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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (15464)	3/24/2003 10:30:56 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Respond to of 89467

t, any progress on backing up your claims? t ?

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (15464)	3/24/2003 10:33:05 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

bummer, eh, t ? Saddam's leadership in question by Robin Washington Monday, March 24, 2003 With Saddam Hussein's whereabouts and condition a mystery since the bombing of one of his bunkers at the outset of the war last week, time may be running out for the Iraqi strongman to convince the world - and his own generals - that he remains in charge, analysts said. ``It's important to remember, in his leader-dominated society, the only thing holding many generals in check is the absolute terror with which he rules,'' Dr. Jerrold M. Post, a George Washington University psychiatrist, told the Herald. The founder of the CIA's political profiling division and author of a just-released book on Saddam, Post said he doubted the leader who appeared on Iraqi television over the weekend was genuine. ``The voice has been authenticated but it certainly didn't look like Saddam to me,'' said Post, who suggested Hussein is either dead, incapacitated or, at best, operating under severe stress. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said late yesterday Hussein ``is very well, in good condition and he is leading our people and our fight against this colonial aggression.'' Post said he was further convinced of Saddam's incapacity by Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan's press conference yesterday, in which he denied the dictator had been hurt. But, Post warned, even if Saddam is hurt, he remains a serious threat, both to the world and his own generals. ``If he survived but is under great stress, he has to be besieged by stories of who in his inner circle he can or cannot trust,'' he said. ``As he's going down, he could strike out quite dangerously and order the use of chem-bio weapons.'' That view is shared by Avigdor Haselkorn, the author of another book about Saddam. ``We think of him as a dictatorial guy who keeps all power in his hand. But we know before the Gulf War he delegated to his subordinates to use chemical weapons without additional authorization,'' he said. Haselkorn said documents found after the war show the dictator drew a line between Basra and Baghdad, authorizing his forces to use the weapons if Americans crossed it - one reason why U.S. forces have traveled so quickly through the country in the current campaign. But those soldiers' encounters with Iraqi troops has shown little evidence of control by Saddam's inner circle, said Ken Osbourne, a military history professor at Rhode Island's Roger Williams University.

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (15464)	3/24/2003 11:13:11 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Respond to of 89467

I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam By Daniel Pepper (Filed: 23/03/2003) ... I became increasingly concerned about the way the Iraqi regime was restricting the movement of the shields, so a few days later I left Baghdad for Jordan by taxi with five others. Once over the border we felt comfortable enough to ask our driver what he felt about the regime and the threat of an aerial bombardment. "Don't you listen to Powell on Voice of America radio?" he said. "Of course the Americans don't want to bomb civilians. They want to bomb government and Saddam's palaces. We want America to bomb Saddam." We just sat, listening, our mouths open wide. Jake, one of the others, just kept saying, "Oh my God" as the driver described the horrors of the regime. Jake was so shocked at how naive he had been. We all were. It hadn't occurred to anyone that the Iraqis might actually be pro-war. The driver's most emphatic statement was: "All Iraqi people want this war." He seemed convinced that civilian casualties would be small; he had such enormous faith in the American war machine to follow through on its promises. Certainly more faith than any of us had. Perhaps the most crushing thing we learned was that most ordinary Iraqis thought Saddam Hussein had paid us to come to protest in Iraq. Although we explained that this was categorically not the case, I don't think he believed us. Later he asked me: "Really, how much did Saddam pay you to come?" ... opinion.telegraph.co.uk.