Ken Bacon Hard Quotations

There is extensive movement in Iraq's air defense system. We assume that this movement is for two reasons. Part of it is defensive, so that it is harder for us to target ... air defense missiles, particularly SA-6 missiles, but also SA-2 missiles and ROLAND missiles, and we also think that some of it is offensive.

It's required sharp increases in pay and benefits, and I think those have been appropriate, particularly in light of the recruiting problems that we were having a year ago, and the quality of life problems that have been eliminated. And I think that we've worked -- that Secretary (William) Cohen and President Clinton have worked very hard to increase defense investment, as I said, by 40 percent, from $43 billion to $60 billion a year ... That, also, has been justified, and will help us be as strong and dominant in the 21st century as we are now.

This is a very high-priority program. We are working very hard ... to get the president the information he needs from the technical side to make a decision sometime this summer.

The forces are clearly more wary of being hit. They've had to disperse more and are having a harder time operating in large, coherent units.

easier to move, harder to find, more lethal, able to strike long distances in short times.