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| Axis of Evil |
| Iraqi ambassador to Russia says Hussein will not leave country |
| 2003-01-08 |
| Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will not step down and emigrate from the country, said Abbas Khalaf, Iraqi Ambassador to Russia. I doubt if he will, too, but for different reasons than Abbas... The ambassador made this statement in the Wednesday interview while commenting on U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's remark that a military conflict with Iraq could be avoided if the Iraqi leader were to immediately leave his country. "Saddam Hussein enjoys excellent health, he is in a determined mood, is in perfect control of the situation and believes in our victory," Khalaf said. The ambassador said Hussein recently received him along with a group of other Iraqi ambassadors. "I'd like to assure you that Hussein will continue to defend his homeland, he is one of the leaders who will never leave his country and will fight till the last drop of blood," he said. Other people's blood, anyway. When he does beat it, it'll be when it's too late. He'll do the Mussolini tango in downtown Baghdad or Mosul. Or he may end up like one of his predecessors, with his corpse abused on live TV for a couple days... Khalaf also dismissed a number of reports by Arab and Western media that Hussein might leave his post and emigrate to Moscow. "This is also absolute nonsense. Such canards launched as part of Washington's and London's psychological war against Iraq are intended not for the Iraqi people, but for foreign recipients, including those sympathizing with Iraq, so as to cause panic amongst them," he said. I certainly hadn't heard a rumor about him emigrating to Moscow! These reports "are similar to other rubbish of the kind, such as that about Hussein's older son's alleged trip to Moscow or the Iraqi president's handing over $3 billion to Libya in exchange for a promise to grant him political asylum in that country," he said. That one I could believe — he doesn't expect to leave, but just in case, there's a soft landing arranged. There were rumors he was going to beat it for Libya in the immediate wake of Gulf War I, before some of his commanders decided to keep him. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |