Saddam blinks on cue

New York Daily News ^ | 11/14/02

[kattracks]

His nine-page letter was a last-gasp rant, but in the end, Iraq's foreign minister gave the nod to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, specifying the manner by which his country must divest itself of weapons of mass destruction. Not that Saddam Hussein has come around to sanity. Iraq, said the minister, doesn't have such weapons. Inspectors can check.

And they will, vigorously - in every cleverly disguised facility and bunker they can find. The United States and its allies have Saddam exactly where they want him - picture his head in a vise with President Bush's hand on the crank. Saddam can try to deceive all he wants, and no doubt he will. Noted British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw: "Iraq's intentions are notoriously changeable."

But the crank will turn. One false move, and Saddam's a goner. As Bush said, "Zero tolerance is about as plain as I can make it. We will not tolerate any deception or denial or deceit."

If Saddam hadn't agreed to the Security Council's demands - as everyone knew he would - Bush surely would have toppled him. Under the tough and precise strictures of the UN measure, which passed unanimously Friday, Saddam must surrender chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, as well as long-range missiles. International inspectors will ensure compliance.

The Iraqis bobbed, weaved and tricked their way through eight years of weapons inspections, including dragging illegal material out a building's back door as inspectors came through the front. But those days are over. The resolution explicitly says inspectors will have access to everyone and everything without restriction. They can snoop in Saddam's underwear drawer if they want.

And there's more. The resolution gave Saddam 30 days to hand over a complete list of his prohibited weapons - their exact locations and "components, subcomponents, stocks of agents, and related material and equipment," as well as related research, development and production facilities. This applies to chemical, biological and nuclear programs, including those ostensibly for civilian, nonweapon purposes.

He has 24 days left to produce the list. Should he omit anything or attempt to mislead inspectors or interfere in any fashion, Saddam will be in violation of the resolution. The certain result: military action and the end of Saddam's tyrannical, bloody rule.

After a four-year absence, the first team of inspectors arrives Monday. That's when Saddam's tightrope walk starts. But this time he has no net.

The voice of hell

After much speculation, it appears Osama Bin Laden is alive. In a four-minute taped diatribe that officials believe was delivered by the world's most wanted man, there is praise for recent terror attacks around the world and a warning of more to come for nations that wage war on Iraq.

Where's a Predator drone when you need one?

By resurfacing after a long silence, the murderous megalomaniac appears eager to recapture the spotlight. God willing, as Bin Laden might say, this penchant for p.r. - or for sending coded messages to his fanatical followers - will make him and his omnipresent Egyptian sidekick, Ayman al-Zawahiri, easier to find. And they will be found. The shelf life of pure evil is not long.

The audiotape, first broadcast Tuesday by Al Jazeera TV, a virtual ministry of information for Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist thugs, has one clear message: No one in the world is safe.

"It's time we get even," the voice believed to be Bin Laden's said. "You will be killed just as you kill, and will be bombed just as you bomb. And expect more that will further distress you." The voice of doom cited recent attacks on German, French, American, Australian and Russian citizens as a prelude to a bloody future. Which, government authorities believe, might be sooner than we think. Intelligence about potential attacks is said to be buzzing at pre-9/11 levels. Several European nations have issued terror alerts.

Maybe now the hand-wringers among our allies will finally understand that this ongoing war against terror is not some American adventure, and that Americans and Israelis are far from the only targets. It is a very real war between civilization and chaos. And it is deadly serious.

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[Bonaparte]

"Just remember, Saddam my dearest,
no matter what may befall you --
you will always have my undying devotion.

Your special friend,

Scott"

[Gemflint]

I wish that were true, but unfortunately, Iraq *does* have a safety net: France, Russia and China.

Please consider this and then read this next article:

1. Russia recently signed a $40 Billion deal with Iraq re: oil distribution rights.

2. Russia, France and China also recently signed MAJOR oil drilling deals with Iraq. The oil is to be drilled in the "no-fly zones" in northern and southern Iraq AFTER the sanctions have been lifted.

Now, please see what former inspectors have to say (in a nutshell: "Without Security Council unity, the inspections will fail."

Inspectors article: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=3&cid=578&u=/nm/20021114/ts_nm/iraq_inspectors_dc

Oil deals article: http://www.albawaba.com/headlines/TheNews.php3?action=story&sid=233166&lang= e&dir=

[Claire Voyant]

What happened to Scott Ritter? I thought he was one of the Good Guys.....but obviously he isn't. Anyone know the explanation, other than some money???

[R. Scott]

“Iraq, said the minister, doesn't have such weapons. Inspectors can check.”

Iraq, said the minister, is confident that the past decade spent in hiding the weapons and production capacity will ensure that nothing will be found.

[Rocko]

Bump.

[Bonaparte]

"What happened to Scott Ritter?"

Obviously, he turned. I don't pretend to know exactly what he's getting out of the deal, but he turned. He's one of the worst liars I've ever heard, and it leads me to question not just his loyalty but his intelligence. If you print out all the interviews with him (Novak, O'Reilly, etal) and examine them side by side, you will see that he contradicts himself on his own stories and even his own figures -- always in favor of Iraq.

From an article in Front Page Mag --

Over the past two years, Mr. Ritter has taken $400,000 from Shakir Al-Khafaji, an Iraqi-American businessman with ties to Saddam, to produce a documentary called, "In Shifting Sands." Mr. Ritter concedes that Mr. Al-Khafaji is "openly sympathetic with the regime in Baghdad." And that may be an understatement. Mr. Al-Khafaji runs propaganda sessions for Saddam. Euphemistically known as "expatriate conferences," the biannual gatherings decry the "terrorism and genocide" the U.S. commits against the Iraqi people through U.N. sanctions.

Mr. Ritter claims Mr. Al-Khafaji had no editorial input on the film project, a claim he undermines by openly admitting that his benefactor is responsible for arranging Mr. Ritter's interviews with high-ranking Iraqi government officials, including chief propagandist, Tariq Aziz. Even before his project was completed, Mr. Ritter predicted at a press conference that "the U.S. will definitely not like this film." These contacts no doubt helped Mr. Ritter earlier this month, when he returned to Baghdad and became the first American to speak before the Iraqi National Assembly.