U.S. MILITARY . . . THE BRASS LOSES FAITH

A new congressional report says that U.S. military commanders believe the Clinton Administration has overestimated their ability to fight two regional wars at the same time; such readiness is the touchstone of the Clinton team's military strategy into the next century. According to the General Accounting Office, Congress's investigative arm, military commanders in the field are widely questioning the Administration's assumption. Defense Secretary William Perry today dismissed the report as "flawed," but agreed to listen to new ideas from field officers. BTW:TIME Pentagon correspondent Mark Thompsonhas reported that many military officials believe the "two wars" standard of battle-readiness is unrealistic.