U.S. Urged to Atone for ‘Friendly Fire’ : Gulf conflict: Five months after war’s end, compensation and an invitation to White House are sought for families of 9 Britons killed in American air strike.

WASHINGTON —  In the final days of the Persian Gulf War, two U.S. A-10 fighters mistakenly fired missiles at two British armored vehicles. Nine British soldiers died and 11 others were wounded in the worst “friendly fire” incident of the conflict.

The repercussions remain as explosive as the accident itself. When a British government report this week said that there is insufficient evidence to assign responsibility for the error, families of the victims reacted with rage, calling it an appeasement of the Americans rather than a search for the truth.

The Pentagon deferred to the British and did not conduct its own investigation of the episode, which occurred in southern Iraq on Feb. 26--two days before the war ended.

Now, President Bush, British Prime Minister John Major and some members of Congress have become embroiled in this bitter legacy of the war.

Major took up the issue with Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf this week, saying that it would be “a generous act” if the United States paid compensation to the families. Schwarzkopf refused to comment as he left 10 Downing St. But he has called the incident a “terrible tragedy” that he deeply regrets.

And a California congressman, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), is seeking support to pay compensation to the families of the dead as a gesture of “solidarity, compassion and respect.” He introduced a bill last month requesting nearly $1 million in federal funds to pay each of the nine families $100,000, as well as a death benefit of $5,000 or $6,000, based on rank--the same benefits paid to families of Americans killed in action in Operation Desert Storm.

“I was very much impressed with the way the British acted in the war without our having to beg them, cajole them or pay them off to stand up to (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein,” Lantos said Friday in a telephone interview. “So I thought we should make a decent gesture to express our solidarity and friendship.”

Lantos is also urging President Bush to invite the nine British families to the White House to express condolences at the highest level of government. “The only person who can do that is the President,” Lantos said, adding that he has won the support of both Democratic and Republican leaders in the House for a presidential invitation.

“I understand the extra psychological burden the parents have of knowing that an ally caused their (children’s) deaths,” Lantos said.

Lantos suggested the invitation to Bush at a dinner party this week and in a letter, in which he wrote: “This is not a question of assuming responsibility or assessing blame. . . . Such a gesture would be most appropriate in view of the strong support which the British government and the British people have shown to our policy in the Gulf.”

Rep. Charles E. Bennett (D-Fla.), second-ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee and a highly decorated combat hero during World War II, has agreed to co-sponsor the compensation bill.

Passing such legislation can be difficult, but Lantos expressed confidence that his bill will overcome the usual barriers if he can enlist Schwarzkopf’s aid.

“A letter from the general to the (House) membership might do the trick,” he said.