>
>But just to stick with Basra for the moment. IF waiting outside is not an
>option what is? Newsnight did not press the point, but the question will
>come up as fast as tomorrow. The option, shame upon humiliation, will be
>to have to negotiate with the existing administration of Basra!!
>
>And that will be the choice: sieges of the major cities, requiring the
>hegemons, after everything, to negotiate with the Saddam regime, or risk
>an enormous level of pain in terms of body bags, and superbly televised
>real time horrors, in an international climate in which the other big
>powers of the world are refusing to cooperate in any exit strategy in
>terms of peace keeping.
>
>Blair likes to be proactive about his crises. The coalition is only 48
>hours away from one. And even if this is the golden moment to get George
>to sign up to a comprehensive Middle East peace plan embracing the
>Palestinians, and brokered with the Saudis and the Arab League, can
>Rumsfeld and Bush go into reverse that quickly? They have no exit
>strategy. And with the haemorrhaging of credibility who would bet against
>a run on the dollar within even days? What is the price of forgiveness by
>the Security Council?
>
>But it may be a matter of hours before dysentery breaks out among the
>children of Basra. The coalition is losing the battle for control. The
>breakdown could be dramatic.
>
>Chris Burford
>London
-I think the coalition will try to siege those two cities and wait for -what it happens. It will be a huge humanitarian disaster, but sensible -US citizens won´t be disturbed by seeing their compatriots returning -in body bags. Of course, this will erase any chance of the US troops -being received as liberators....this will also make the war last more -the expected.
Alexandre Fenelon