The “countdown to war” that has become a staple of television news coverage in recent months keeps getting longer. The Bush Administration has declared Saddam Hussein to be in material breach of United Nations disarmament resolutions, but he’s backed off from a date of final reckoning for the Iraqi leader.
What looks like a second chance for Saddam gives some war watchers hope that a Gulf War sequel can be averted. Let’s say that again. A Gulf War sequel can be averted. Maybe.
Such thinking flies in the face of the saber rattling rhetoric that’s dominated headlines and soundbites since the president sought UN support to disarm Iraq. But today, we’re listening to a little non-conventional wisdom. Forgoing the foregone conclusion that war is unavoidable.
Guests:
Ambassador Edward Peck, Chief of Mission in Iraq during the Carter Administration
Jeswald Salacuse, Henry J. Braker Professor of Law, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University