CLINTON WARNS IRAQ, BOLSTERS GULF FORCES.

Byline: John M. Broder The New York Times

President Clinton on Wednesday ordered substantial new forces to the Persian Gulf, including B-1 and B-52 bombers, and warned President Saddam Hussein of Iraq that the United States was prepared to strike without further warning.

He also dispatched 4,000 ground troops to defend Kuwait if there is an Iraqi attack.

Clinton said in a Veterans Day speech that the United States would be compelled to act unless Iraq immediately permits the resumption of United Nations inspections of its weapons facilities.

``A failure to respond could embolden Saddam to act recklessly, signaling to him that he can with impunity develop these weapons of mass destruction or threaten his neighbors,'' Clinton told several hundred military officers and veterans at Arlington National Cemetery.

The president said that inaction in the face of continuing provocation from Saddam would permanently damage the credibility of the United Nations, which on Wednesday withdrew virtually all of its inspection officers from Iraq in anticipation of a major American attack.

Clinton spoke extensively on the impasse with Baghdad as part of a concerted administration effort to portray the United States as resolute and prepared to act at any time to punish Saddam. Secretary of Defense William Cohen announced a major buildup of air and ground forces in the region, including the troops being sent to defend Kuwait. The secretary of state and the chairman of the joint chiefs both delivered public warnings that military action is imminent unless Saddam backs down.

Clinton said Iraq, if allowed to resume work on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, could quickly restore its capacity to imperil its citizens and its neighbors with weapons of mass destruction.

``If the inspectors are not permitted to visit suspect sites or monitor compliance at known production facilities, they may as well be in Baltimore, not Baghdad,'' Clinton said. ``That would open a window of opportunity for Iraq to rebuild its arsenal of weapons and delivery system in months - and I say again in months, not years.''

Inspectors leaving

As Clinton spoke, more than 230 U.N. inspection agents left Baghdad for their personal safety. An additional 41 officials from other agencies were scheduled to leave today. The State Department withdrew nonessential personnel from Israel and Kuwait to protect them from possible Iraqi retaliation for an American military strike.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who had planned to leave today for an Asian-Pacific economic summit in Malaysia, postponed her departure to Friday. Instead of her usual airplane, she will fly in a ``Doomsday Plane'' borrowed from the Department of Defense. The airplane is capable of secure communications with U.S. forces anywhere on the globe, and she used it in August while traveling to Africa when the administration was in the final stages of planning missile strikes in retaliation for embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

Ready at any time

Clinton already had rescheduled his own departure for the Asian-Pacific economic conference to have more time to participate in deliberations on the Iraq crisis. White House officials said the president would cancel the trip if he decides to use force against Baghdad.

Albright said the United States is ready to act at any time, even as additional forces flow into the region. In addition to the attack planes and ground forces ordered to the gulf Wednesday, the aircraft carrier Enterprise and its battle group are en route to the region and are expected to arrive Nov. 23.

``We see no need for further warnings,'' Albright said in an interview with reporters and editors of The New York Times.

Clinton said he still would prefer a peaceful solution to the crisis, although he is willing to mount a punishing military attack against Iraq. He said that intrusive inspection of Iraqi weapons sites is more effective than bombing in corralling Saddam's military ambitions.

``We continue to hope - indeed, pray - that Saddam will comply,'' Clinton said, ``but we must be prepared to act if he does not.''

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry H. Shelton, said Wednesday that Saddam has been sufficiently warned of the consequences of continuing to defy the United States and the United Nations.

``He understands that all options remain on the table today,'' Shelton said on NBC's ``Today'' program, ``that we have tried over the years to get him to comply with U.N. resolutions and to honor these commitments; that he does, in fact, pose a threat to an area that is a vital national interest to the United States, and that he poses a threat not only to his neighbors but to the 20,000 men and women of the United States who serve in that region.''

A military message

American officials said the aim of any military strike would be to destroy Iraq's weapons plants and depots, weaken its offensive capability and persuade Saddam to submit to international inspections again.

Officials have said Saddam would not be specifically targeted for death because assassination of foreign leaders is prohibited by presidential order. But Albright said pointedly Wednesday, as she has in the past, that the United States ``would look forward to working with a successor regime'' in Baghdad.

Despite the threats and the growing American attack force in the region, there is no assurance military action will accomplish the administration's goals. The Persian Gulf War of 1991 did not curtail Saddam's weapons programs, even though more than 500,000 American troops and 2,000 aircraft inflicted serious damage on Iraq and its army.

Two small-scale American military strikes, in 1993 and 1996, likewise did not significantly degrade Saddam's military capability. In fact, American intelligence analysts said they believe that American attacks strengthened Saddam's political position within Iraq.

More effective this time

Shelton said the attacks being contemplated this time would be more effective because the United States has better weapons, better technology and better intelligence than the nation had even eight years ago.

Shelton also defended the conduct of the Persian Gulf War, even though it left Saddam in power and in a position to resume work on his arsenal.

``I would also say that the objectives of the Gulf War were met,'' he said. ``We did, in fact, reduce the threat that Saddam Hussein posed. We stopped that war only after he agreed to the commitments that he now is failing to honor.''