Calling a madman's number

U.S. News ^ | 09/30/2002 | Mortimer B. Zuckerman

[Pokey78]

So Saddam is ready to play the old shell game of inspections again. Why not? The man's a master at it, after all–now you see it, now you don't. All that's really happened here is that the madman gambler is ready to gamble again. Will the world's political determination eventually fade in the face of Saddam's endless obfuscations? He aims to find out. Saddam's bet might be a good one with much of the world. It flat-out won't fly with George W. Bush. Now that it's the president's turn with the dice, he has to roll a double six–and he's clearly itching at the opportunity.

The first six points are to meet the standards set out in the president's U.N. speech. They should be incorporated in a new resolution from America and its allies, making it clear that Saddam's failure to meet any of them is a ample cause for action. The resolution should be clear. Items: 1) the destruction of all of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction; 2) an end to repression of the Iraqi people; 3) the return of foreign nationals imprisoned in Iraq after the Gulf War; 4) the end of Saddam's support for terrorist groups–like his recent attempts to provide weapons and financial aid to Palestinian terrorists in the hopes of diverting international attention to the Arab-Israeli conflict; 5) proper control of the money derived from the multibillion-dollar oil-for-food program so the funds can't be used to buy more weapons; and 6) a fixed timetable of days and weeks, not months or years.

Global apathy. The United Nations' history on Iraq is, to be blunt, dismaying. During the 1990s, the U.N. brought to the task roughly the same energy and enthusiasm as an English bobby dunning Jack the Ripper for back parking tickets. Saddam not only managed to hide his weapons programs but sought to rebuild them even as inspections were going on. In 1995, Saddam bought missile-guidance systems and then tried to avoid their detection by throwing them into the Tigris River when he was found out.

The second six imperatives are to end all this evasion: 1) the inspectors must be able to follow their suspicions anywhere–including into the 1,000 buildings Saddam has designated as off-limits "presidential palace" sites; 2) inspectors must be able to operate simultaneously in different parts of the country; 3) they must have access to sites, documents, and individuals without debate; 4) no harassment of informants; 5) the team must have the right to interview Saddam's scientists and grant them asylum in exchange for information; and 6) inspectors must have authority to call for requisite force to deal with any obstruction at once and without additional approval from the U.N. or the Security Council.

The best available evidence why all this must happen was marshaled recently by London's International Institute for Strategic Studies. Its experts concluded that the scientific and technical expertise of Iraq's scientists survived past U.N. inspection programs. They also retained virtually the entire design of a nuclear device–and the production techniques. All they lacked was the necessary fissile materials. Iraq also retained extensive capacity for biological warfare and a small force of ballistic missiles with a range of 650 kilometers.

Why is Saddam doing all this? Well, for one thing, he's a megalomaniac of the first order. Saddam's delusional vision of himself as a latter-day Saladin has cost him, among other things, almost $200 billion in lost oil revenue, all to advance his ambitions to dominate Persian Gulf oil resources and achieve unchallenged leadership in the Arab world. Advocates of delay in dealing with Saddam risk making him more, not less, of a threat. As former Secretary of State George Shultz pointed out, it is naive to think that it will be easier to deal with him later when he is better equipped than he is now. In the chilling words of Henry Kissinger, we will then be confronted with an Iraqi "doomsday machine." Time is our enemy–and Saddam's ally.

Beyond the diplomatic dance at the U.N, there is one simple fact: As long as Saddam Hussein is in charge, the world can never rest easy. Translation: Eliminating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and effecting a regime change in Baghdad are just two sides to the same coin.

President Bush seeks not just a resolution from the United Nations but a congressional declaration of support. The Democrats spent the summer asking for a dialogue on the issue, and when Bush gave them one, they said, Oh, let's postpone it till after the election. Clearly, this was untenable. Now the Democrats talk of an equally untenable resolution, one without teeth. This is no way for Congress to show the lead to the U.N.

George W. Bush's father went to war in 1991 with Saddam Hussein to protect our oil supplies. Now the son may have to go to war to protect our lives. In this he deserves our full and unwavering support.

[EggsAckley]

On the whole, I rather like the article. But then there is this statement:

George W. Bush's father went to war in 1991 with Saddam Hussein to protect our oil supplies.

Huh? I seem to remember a little skirmish involving Kuwait.......

[Cicero]

This is pretty good from a clinton-lover. Something must be blowing in the wind.

[88keys]

I thought so too...not what one would expect from "U. S. News"

[88keys]

Just curious...anyone know anything about this reference?

Saddam's delusional vision of himself as a latter-day Saladin...

/ignorance ;)

[The Great Satan]

Iraq calls for jihad to capture Jerusalem
Baghdad

Iraq urged the Arab world to follow the example of Muslim hero Salah Al Din (Saladin) and recapture Jerusalem, warning that Palestine could not be freed through "bargaining and concessions."

"The Arabs have to learn the lesson of Saladin's Liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem," said the ruling party's newspaper, Ath-Thawra, in reaction to the killing of 36 Palestinians in clashes with Israeli forces.

"Palestine will not be won back through bargaining and concessions made from a position of weakness but through mobilization of all resources and collective Arab support for the Palestinians."

Pouring scorn on the US-sponsored peace process, Ath-Thawra warned that Washington "cannot be a friend or honest broker in any Arab cause, especially not the Palestinian one."

Saladin's historic victory over the Crusaders in 1187, which is marked by discussions at Iraqi universities each 2 October, led to the capture of the holy city for the Muslims.

A Kurdish warrior who commanded Egyptian and Syrian troops in the battle for Jerusalem, Saladin was from Tikrit in northern Iraq where Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was also born.

The Iraqi government, in its first reaction to several days of bloodshed in the Palestinian territories, called on Sunday for "a jihad (holy war) to liberate Palestine".

AFP

[McGavin999]

George W. Bush's father went to war in 1991 with Saddam Hussein to protect our oil supplies. Now the son may have to go to war to protect our lives. In this he deserves our full and unwavering support.

This deserves repeating and we should use this every time someone questions why we need to go to war.

[palmer]

The father had a much better case. Here was a guy who needed a good slapping down and got it. Now while Clinton was busy bombing him and the son followed with the same obsession, the 9/11 terrorists walked right in.

As for the war, we are at war with the terrorists and we need to stay at war with them until they are no longer a threat.

[McGavin999]

You know, I'm soooo sorry that you don't have a survival instinct. It must be so tough on you and your family.

I wish you the best of luck in the comming days. The rest of us want to live.

[88keys]

"Saladin's historic victory over the Crusaders in 1187, which is marked by discussions at Iraqi universities each 2 October, led to the capture of the holy city [Jerusalem] for the Muslims...

A Kurdish warrior who commanded Egyptian and Syrian troops in the battle for Jerusalem, Saladin was from Tikrit in northern Iraq where Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was also born."

Thanks much for the info...the war on terror must continue, but it seems clear that there also must be a "second front"...

[~Peter]

Opps .... wrong thread.

I thought the title read "Calling a Madams Number."

[palmer]

I wish you the best of luck in the comming days

Thanks. But we're all in the same boat, so if you save yourself by attacking Iraq, you're also saving me!

[McGavin999]

Thanks. But we're all in the same boat, so if you save yourself by attacking Iraq, you're also saving me!

Yes, we're well aware that that's what you guys are counting on. It's been the same ever since the beginning of this country. There were those who were willing to fight for freedom, to risk everything, including their lives, and those who chose to stay home, ignore their responsibility, and yet they too were given their freedom.

We don't really mind. We just wish you guys would stop your whining. :o)