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Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LPS5 who wrote (11001)	1/27/2003 1:55:11 PM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 19428

Bedtime reading gsb-www.uchicago.edu

To: LPS5 who wrote (11001)	1/30/2003 3:18:19 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

Bush Supports Exile for Hussein, Vows to Disarm Iraq (Update2) By Richard Keil Washington, Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said Iraq has ``weeks not months'' to dismantle its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons program, and suggested that exile for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein might help avert war. ``The choice of using military troops is my last choice, not my first,'' Bush said after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. ``Hopefully, the pressure of the free world will convince Mr. Saddam Hussein to relinquish power. If he decides to leave the country, we would welcome that, of course.'' The prospect of a war to disarm Iraq has opened a rift with France and Germany, which oppose using military force. France threatened to veto any United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing an attack. Two other nations with vetoes, Russia and China, want to give UN weapons inspectors in Iraq more time. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he concluded after yesterday's Security Council meeting on Iraq that at least 11 of the 15 members favor more time for arms inspection. ``That was the sense of the council,'' he told reporters. Spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush is ``confident that if a call is made, European leaders will answer it,'' citing a published unity appeal by Berlusconi and the leaders of the U.K., Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Bush has said repeatedly that while he prefers to work with U.S. allies and through the UN, additional resolutions aren't needed to justify an attack on Iraq. ``Our purpose is not simply to follow a process,'' Vice President Dick Cheney told the American Conservative Union Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. ``It is to end the terrible threats to the civilized world,'' he said. ``The course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others.'' `Active Diplomacy' The U.S. is engaged in ``busy and active diplomacy,'' Fleischer said. Bush also meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal today and with U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair tomorrow. ``No matter how Saddam Hussein is dealt with, the goal of disarming Iraq remains the same,'' Bush said. ``We will, of course, win -- militarily if we have to.'' Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday the U.S. would be willing to help find a place of exile for Hussein, his family and top aides, and that would be one way to avoid war. ``Let's hope it happens,'' Fleischer said today when asked about the prospect of exile. ``But plans are being made on the expectation it won't.'' Bush will discuss possible terms of exile for Hussein with the Saudi foreign minister, the New York Times reported today. Evidence Sought Powell returns to the UN on Wednesday to present evidence from U.S. intelligence officials and UN weapons inspectors that the U.S. says shows Hussein is hiding mass destruction weapons. ``This issue will be discussed following the evidence he puts forth,'' Annan said. ``Whether that will change the minds of some members will depend on the material.'' Annan said inspectors have been asking for ``actionable'' material and he hoped the U.S. evidence would be ``helpful for their work.'' Bush said in his Tuesday State of the Union speech that Hussein has links to terror groups, including al-Qaeda; he provided no evidence. Cheney said today that Iraq ``could decide secretly to provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists for use against us.'' ``We know'' Hussein has chemical and biological weapons and he must reveal them, Berlusconi said. ``If we are all united'' under UN auspices, Hussein will have no choice but to disarm, Berlusconi said. Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said after meeting in Madrid with Blair that an attack on Iraq would need a second UN resolution. Unity Appeal Aznar suggested the unity appeal published today in the Times of London and the Wall Street Journal and produced a draft for the seven other leaders, the Times Web site said without citing anyone. ``The trans-Atlantic relationship must not become a casualty of the current Iraqi regime's persistent attempts to threaten world security,'' the statement said. The bond between Europe and the U.S. ``is a guarantee of our freedom.'' The statement sharpened divisions between France and Germany and their European neighbors. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last week that the only significant opposition to U.S. intervention in Iraq comes from ``old Europe.'' The U.S. and the U.K. plan to have about 215,000 troops in the Persian Gulf by mid-February. An attack on Iraq would threaten oil from the region, which accounts for almost a fourth of U.S. imports. Blair's backing for Bush has been criticized in the U.K. Opinion polls show that about three-quarters of British voters oppose military action without a second UN mandate. Last week, 40 of Blair's 410 Labour Party legislators used a technical vote in Parliament to criticize his support for Bush. Hussein vowed to defeat U.S.-led forces during a televised meeting with his commanders, according to Agence France-Presse. ``I say this on television knowing the Americans are listening,'' Hussein said yesterday. ``We warn them against any illusion that Iraq will be an easy prey. They can hurt us, but do they realize the scale of the damage they will suffer?''