Déjà vu Three: Gee, This Doesn’t Sound Familiar at All!
(From an ongoing series)
THE DEAL ON IRAQ: THE IMPLICATIONS; Buying a Deal as Hussein Buys Time, The New York Times, Feb. 23, 1998,
Section A; Page 1; Column 3, By R. W. APPLE Jr.The overriding issue, Mr. Clinton declared only last week, was whether the Iraqi President would “allow the U.N. inspectors to complete their mission with full and free access to any site they suspect may be hiding materials or information related to Iraqi weapons-of-mass-destruction programs.”
[…]
Nor is it clear that Iraq will soon be even reasonably free of weapons of mass destruction.
[…]
Once again, the Iraqi leader has retreated, but he has bought time to move war materiel and perhaps to hide it more effectively. Few in Washington believe tonight that the last chapter of the story has been written.
Although Mr. Hussein has promised for the first time since the Persian Gulf war in 1991 to permit full access to all suspected sites, there is no assurance than he will ultimately permit it.
Unless he has undergone a conversion almost as dramatic as Saul’s on the road to Damascus, he will try to preserve his arsenal. He may revert to his long-established pattern of stalling, obstructing and redefining terms. But on the other hand, he may adopt new tactics in pursuit of an old strategy.
“He clearly hasn’t undergone a conversion,” said Richard Haass of the Brookings Institution, who dealt with the Middle East at the National Security Council in the Bush Administration. “He will almost certainly continue to try to cheat and keep his weapons. But this time he may not try to obstruct the weapons inspectors. He may not be able to, and he may not have to.
“My guess is that during this four-month stalemate he will have dug deeper holes and found other ways to hide the stuff from inspection.”
August 10th, 2024 at 10:28 am