CIA DIRECTOR SAYS HUSSEIN GAINED STRENGTH FROM U.S. INTERVENTION.

Byline: Michael Kilian Chicago Tribune 

Directly contradicting White House claims of victory in the Persian Gulf, CIA Director John Deutch declared Thursday that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is politically stronger than before the Clinton administration's latest intervention in the Middle East.

Deutch said in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee that economic and diplomatic sanctions had failed to adversely affect Saddam's grip on power and that he remained a threat to neighboring Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, all key allies of the United States.

The intelligence chief acknowledged that the 1991 Gulf War coalition against Saddam appeared weakened, and predicted there would be no stability in the region until the Iraqi strongman was deposed, which he said was unlikely to occur soon.

The director's blunt assessment followed by one day Defense Secretary William Perry's admission that he shared blame in the terrorist bombing deaths of 19 U.S. airmen in Saudi Arabia in June. Perry told lawmakers the Pentagon failed to provide adequate security for the troops.

The testimony by the two men raised questions about the effectiveness of American military operations in the region and fed Republican criticism of President Clinton's handling of the Gulf crisis. Clinton has contended that recent U.S. military actions have weakened Saddam by putting him in a ``tighter box.''

``The president has claimed victory in terms of our actions in that region, and I've been trying to assess . . . how we can claim such victory,'' said Sen. William Cohen, R-Maine. ``It would be hard to claim anything but a Pyrrhic victory in Iraq, and I'm glad to see that you agree with that assessment.''

Deutch said he disagreed with Cohen's phrasing, but agreed with the conclusion. ``We should anticipate that Saddam will continue to challenge the coalition,'' Deutch said.

In the most recent showdown, the United States twice launched cruise missile strikes against Iraq's southern air defenses as part of an effort to punish Saddam for sending his troops into the U.S.-guaranteed Kurdish ``safe area'' in northern Iraq.

One Kurdish faction invited the Iraqi forces to help defeat its Iranian-backed Kurdish rival, giving Baghdad influence in the northern zone for the first time since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

In its effort to contain Iraq, the United States expanded the southern no-fly zone to Baghdad's suburbs and promised a ``disproportionate'' military response to any Iraqi attempt to shoot down American aircraft.