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Sammy ready to go?
Source: DawnIraqi 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. "Condition one: Bush has to go, too..." The diplomats in Dubai, one Western and two Arabic, who did not want to be named or reveal their sources, said the Iraqi leadership was prepared to accept a deal under which Saddam Hussein would leave the country if he was guaranteed not to be prosecuted or persecuted by the United States or any of its European allies. Hussein would be accompanied by other members of his government and their families, and an African country was considered as the location for their exile, they said. That would probably be Libya... According to observers in the region, news of a possible exile for Saddam could be related to recent announcements that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria were due to present a proposal to avoid an invasion in the next few days. The speculations gained pace after Syrian President Bashar al Assad cancelled a scheduled trip to Tehran on Wednesday and a visit of Iraq's Gen Ali Hassan al Majid to Cairo was postponed. Bingo. Egyptian media had first announced that al Majid, a member of Iraq's Revolution Council and a "He can probably stop by for a few minutes on his way to the Central African Republic..." According to the three diplomats, further conditions for Saddam's departure would be the withdrawal of United States troops from the Gulf region, the end of United Nations arms inspections and sanctions against Iraq as well as measures against the production of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. However, the US had so far rejected these conditions and Egypt was now trying to convince Baghdad to accept a compromise, the diplomats said. The original condition was for Iraq to disarm. We'd also need a say in the structure of the new government... Cairo has in recent days been the centre of a flurry of regional diplomatic activity involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and Iran, aimed at resolving the standoff through diplomatic and political means, which was "our objective", according to Maher. Politicians and observers had repeatedly dismissed speculations that Saddam might resign, adding that such rumours could have been spread deliberately in order to cause uncertainty amongst government officials in Baghdad. Baghdad said Saddam Hussein would not leave his country under any circumstances. On, the other hand, truth is a matter of convenience among Arabs, isn't it? Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-01-17 |
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