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| Axis of Evil |
| Jordan's Prince Hassan joins conference on overthrowing Saddam |
| 2002-07-13 |
| Exiled Iraqi officers and opposition groups gathering in London to discuss the overthrow of Saddam Hussein were upstaged last night by Prince Hassan of Jordan. Surrounded by TV cameras, the prince made a theatrical entrance moments before the meeting began but said he was only attending as an observer. There have been conflicting claims about Jordan's willingness to be used as a launch pad for a US attack on Iraq. Prince Hassan, brother of the late King Hussein, was heir to the Jordanian throne until the terminally ill king removed him from the succession and replaced him with his son, the present King Abdullah. He took a seat at the front next to Sharif Ali, leader of the Iraqi monarchist movement, who is a descendant of Iraq's last king. Leaving after 45 minutes, the prince gave a press conference where he said he had not intended to attract so much media attention. Arab journalists said it was unlikely that the prince would have made his high-profile intervention without the king's permission. Some suggested that King Abdullah, who has been making frequent trips to Washington, may have decided that President Saddam is doomed and that it is time to build bridges with the Iraqi opposition. The conference, held in Kensington town hall under a banner proclaiming One Army for a United Iraq, was planned as a private meeting of exiled officers to discuss Saddam's overthrow. Are we thinking in terms of a constitutional monarchy in Iraq? A job for King Hussein's brother? Sounds like a good trade... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #5 Which do you think'll get the throne in Riyadh? Hassan or Abdullah? |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-07-14 16:28:33 |
| #4 Sharif Ali has a much more defensible claim to the throne -- he's sort of a first cousin once removed of the last King. Hassan is more like a third cousin twice removed. I'd have to look over the family tree again ... Hassan, in other words, was there to support his cousin, not to claim the mantle for himself. |
| Posted by: Dan Hartung 2002-07-14 02:30:26 |
| #3 I wonder what ever happened to the dozen or so doubles Binny was supposed to have? |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-07-13 20:52:13 |
| #2 that's a BIG "if" RG - while I actualy agree with you - Usama has proven how hard it is to concretely define "dead" if the target isn't easily pinned down - I actually think Usama's dead - his ego wouldn't let this much time go by without a mocking "nya nya" video..what about Saddam, with an unknown number of body doubles/targets? |
| Posted by: Frank 2002-07-13 20:21:55 |
| #1 We need Jordan's Hashemite king to take over Arabia when we toss the towel-heads out. By now all but the closest Saddamites are asking each other, "You mean if we get rid of the Beast of Baghdad and our Germ-bombs, and let US troops enforce UN declarations, then we can have peace? And if we don't, cruise missiles will squash our infrastructure, again?" If Saddam is alive on Aug 31, 2002, I will swim to Cuba and cut sugar cain for Fidel. |
| Posted by: RG Fulton 2002-07-13 14:49:31 |