Kuwaiti desert, facing meager resistance in their effort of liberation, Saddam was using state-controlled media to distribute more lies to his people. A sample: "The (allied) attack has until now failed completely, and (the enemy) is still confused, suffering and yelling in their blood and shame."

As pictures are beamed home of hungry and battered Iraqi soldiers rushing to gratefully surrender to advancing allied forces, it is hard not to take pity on them; they lent their loyalty and endangered their lives for a madman.

Mammoth dangers remain for the allied ground troops. The extreme success of the first night of the air war led to hopes of a quick resolution to the conflict. Almost six weeks have passed since. We are heartened by the initial success of the all-out invasion of Kuwait but no one should expect the reclaiming a nation to be an overnight affair. Importantly, though, the outcome is not in doubt; the allied objectives will be achieved.

When the word first went out that the Persian Gulf conflict would not be another Vietnam, the nation was cautiously optimistic that would be the case. The optimism was well-founded. Politicians have given diplomacy a chance to work but have turned matters over to the military when they haven't. Warriors are making the warring decisions. There are no fits and starts in this conflict, only objectives and actions taken to achieve them. The task before the allies is not a small or easy one, but the will and the weapons are in place to allow these fighting forces to do their work. We pray for the safe completion of their mission.