December 31, 1992

In his most comprehensive assessment of the future of the armed forces, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has rebuffed the kind of consolidation that President-elect Bill Clinton has called for in the roles and missions of the separate services. In a report setting forth his vision of the military after the cold war, Gen. Colin L. Powell recommends a number of innovations, including the creation of a new command to conduct joint training of forces from the different services for intervention in regional crises. The new command could also support United Nations peacekeeping operations and oversee disaster relief operations.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has drafted an ambitious proposal for countries throughout the Western Hemisphere to grant temporary asylum to Haitian boat people. The High Commissioner is trying to take advantage of President-elect Bill Clinton's campaign promise to "stop the forced repatriation of Haitian refugees" even as United States immigration officials make plans to carry out the Clinton policy.'

Six months ago, in the gray, sullen mornings of the Somali winter, this town was cloaked in such death and desperation that a sudden and sizable infusion of well-organized assistance seemed the only solution against mass starvation. Help came, but slower and more sparingly than needed, and tens of thousands, mostly women and children, perished from hunger as aid agencies persevered against gangs of gunmen to feed the destitute. The Worst Was Over The tenacity of a handful of relief organizations, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, eventually eased the tragedy at the epicenter of the Somali famine. When President Bush arrives here Friday he will find a place transformed. The stationing of American marines here two weeks ago added the element of security -- critical to longer-term success -- to a town that was already better off.

The Economy The U.S. leading-indicators index jumped 0.8% in November, its second straight advance and the biggest in 10 months, the Government reported. The data support a widely held belief that the economic expansion has become self-sustaining. [ Page D1. ]

FOR some time now, Dana Carvey has been cultivating this vision for himself: His creative fires unleashed, he is making big, bright movies, a modern-day Danny Kaye or Peter Sellers; a young, raw Jerry Lewis; fast and smart, cometlike, a throwback, bringing the 50's alive, the 60's alive, blazingly filling up the summer nights the way his idols once did. "Huge," he says of his dream. "It would be huge." And difficult to surrender. But now, the door to his dressing room at Rockefeller Center is closed, and he is contemplating a different vision. He is sitting slightly forward in a big black recliner, and his legs are up. His hair is matted, as usual, as if he had fallen off a sled and lost his winter hat. "Yeah, yeah," he says slowly. "I'm thinking about the talk show."