THE GULF WAR : The Day in the Gulf

THE GENERAL’S VIEW: “Our strategy to go after this army is very, very simple. First, we’re going to cut it off, and then we’re going to kill it. To cut it off, that began last week when we started to go after the nerve center, the brains of the operation, the command and control of the operation, and the lines of communication that come out of Baghdad and other places in the country,” said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin L. Powell at a briefing Wednesday.

IRAQI MISSILES INTERCEPTED: Iraq continued to fire Scud missiles into Saudi Arabia and Israel Wednesday night. The U.S. military command reported Scud attacks on a major air base in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the Saudi capital of Riyadh and a site “in north-central Saudi Arabia,” but all of the missiles apparently were intercepted by Patriots. In northern Israel, two Patriot defense missiles intercepted an Iraqi Scud rocket, an army spokesman said. Iraqi radio boasted of the Scud’s prowess, declaring they “have the protection of God.”

AID: The Bush Administration said it will give “full consideration” to an Israeli request for $13 billion in additional economic aid over five years.

COMFORT: Vice President Dan Quayle spoke to about 400 relatives of military personnel in an airplane hangar at Mayport Naval Station, Fla. In an emotional meeting, he talked with families of servicemen shot down or killed in the gulf.

MORE AID: Japan said it will contribute an additional $9 billion to help pay the costs of the U.S.-led forces battling Iraq. The announcement came after many hours of discussions between ministers and ruling party leaders on how to respond to pressing U.S. demands for Japan to share more of the burden. Last year Japan pledged $2 billion to help defray the costs of the multinational forces and $2 billion to the nations hard hit by the Gulf War.