There's no way Saddam has ordered a pre-emptive attack.
He can't win on the battlefield and he knows it. His only shot (slim as it may be at this point) is in the court of public opinion.
This is not an "attack"
Well, Saddam's biggest mistakes in the last two wars was that after taking his immediate objectives, Iran's major oil port city and Kuwait, he stopped and let his enemies regroup. Perhaps he's fighting the last war again?
P.S. There ain't no sexual tension between Frodo and Samwise. *g*