Flying Air Wolfowitz

By MARK THOMPSON

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has been leading the charge in the Bush Administration for Washington to take on Saddam Hussein. Brent Scowcroft, George Bush Sr.'s National Security Adviser, now working as an international consultant, is more closely aligned with G.O.P. centrists, notably Secretary of State Colin Powell, who question the wisdom of waging war to topple the Iraqi President. In a pairing some observers thought was odd, Scowcroft joined Wolfowitz last week on a 20-hour nonstop flight to Singapore, where the Deputy Secretary was giving a speech at a three-day security conference (Scowcroft had been invited to attend the same meeting as a delegate). The accommodations were cozy: Scowcroft was the sole private citizen to spend the long flight in Wolfowitz's private quarters. Some speculated that Scowcroft got the invite because Wolfowitz wanted to pull him into his corner. "Paul wants to reach out to more Republicans like Scowcroft and get them to think his way on the danger Saddam represents," said a Wolfowitz associate. "He's tired of getting picked on by the Powell crowd." Scowcroft seemed unaware of any lobbying effort. "I'm just hitching a ride," he said.

--By Mark Thompson