At 09:09 PM 8/28/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>U.S. Wants Saddam Out, with or Without Inspections
>Wed Aug 28, 6:22 PM ET
>
>By Randall Mikkelsen
>
>CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The United States will seek the removal of
>President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) whether or not he allows a
>resumption of U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq, a U.S. official said on
>Wednesday.
>
>"The case for regime change is broader than just WMD (weapons of mass
>destruction)," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition that he
>not be identified.
>
>In remarks that stirred renewed unease around the globe, Vice President
>Dick Cheney ( news - web sites) this week said the U.S. case against
>Saddam also rested on what he said was the Iraqi leader's role as a
>supporter of terrorism and the threat he posed to regional stability.
>
>U.S. allies have called on Washington to give the United Nations ( news -
>web sites) and other international bodies a chance to try diplomacy before
>any military action.
>
>Iraq's neighbor Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO ( news - web sites)
>which has been providing a base for current U.S. military flights over
>northern Iraq, reiterated its opposition to any imminent military action.
>
>China and India, the world's two most populous nations, stressed their
>opposition to the use of force, and staunch U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak ( news
>- web sites) of Egypt has warned of widespread unrest across the Arab
>world should the United States act alone.
>
>Skepticism also surfaced on Capital Hill.
>
>Sen. John Warner of Virginia, top Republican on the U.S. Senate Armed
>Services Committee ( news - web sites), called for more congressional
>inquiry into President Bush ( news - web sites)'s demand for "regime
>change" in Iraq.
>
>WHITE HOUSE STANDS BY 'REGIME CHANGE'
>
>Citing what he called a "crescendo" of debate, Warner said the committee
>should hear from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, widely seen as a
>leading supporter of pre-emptive military action. The House of
>Representatives was planning hearings of its own.
>
>But the U.S. official called Saddam a supporter of terrorism and a threat
>to the region, saying these were also crucial parts of the U.S. case
>against the Iraqi leader, with the demand for weapons inspections.
>
>Asked whether there was anything Saddam could do to change the U.S.
>determination to oust him, the official said there was not. "Regime change
>is the policy of this government," he said.
>
>Washington would, however, keep pressing Saddam to readmit U.N. inspectors
>and honor his commitments to disarm, he said.
>
>The United Nations evacuated its inspectors from Iraq in December 1998,
>accusing the Iraqis of obstructing their work. Within weeks the United
>States and Britain staged Operation Desert Fox, a massive four-night
>bombing campaign against suspected Iraqi weapons facilities, missile sites
>and other military targets. The weapons inspectors have not returned.
>
>White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to say directly whether
>Saddam could avoid a U.S. attempt to oust him. However, "this is a regime
>that needs to be changed," he told reporters covering Bush during his
>vacation Texas.
>
>CONCERN AMONG AMERICANS
>
>Widespread disquiet abroad has been increasingly mirrored at home, and
>analysts say the issue could become central to the November congressional
>elections.
>
>"There is no question ... we've taken a major step toward preparing for
>war," said military analyst Ken Allard, a retired Army colonel and adjunct
>national security professor at Georgetown University.
>
>McClellan said the White House would cooperate with the planned
>congressional hearings -- in contrast with its unwillingness to send
>representatives to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iraq
>last month. "We look forward to participating and being cooperative with
>Congress as those hearings are held," he said.
>
>The White House on Monday said Bush's lawyers had concluded he did not
>need formal congressional approval to attack Iraq, although it left the
>door open to seeking a vote of support. Key Democrats and some Republicans
>responded by demanding Bush seek approval for any attack.
>
>Former assistant defense secretary Lawrence Korb, vice president of the
>Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the administration appeared
>to be fighting to regain momentum for attacking Iraq.
>
>Some senior former Republican foreign policy and defense officials have
>spoken out against an attack in recent weeks, adding to the sense of
>disunity in the president's own party.
>
>Bush's special Middle East envoy, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, was
>one of the latest to raise his voice when he said an attack would be
>antagonistic to U.S. allies in the region, according to Florida newspaper
>reports of a speech he delivered last Friday.
>
>"It's pretty interesting that all the generals see it the same way," Zinni
>said of reservations about an attack, "and all the others who have never
>fired a shot and are hot to go to war see it another way."
>
>McClellan said the White House regarded such comments as reflecting a
>"healthy debate" encouraged by Bush.
>