U.S. ADDS FIREPOWER IN GULF STANDOFF; CARRIER, SHIPS SENT AS `POTENT SYMBOL'.

Byline: Steven Lee Myers The New York Times

President Clinton signaled with words and with the dispatch of an aircraft carrier Friday that the United States is prepared to act - with or without its allies - to prevent Iraq from developing the ability to use chemical or biological weapons.

A day after the United Nations withdrew its weapons inspection team following Iraq's expulsion of the six American members, Clinton ordered the aircraft carrier George Washington and four other ships to the Persian Gulf, joining a fleet led by the carrier Nimitz.

The redeployment, a potent symbol, also served a practical purpose, military officials said, bolstering the ability to strike Iraq hard, even if neighboring countries refuse permission to stage attacks from or over their territories.

Adding to an intensifying sense of confrontation, Clinton appeared twice at the White House on Friday to issue stern warnings to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to back down and allow U.N. inspectors to resume their searches. He called Iraq's pursuit of major weapons systems ``one of the three or four most significant security threats that all of our people will face.''

At one point Clinton suggested that the United States was prepared to maintain sanctions against Iraq as long as Saddam remained.

Referring to Saddam's decision to expel the American inspectors, Clinton said, ``What he has just done is to ensure that the sanctions will be there till the end of time, or as long as he lasts.''

One of the biggest hurdles the administration faces in garnering support for punishing Iraq has been a growing sense that the sanctions are hurting ordinary Iraqis, and a growing realization that Saddam has little reason to cooperate, given the dim prospects that the sanctions will be lifted soon.

The president's remarks undercut those diplomatic efforts, which continued with some urgency Friday.

Clinton met at the White House with King Hussein of Jordan, who ``loosely related'' the lack of support from Arab allies to frustration over the stalled Middle East peace talks, a senior administration official said.

In Scotland, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright met with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who announced that Britain had ordered the aircraft carrier Invincible to the Mediterranean from the Caribbean and put a squadron of Harrier jets on heightened alert.

``Our strategy is to combine intensive diplomacy with a robust military presence in the Gulf, which we are convinced is the best way to convince Saddam Hussein to reverse course,'' Albright said in London, where she met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an attempt to revive the peace talks.

It will take at least a week for the George Washington to reach the Persian Gulf. Short of a direct Iraqi threat to U.S. aircraft - including U-2 spy planes, which are to resume flying over central Iraq for the United Nations as early as Sunday - it does not appear military action is imminent.

But in Iraq, the government appeared to be bracing for an attack. Television broadcasts show families gathering in one of Saddam's palaces to act as shields, for example.

In a news conference at the Pentagon, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry H. Shelton, called the redeployment ``a prudent measure to demonstrate how seriously the U.S. takes both this challenge to the authority of the U.N., and also the continued pursuit of these dangerous weapons by the Iraqi government.''

The United States still does not have assurance from the Saudis that they will allow attacks from Saudi Arabia, where more than 100 American planes are based, even though Defense Secretary William Cohen already has consulted with senior Saudi officials, an administration official said.

The administration also is seeking Saudi support to dispatch an ``air expeditionary force'' of 20 to 30 fighter jets and bombers to the region, officials said. The force, which could use equipment and arms already in Saudi Arabia, could support long-range B-52 bombers and possibly B-1s, which have never been flown in combat before.

Having the George Washington in the Persian Gulf with the Nimitz will double the number of fighters and bombers that could attack Iraq without crossing any country's airspace. The United States also will have more than a dozen ships capable of firing cruise missiles deep into Iraq.

``In the event we are not able to accomplish what we need diplomatically,'' one Pentagon official said of the redeployment, ``this gives us the options to do what we want to do unilaterally.''

Keeping the emphasis on diplomacy, Clinton promised to ``work intensively with our allies and our friends in the region'' to force Saddam to change course. He said he would call world leaders in the days ahead, and aides said they would include French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, whose governments have opposed military action now.

Albright also is expected to meet with her counterparts in Europe and the Mideast before attending an economic conference in Qatar and then going to India and Pakistan.

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Photo

Photo: An F/A-18C Hornet is directed onto a catpult for launch off the deck of the carrier USS George Washington in the eastern Mediterranian.

Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service