DESERT STORM: DAY 20 : Political

President Bush said at a news conference he is sending Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Gen. Colin L. Powell to the Persian Gulf to report on a conflict he said is “going very well indeed.”

Radio Baghdad issued a terrorist call to arms, ordering attacks against Iraq’s enemies and broadcasting what may have been coded instructions to agents abroad.

Saudi Arabia indicated that it would deal harshly under Islamic law with anyone using the kingdom as a staging ground for terror attacks. The interior minister, Prince Nayef, said anyone undermining Saudi security would have a hand and a leg cut off or be executed, the Saudi news agency said.

U.S. B-52 bombers took up positions at an air base in Fairford, England, 70 miles northwest of London. Britain agreed to allow the B-52s to use Fairford because of a shortage of space at bases in the Middle East and the main B-52 base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Defense Secretary Tom King said.

Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani said he hopes for an encouraging reply to a message he sent Monday to Saddam Hussein calling for an end to the war, Tehran radio reported.