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<DIV>[Well, well. Looks like the Bush family's complicity with Saddam continues.
And how this will "democratize" Iraq is anyone's guess, though there will be
another poor besieged leader driven from power by imperialism. All Saddam needs
after this is to find his Jared Israel, and the apologetics can begin, or in the
WWP's case, continue. DP]</DIV>
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<DIV>Officials Support Exile for Hussein<!--plsfield:stop--> <BR>Deal Could
Allow Iraqi President To Avoid Charges </DIV>
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<DIV>By Glenn Kessler<BR><!--plsfield:credit-->Washington Post Staff Writer<BR><!--plsfield:disp_date-->Monday, January 20, 2003; Page A01 </DIV>
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<P>NEW YORK, Jan. 19 -- Three top Bush administration officials said today they
would welcome exile for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and one, Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, signaled the United States might allow Hussein to
escape war crimes prosecution if he voluntarily steps down.</P>
<P>The remarks came as the administration increasingly faces resistance from
other members of the U.N. Security Council for a quick decision on military
action. Previously, officials said they could not presume to speak for the Iraqi
people or other nations that might want to charge Hussein for killing thousands
of Iraqis since he seized power in 1979. Today's comments appeared to be a
signal to Hussein that a bargain might be in the offing.</P>
<P>"To avoid a war, I would personally recommend that some provision be made so
that the senior leadership in that country and their families could be provided
haven in some other country," Rumsfeld said on ABC's "This Week." "I think that
that would be a fair trade to avoid a war."</P>
<P>Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza
Rice, who also made the rounds of the Sunday morning talk shows, appeared as
well to support the idea of granting Hussein and his closest associates some
form of asylum. In the past week, a group of Arab nations has begun to organize
an effort to persuade Hussein to resign.</P>
<P>Hussein, through his spokesmen, has repeatedly denied any interest in
avoiding a fight. He would likely try to win detailed assurances on his safety
before leaving, in order to avoid the fate of Yugoslavia's former leader,
Slobodan Milosevic, now in the dock in The Hague. </P>
<P>Rumsfeld said it would be up to the White House or Justice Department whether
Hussein could avoid prosecution.</P>
<P>Full: <A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15542-2003Jan19.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15542-2003Jan19.html</A></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>