Defense Department News Briefing

A C-SPAN host briefly introduced the re-airing of this news conference, as part of all-day coverage of the Persian Gulf War situation.

Defense Secretary Cheney and General Powell, chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff spoke to reporters on the progress of the eight day

old military operation against Iraq. In a generally optimistic news

briefing, the two men said the coalition forces have achieved air

superiority over Iraq.

Secretary Cheney said that although Saddam Hussein’s army continues

to be a threat, the operation “shouldn’t take that long.” He said

the air operation will continue for as long as possible, hoping to

avoid the necessity of ground troops entering Kuwait and Iraq for as

long as possible. The entrance of ground troops into the war would

lead to higher casualty rates, a factor the U.S. forces are

specifically hoping to avoid. Clouds over Iraq and Kuwait had

thwarted the allied air attacks somewhat during the previous two

days, extending the air attack and delaying the entrance of ground

troops into the conflict by at least one week.

Secretary Cheney and General Powell also cautioned against attempting

to judge how the war is going by studying casualty rates or bomb

damage assessments. They answered reporters' questions. close