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discussions on the Persian Gulf standoff. (The Providence Journal, October 27, p. A-12.)

  According to a senior engineer working as a supervisor for the Kuwait Oil Company,
Iraq has rigged explosives on 300 of 1,000 oil wells.   This is the first detailed
information to emerge regarding Iraqi mining of oil fields in Kuwait. (London Financial
Times, October 26,    p. 4.)

  A new Wall Sti~urnal/NBC News poll shows a reduced public mandate for use
of military force.  Poll results indicate:

The U.S. will end up in a war with Iraq

       Agree                48%
       Disagree             34%

(This reverses last month's majority view that war should be avoided.)

If sanctions fail the U.S. should use force to remove the Iraqis from Kuwait

Agree                 47%
Disagree              42%

(Last month 56% of the people polled backed military action.)

Approval for President Busb `5 handling of the crisis has slipped from last month's 78 %
to a rating of 69%.

Although privately worried about lower public support, U.S. officials continue to move
ahead with military planning. U.S. strategists believe the odds of war with Iraq are high
but differ on timing with some deferring a decision until after mid-December.  (Wall
Street Journal, October 26, p. 1.)

----- call-up period for combat reserves was doubled from 180 days to 360 days by
the Senate. This legislation is a part of the Defense Authorization Bill approved today.
The bill, which represents a $ 14 billion decrease from spending in the last fiscal year,
goes to the White House where President Bush's approval is anticipated. (Baltimore Sun,
October 27, p. 12.)

---61 are arrested at San Francisco protest of U.S. involvement in Middle East. (Los
Angeles Times, October 28, p. 21.)


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