Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Did Slick Boink Monica? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sedohr Nod who wrote (962)	1/25/1998 3:58:00 PM
From: Mr Metals	Respond to of 20981

Mr President, don't leave us now. Reuters WASHINGTON (Jan. 25) - A countdown to a U.S. military strike against Iraq could begin as soon as Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting ends Friday, The New York Times reported Sunday, quoting White House officials. ''There'll be one final round of diplomacy, and then an ultimatum, and then we act,'' a National Security Council official told the newspaper. President Clinton and his top foreign policy advisors at a meeting Saturday affirmed a tough stance against Iraq's latest intransigence amid growing speculation about the possibility of a military strike. Clinton met Vice President Al Gore and other top foreign policy advisors to review the situation in Iraq and discuss ''possible next steps,'' a White House official said. The New York Times said a consensus had emerged in the meeting that Iraq would never comply with the United Nations inspectors and that smart bombs and cruise missiles may be needed to destroy President Saddam Hussein's hidden potential to build crude weapons of mass destruction. But with Clinton involved in a sex scandal and his presidency under a cloud, the newspaper said administration officials were painfully aware that they might be accused of using an attack on Iraq as a diversion to sustain political and popular support for the embattled president. The Times said Washington planned to devote next week to convincing skeptical U.S. allies and members of Congress that military action is the only way to stop Iraq from building a biological and chemical arsenal. Commenting on the prospect of military action, the Times quoted a senior administration official as saying: ''We're focused more on weeks than months or days.'' Clinton foreign policy advisors met twice about Iraq at the White House Saturday, the first time without the president and the second time with him. They reviewed a report to the U.N. Security Council Friday from the chief U.N. arms inspector, Richard Butler. He said Iraq seemed determined to withhold any new information about its weapons programs and to prevent U.N. inspectors from obtaining it themselves if that meant entering certain sites. The Washington Post, quoting highly placed U.S. officials, reported Saturday that a consensus among senior Clinton advisors emerged during hours of intensive White House meetings in recent days that military action will be necessary to force Iraq's compliance with U.N. resolutions. Already many of these discussions were focusing on what actions would follow in the aftermath of a heavy air bombardment campaign led by the United States with assistance from Britain, according to the report. Under one scenario being considered by the administration, an air campaign lasting several days would be followed by an expansion of the ''no-fly'' zones over Iraq to cover the entire country, the Post said. Asked about the report, a U.S. official said: ''No decisions have been made. The president's advisors have not recommended any action. The president has not approved any action, so it's premature to jump to speculative conclusions.'' But the official admitted the United States and its allies were ''losing patience'' with Iraq. Mr Metals