Quit Baghdad or war this week, Bush tells Saddam

The Sunday Times ^ | March 16, 2003 | Tony Allen-Mills and Jonathan Carr-Brown

[MadIvan]

Excellent.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[Semper Paratus]

Controlled leak or Bravo Sierra?

[VRWC_minion]

The bus is leaving the terminal and France isn't on it.

[jwalburg]

Should be hours

[esoteric]

Thank you for excellent coverage. As always, right on top of the situation. And...bump.

[maquiladora]

Will this speech be made tomorrow in the Azores?

[Dog]

Washington has decided not to accept any further token gestures by Baghdad to comply with weapons inspectors

Good news.....but I wish they would just drop going back to the UN.......just do it!

[Dog Gone]

Despite Bush's pledge to force nations to lay their cards on the table, everyone already has.

I don't really care what Mexico or Cameroon thinks. Their cards aren't important anywhere outside of the Security Council.

What is needed is the final ultimatum, along with a warning for the UN inspectors to leave. I think that will happen.

[Dog]

I hope your right Dog......but I have this feeling we are going back into that snake pit one more time..

[cyncooper]

Ping

[Green]

Despite Bush's pledge to force nations to lay their cards on the table, everyone already has.

I agree with you. He said he was going to force everyone to stand up and be counted. He didn't even have to force the vote. They ended up showing their hands before the vote. For Franch to say they would veto anything that called or force pretty much ended the call for the vote. Hence, vote isn't any long necessary.

[Green]

Sheesh - Franch = France

[Normal4me]

Does anyone here actually believe he will accept exile? Who would take him? (besides France ;) Would he also not be sought for war crimes?

I say we just put a drone with a hellfire missile strapped to it and do some weapons "Testing".

[VRWC_minion]

I and others have realised that the French posturing for peace has made diplomacy impossible and war almost inevitable."

Chirac overplayed his hand while the bumbler, Bush, sets up for the big score again.

[stboz]

Oh, he'll run alright. He'll run just in time to pull another Osama........betcha can't find me! Great Britain and the U.S. should have already struck.....and without warning. It's the one thing they don't expect of us.

[PJ-Comix]

But even if Saddam Hussein leaves Iraq, how do we know it's really him? It could be one of his many lookalikes.

[Allan]

Please no more ultimata! Just kill him.

[tet68]

RE; Robin Cook.

Blair is now considering offering him a job as a European commissioner to replace Neil Kinnock or Chris Patten, who are due to leave Brussels next year.


Hell no, make him live in France.

[GraniteStateConservative]

There's nothing here that would fit the "loose lips, sink ships" notion. What do you think is Bravo Sierra?

All of this has been either previously reported or reflects expected outcomes for next week. We all know a televised ultimatum will occur since there won't be a UN one and Bush did the same thing against the Taliban. The only reasonable ultimatum would have nothing to do with Iraq's disarmament-- that would just toss this ball back to the UN. Also, we have said numerous times (Powell, Bush, Rumsfeld) that we support coups or exile to remove Hussein from power.

Every commentator I've seen on TV has said they expect war to occur within 7 days of Tuesday. We also know that morale in Iraq among soldiers and commanders is poor-- it's all fear-based. No one has any "loyalty" to Hussein, because he has no loyalty for them-- he'd kill them in a minute if he thought it would improve his life in any way.