To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (44955 ) 9/17/2002 10:28:59 PM From: Nadine Carroll Respond to debka's analysis of Iraq:Notwithstanding the poor psychological profiles often painted for him, Saddam Hussein is above all a realist. He is also deeply influenced by Muslim military thinking which holds that, when a Muslim general runs into an unbroken wall of resistance that he cannot overcome, it is his duty to effect a tactical retreat. At the first crack in the wall, however, he is bound to resume his attack. This tenet explains why, after four years of fighting off the return of the arms inspectors tooth and nail, Saddam abruptly relented. He did so when he ran into the unbroken wall of the George Bush’s determination. Meanwhile, he is wily enough to appreciate that the palaver over conditions for the arms inspectors to return to Iraq will give him time enough to hide his forbidden weapons and equipment – either in the country or across the border, until the heat dies down, possibly even to Iran. When the inspectors have finished their task or had enough, he will bring the equipment back and resume full production of weapons of mass destruction, just as he did the moment he saw the backs of the arms inspectors in 1998.
