Rumsfield named three scenarios that could avert war in Iraq:
1) Saddam Hussein leaves voluntarily and is followed by new leadership that abides by international law
2) Saddam leaves involuntarily
3) Saddam adheres to U.N. resolutions
It’s a big game of chicken now. The only question is, will Saddam Hussein flinch first?
Option 1 is ridiculous; Saddam will never go. In any case, Rummie went on to say that a new regime of similar ilk isn’t “much of a trade”. And Saddam is not about to turn the country over to Jimmy Carter (even he isn’t that cruel). In other words, that option is not real.
As for option 3, there is not a snowflake’s chance in hell that Saddam will surrender his weapons when he thinks he’s probably about to go to war anyway. That option is also unrealistic.
That leaves option 2 – a coup. If you consider all the benefits of a US reconstruction of Iraq, establishment of a federal democracy in the Arab world and an ongoing presence in such a strategic location, I think a coup is now the worst realistic option, as it is the only one that could prevent a very necessary war. I hope the old bastard hangs on long enough to be deposed properly.