WASHINGTON INSIGHT

NO SHOWS: Although public statements by the Bush Administration on the “no-fly” zone declared over southern Iraq last week suggested a united front, top defense officials privately tell a different story. Pentagon officials indicate that the military had deep reservations about the new policy of protecting Iraqi Shiites, fearing it could drag U.S. forces into a no-win civil war in Iraq. . . . The operation’s limited nature was the result of those concerns, officials said. They add that for the observant, there was a clear clue of the Pentagon’s position when the new policy was announced. In all past major military steps taken by the Administration, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Gen. Colin L. Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared publicly to explain and defend the action. Last week, however, both were out of town on vacation--Powell visiting family and friends in New York and Cheney on a fishing trip in the West. . . . Even ubiquitous Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams was unavailable for his spin on the matter. He was backpacking in the Rockies.