Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chair of the Armed Services Committee, said "the losses have been so low they may have set an unachievable standard for the rest of the war."

The White House claimed satisfaction with the course of the war but reminded Americans that "this is not a conflict that's going to be over in just a few days...It's going to go on; there is a long plan and a long process."

Allied forces reported flying more than 10,000 air missions. Yet, both the Pentagon and White House complained about a lack of reports on the effect of bombing attacks.

"President Bush has asked for the same kind of damage reports that you have, and it's just not there," Fitzwater told reporters. "But it will be made available to you as soon as it is there."

Pentagon spokesperson Pete Williams conceded, "We don't have a fully accurate picture" about damage. Bad weather has complicated the assessments, officials said.

"Damage is obviously being inflicted, I think, because of the number of bombs that are being dropped and so forth," Fitzwater said. "You get pictures during the bombing runs that show when the bombs are being dropped but you don't always get good reports on the damage that was done afterwards," he said.

Lawmakers said the allies had targeted Iraq's broadcast operation but had been only partially successful in inflicting damage. Yet, Lt. Gen. Thomas Kelly told a Pentagon briefing, "I don't think there are many people watching television in Baghdad."

Fitzwater described the president as "pensive and fairl preoccupied. This is on his mind a good deal of the time."

U.S. officials made no attempt to conceal their surprise that Saddam has refused to come out fighting as his country is being pounded from the air.

"We did not imagine it to be possible, no," Fitzwater said. "And we're gratified that casualties have been relatively low. I think everyone is surprised by that and we're glad that that's occurred."

`Doing Little or Nothing'

The Pentagon's Kelly said Saddam was "doing little or nothing" except launching Scud missiles at Saudi or Israeli cities in an attempt to create terror. Because of that, Kelly said, "We're not going to punch ourselves out."

Saddam has lost only a handful of his 700-plane air force against a vastly superior allied air fleet. His 545,000-strong ground force, including the powerful Republican Guard, remain firmly entrenched in Kuwait, and Saddam's threat of terrorism against his enemies does not appear diminished.

There was a diplomatic overture toward Jordan, which has been sympathetic toward Iraq. Bush sent Richard L. Armitage, a former assistant secretary of defense, to confer with King Hussein.