Posted on 01/17/2003 3:11:07 PM PST by blam
Saddam may be on his way to an African exile
January 17 2003 at 05:32AM
Dubai - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has agreed to leave Iraq and go into exile in an African country if certain conditions are met, three diplomats in the United Arab Emirates were quoted as saying on Thursday.
The diplomats in Dubai - one Western and two Arab - who did not want to be named or reveal their sources, said the Iraqi leader was prepared to accept a deal under which he would leave the country if it was guaranteed that he would not to be prosecuted or persecuted by the United States or any of its European allies.
He would be accompanied by other members of his government and their families, and an African country would be considered for their exile, they said.
According to observers in the region, news of a possible exile for Hussein could be related to recent announcements that Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria were to present a proposal to avoid a new Gulf war in the next few days.
'The timing was not appropriate' The speculations gained pace after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cancelled a scheduled trip to Teheran on Wednesday and a visit of General Ali Hassan al-Majid to Cairo was postponed.
Egyptian media had first announced that al-Majid, a member of Iraq's Revolutionary Council and a cousin of Hussein, wanted to bring Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak a message from Hussein.
"The timing was not appropriate," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said in Cairo on Thursday.
The three diplomats said further terms for Hussein's departure would be the withdrawal of US troops from the Gulf, the end of United Nations arms inspections and sanctions against Iraq and measures against the production of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
But the US had so far rejected these conditions and Egypt was now trying to persuade Baghdad to accept a compromise, the diplomats said. - Sapa-DPA
"I do only give reports of "exile" little credence"
I give them even less than you do, that's why I pointed out that it was per Shepard Smith.
He will just rear his ugly head somewhere else.
Good to see ya, bud. Happy New Year.............FRegards
My sentiments exactly!
And, let's see... OK, the U.S. has to give us some nukes, and some of those fancy helicopters, too. Yeah, that seems reasonable. And, oh yeah, free long distance service from Libya so that Saddam can continue to run the show from there. That should do it.
The last time I checked, Israel (the Mossad) was not located in Europe.
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