GRAPEVINE

By DAVID ELLIS

In the final days of the gulf war, General Norman Schwarzkopf had to fend off sniper fire from an unexpected front: defense intelligence analysts based in Washington. Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency thought Schwarzkopf's bomb-damage assessments in the final stage of the air campaign were inflated as much as 50%. Though Schwarzkopf based his information on firsthand pilot reports as well as satellite photos, the Beltway desk jockeys were convinced that Iraqi tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery were in far better shape than field commanders claimed and could inflict great damage in ground combat. Bush Administration officials were so irritated by the continuing bureaucratic controversy that they reprimanded CIA chief William Webster at a White House session for letting his people publicly undermine Schwarzkopf's figures.

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart