U.S. SUPPORTS CANADIAN PROPOSAL FOR ZAIRE AIRDROP.

Byline: Steven Lee Myers The New York Times

Forgoing the idea of an international military operation on the ground in Zaire and Rwanda, the United States on Wednesday endorsed a proposal by Canada to deliver food to thousands of Rwandan refugees still in eastern Zaire by dropping it from the air, probably using an airport in neighboring Uganda.

But while agreeing to take part, the United States voiced a series of concerns that officials in the Clinton administration insisted had to be addressed before the airdrops could begin, raising the possibility that even this more modest relief operation might not take place.

Those concerns include trying to ensure that the planes making the airdrops are not fired upon, and securing the approval of the government of Rwanda in particular, as well as that of rebel leaders in eastern Zaire. It was the rebels' military campaign that set off the refugee crisis on Zaire's border with Rwanda in October.

On Wednesday the government of Rwanda, which now opposes any international military force on its territory as unnecessary, strongly criticized the new proposal. It objected to the plan to use the airport in Entebbe, Uganda, as a base for the airdrops and reiterated that estimates of the number of Rwandans still in Zaire were exaggerated.

The new mission was proposed on Tuesday by Canadian officials frustrated by a fraying international consensus on the need for a relief mission. It reflected another significant scaling back of the multinational operation to aid the Rwandan refugees and encourage their return from Zaire, to which they fled in 1994 after a convulsion of ethnic violence.

Two weeks ago, under pressure from relief groups and other nations warning of a human catastrophe, President Clinton announced that the United States was prepared to send as many as 4,000 American soldiers to Central Africa as part of a 10,000-member multinational force led by Canada.

Since then, however, more than half a million Rwandan refugees have poured back across the border into Rwanda, greatly easing the crisis and, in the view of a seemingly relieved Clinton administration, the need for sending American ground troops to eastern Zaire, as was first proposed.

The plans for airdrops would not require combat forces from the United States, although its planes could take part, officials said. The United States has already sent an advance team of 399 support troops, mainly to Uganda and Kenya, and Secretary of Defense William Perry, traveling to Italy, said they were prepared to assist the Canadian-led airdrops. Officials here said the support troops in the region could be the extent of the American contribution, although it was possible a couple hundred more could go.

Any airdrops are not expected to begin for several days, as military planners work out the details. Canada also sought on Wednesday to rally support from other nations that had agreed to take part in the original mission. Neither the United States nor Canada has ruled out an expanded military operation in the future, although officials here said the airdrops could well be the extent of any mission.

In a statement, the White House said the United States would work with Canada and other nations to draft plans for the airdrops, withholding its final approval. ``Once that planning is complete, we expect to make a final decision as to what can be accomplished effectively and what precise role the U.S. will play,'' the statement said.