Posted on 10/29/2005 3:37:26 PM PDT by rdb3
Deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had secretly accepted a last-minute plan to go into exile to avert the 2003 Iraq war, but Arab leaders shot the proposal down, Al Arabiya television reported today.UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan made the proposal for Saddam to go into exile at an emergency Arab summit just weeks before the US-led war began in March 2003.
But the 22-member Arab League, led by Secretary-General Amr Moussa, refused to consider the initiative.
"We had got the final agreement from the different parties, the main players in the world and the person concerned Saddam Hussein within 24 hours," Mohammed bin Zayed, deputy head of the UAE armed forces and crown prince of Abu Dhabi, told the UAE-based channel in a documentary.
"So we were coming to put facts on the table, and there would have been results had it been discussed," he said.
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak says in the documentary that the US had signalled its support for the proposal.
The documentary says the Iraqi delegation at the summit in Egypt had been unaware of Saddam's "secret consent" to the plan, which Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri dismissed as "silly".
It was not clear why Arab opposition alone scuppered the arrangements, which Al Arabiya said would have seen Saddam go into UAE exile with a promise of protection from legal action.
Saddam and seven other senior figures under his rule this month went on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity over the killing of 148 Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail.
The US led a coalition to topple Saddam, saying he was hiding weapons of mass destruction. None were ever found.
The war, an ongoing insurgency against occupying troops and the US-backed authorities, and an explosion of crime amid the post-war disorder has cost thousands of lives.
"So we were coming to put facts on the table, and there would have been results had it been discussed," he said.
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak says in the documentary that the US had signalled its support for the proposal.
The documentary says the Iraqi delegation at the summit in Egypt had been unaware of Saddam's "secret consent" to the plan, which Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri dismissed as "silly".
So we have the "who," but the more important question to me is "why?" Why would this plan be rejected by the Arab leaders?
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Because they knew we would do their dirty work for them. They don't have the ability to police their own and probably never will.
This is very interesting. It seems, if this is true (Reuters after all), much pain could have been avoided. Thanks for posting this.
For some reason, the expression "Heaven doesn't want me, and hell's afraid I'll take over" comes to mind.
The war, an ongoing insurgency against occupying troops and the US-backed authorities, and an explosion of crime amid the post-war disorder has cost thousands of lives.
Yo! Reuters! Nice boiler-plate, you got there!
Always nice to be reminded, every article I read, that we are occupiers (not liberators), and that the elected Iraqi officials are mere puppets being they are "US-backed authorities", and that there is an insurgency over there only fighting because we do this "occupying"...
If Saddam would have left without a shot being fired that would have made the US look just a little too good. If that would have happened, George Bush would be looked at more favorably in the eyes of the world today. Instead of concentrating only on terrorist bombings, the media would sometimes be reporting about the spread of democracy. It would have put more pressure for change in neighboring countries. If Saddam would have simply left, the US would be in a better position today to deal with Iran, Syria, etc. Those are my thoughts anyway.
France would have taken him in a heartbeat.
FINALLY this is being talked about! FINALLY! For the past few years people have been calling me nuts, but the fact is Saddam WAS going to step down..One of my good friends is an Iraqi who told me this absolutely was the case, PLUS it was on the news.. but in the same week he agreed to do this, the liberal cabal iimmediately held that mass "protest" in Europe and right thereafter Saddam HIMSELF shot down all thoughts of stepping down...Why? Because HE THOUGHT HE HAD WORLD WIDE SUPPORT! Anyone remember this or am I imagining things?
Look at the dates...Saddam agreed to step down at the beginning of Feb of 2003 (try to find any news article saying that, it`s impossible...liberal media? You be the judge).. A week later February 15, the liberal cabal held their 2003 global "record breaking" anti-war protest that the news media had no problem putting front and center on their headlines and news shows for that entire week....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15,_2003_global_anti-war_protest
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/15/sprj.irq.protests.main/
Note the comment in that above article..
"The White House said Saturday that President Bush is still hoping for a peaceful way to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein."
Thanks to liberals, they made it all but IMPOSSIBLE! They freggin` emboldened Saddam to the hilt, and I find it pretty sick that these same liberals who are now blaming Bush for this war, are the same ones who did more to ensure it happening than even Saddam!! Saddam threw in his hat, what did they do? These scum punks told him not to!! "We love you Saddam!" And they got the gall to blame Bush? Bush did everything he could to prevent it, but these freggin` Sadam cheerleaders would not give up! Them and their "human shields" and their Hollywood support team, it`s unreal. The same crap they pull with Castro they pulled with Saddam, "The US is evil not the killer tyrant".
If Cindy Sheehan wants to tie herself to the White House in an act of finger pointing, may I suggest she first start on the doorsteps of Hollywood and the Euroweenies who ensured that all peaceful solutions went right out the door! Think about it; Saddam got his ass whupped first time around. Why would he be so foolish to basically invite a US invasion? Not because he`s just nuts, but because he was misled by a huge cheerleading squad.
You may be onto something. The smoke is there, but where did the fire come from?
The months wasted dealing with the UN, Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, CIA, Cindy Sheehan (from out of the clear blue sky), etc. How do these pieces fit?
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Look...Show me one sentence where anything even mentioning the word "rejection" is in this...The fact is Saddam himself rejected stepping down because of what he thought was world wide support by the liberal cabal.. His foreign minister Naji Sabri was the only guy who rejected it, and you know who that guy spoke for..
(note the date of these articles and the date of the mass Saddam cheerleading demonstration)
http://www.mees.com/postedarticles/politics/ArabPressReview/a46n07c02.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/02/14/wirq414.xml
http://www.jafariyanews.com/articles/2k3/9jan_avoidwar.htm
http://english.people.com.cn/200303/03/eng20030303_112571.shtml
Well, all I can say is I swear watching the news one night and hearing a report that Saddam was going to step down..My brother called up a good friend of ours who is an Iraqi and she confirmed it, which she was very excited about. Next thing we know, there was this huge sickening "anti war" protest, this whole "Guiness world record breaking protest" and that was that. She told us forget it, Saddam was such an egomaniac he would never step down after that display, and sure enough he didn`t. Matter of fact I think he then kicked out the UN inspectors that same week which put Bush in the position of having to make his "48 hours" speech (which he did a MONTH later)..He gave Saddam a month to reconsider! To me, the tragedy is the punk could have been shouted out of office, but instead he was emboldened. And liberals say they knew Saddam was a bastard? Then why the hell were they burning US flags and Bush effigies? The fact is they`re full of it. Their whole case is in reality based on their hate of Bush and the US and if a bunch of people die because of it, they could care less.
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