] Masses of Iraqi soldiers are deserting and senior members
] of President Saddam Hussein's ruling family circle are
] defecting as the countdown to a British and US invasion
] reaches its final hours.
]
] In northern Iraq, on the border with Kurdistan, up to
] three-quarters of some Iraqi regiments have already fled.
]
] In the mainly Shia Muslim south, Kuwaiti border guards
] are having to turn Iraqi soldiers back - telling them
] that they must wait until an attack begins before they
] can surrender.

Mass desertions weaken Iraqi defences

] As one watches protest marches, antiwar advertising and
] local arts events, one has to wonder whether the left has
] really weighed the moral issues posed by the horrors of
] Saddam's regime -- weighed life by life the repression of
] the 24 million Iraqis who live in a ruthless police
] state, not to mention the thousands or tens of thousands
] who have been imprisoned without trial, tortured, exiled
] or killed. It sometimes seems that the left is so averse
] to war, especially war waged by America, that it is
] prepared to turn a blind eye to even the most ghastly
] realities. Perhaps it is because the left no longer sees
] these realities that its antiwar arguments tend to
] justify continuation of the status quo.
]
] That, too, is a form of paralysis. But it is emblematic
] of an evolution in leftist values that has occurred so
] gradually over a period of decades that the profound
] nature of the shift is often not noticed. Today, the
] political counterculture and the antiwar movement in the
] West often seem to be one and the same. Instead of
] fighting fascists or other genocidal tyrants as it might
] have during the Spanish Civil War or World War II or even
] during the Central American conflicts of the 1980s, the
] modern left fights war; because the United States is the
] world's most significant military agent, and because it
] has so often used military power to support
] anti-democratic governments, the left understandably fights the
]United States. Such opposition to war is reflexive, and too often
]outweighs its outrage on behalf of the oppressed. Its capacity for
]the kind of muscular empathy that leads to action has atrophied,
]leaving only the possibility of reaction, of opposition. The
]antiwar left does not mount massive protests against China,
]Pakistan or Egypt. Millions do not pour into the streets on behalf
]of the student-led democracy movement in Iran. And Saddam Hussein
]and Osama bin Laden are not angrily compared to Hitler -- that
]treatment is more often reserved for George W. Bush.

Salon.com | See no evil

Trust Tony's judgment
by Bill Clinton

Tuesday March 18, 2003 - The Guardian

Last October, when I spoke at the Labour conference in Blackpool, I supported the efforts of President Bush and Prime Minister Blair to renew efforts to eliminate Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, and to try to accomplish this through the UN.

In November, the UN security council adopted unanimously resolution 1441, giving Saddam a "final opportunity" to disarm, after 12 years of defying UN resolutions requiring him to do so. The resolution made it clear that continued sanctions were not sufficient and that continued defiance would lead to serious consequences.

The credit for 1441 belongs in large measure to Blair, who saw it as a chance to disarm Saddam in a way that strengthened the UN and preserved the Atlantic alliance. Unfortunately, the consensus behind 1441 has unravelled. Saddam has destroyed some missiles but beyond that he has done only what he thinks is necessary to keep the UN divided on the use of force. The really important issues relating to chemical and biological weapons remain unresolved.

The Guardian | Bill Clinton: Trust Tony's judgment

] Reaction has been coming in from around the world
] following US President George W Bush's deadline for
] President Saddam Hussein and his two sons to leave Iraq
] by 0100GMT on Thursday 20 March or face war.

Quotes from a variety of countries: France, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, Canada, China, Russia, Philippines, Iran, the Arab League, Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), New Zealand, and the Vatican. All over the scale, from "we're for it" to "we're against it," to "we're staying out of it and minding our own business".

BBC NEWS : In quotes: Reaction to Bush ultimatum

] Open acts of defiance by opponents of Saddam Hussein's
] regime have intensified in the past week, with saboteurs
] carrying out attacks against Iraq's railway system and
] protesters openly calling for the overthrow of the Iraqi
] dictator.
]
] The most blatant act of sabotage took place 20 miles
] south of the north Iraqi city of Mosul when members of
] the Iraqi opposition blew up a stretch of track on the
] Mosul-Baghdad railway, causing the derailment of a train.
]
] Before fleeing back to their base in Kurdistan, they left
] piles of leaflets by the side of the track urging the
] Iraqi soldiers who were sent to investigate the explosion
] to join the "international alliance to liberate Iraq"
] from "Saddam the criminal". In a separate incident, a
] rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a train illegally
] transporting fuel from Baghdad to Syria.

Telegraph | News | Iraqis launch campaign of sabotage and defiance to undermine Saddam

] WASHINGTON - Iraqi troops south of Baghdad are armed
] with chemical weapons, Fox News has learned.
]
] Senior Defense and other U.S. officials confirmed that
] intelligence reports indicate that Saddam Hussein's
] troops are armed with chemical munitions.
]
] "The information is raw ... and hard to confirm ...
] but we are seeing -- using different methods -- that
] Saddam Hussein has armed troops south of Baghdad with
] chemical weapons," one official said.
]
] Officials say it's hard to tell how many of these weapons
] are being distributed, but the intelligence reports
] indicate that "some chemical shells" have been provided
] to troops

FOXNews.com

A fairly detailed description of strategy that will be unleashed in about 3 days.

Okay Saddam, here's the plan...

Norman Lear, the Emmy-winning producer of ‘‘All in the Family," said Wednesday he will collaborate on several episodes of the Comedy Central satire ‘‘South Park."

sweet!

Norman Lear to co-write South Park episodes

] March 14 %u2014 U.S. officials fear that once President
] Bush signals the U.S. is headed to war, Saddam Hussein
] will strike pre-emptively, administration sources told
] ABCNEWS.

ABCNEWS.com : Saddam Could Launch First Strike

] Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is planning attacks on his own
] people in the event of a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and
] his top operative, a general nicknamed "Chemical Ali,"
] has been put in charge of southern Iraq to quell any
] civilian uprisings, U.S. officials say.

Saddam ready to kill Iraqis -- The Washington Times