European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday. October 14. 1994 commentary the stars and stripes Page 17 Don t i it s a do  . Rosenthal the heart of the matter is not what Saddam Hussein will do or can do to harass his enemies in the West and Mideast. It is what they can do and will do to destroy him at last. Will they allow him one More Victory so he can return again to threaten the Middle East and the United states next year or will they push him finally into the grave he has been digging for himself his regime and his nation a v v basically that has been the question Ever since president Bush made one of the More unusual decisions in history. Bush allowed an enemy smashed swiftly on the Battlefield to remain in Power in a definitely his dictatorship intact arid his army Strong enough to carry on unceasing warfare against millions of his countrymen. V a a but by his latest adventure a sending troops to the kuwaiti Border a Saddam Hussein has shown the West his own desperation and its Opportunity. Sooner or later Many dictators do that. Baghdad a announcement of the withdrawal of the troops changes neither Saddam a desperation nor the West a Choice. It accentuates them. Until now Saddam used his time since his resurrection by Bush extremely Well. He has rebuilt a substantial part of his army to terrorize his country kill iraqi kurdish and shiite rebels and remind the Muslim world he is still a Power. But one thing prevented him from reconstructing his country As a major economic Power which is the essential step toward again becoming a major military Power the . Embargo. It blocked him from Selling the Oil that had been his indispensable Fountain of Revenue then just As the United nations was about to consider if and when to lift the embargo Saddam tried to put on heavy pressure a massing troops against Kuwait and tying their removal to the embargo. This forced the Clinton administration to move tens of thousands of troops in preparation for the War that another invasion by Iraq would bring. Why did Saddam take this dangerous Gamble he has made dreadful mistakes before but not quite this obvious. This time he had notice that if it came to War president Clinton was not Likely to allow him to remain in Power. That of course meant he would not remain alive. Saddam also knew that France Turkey and Russia were working to lift the embargo so they could again do Oil business with Iraq. Madeleine Albright the . Representative to the United nations deserves National bouquets for fighting against ending the embargo. But Saddam also knew that Ever since the end of the persian Gulf War in 1991, european Indus to lists had been meeting with iraqi offi rials to rebuild the reconstruction and arms network that empowered him before the War. They were using their influence to lift the embargo that kept them from the iraqi Treasury. Kenneth h. Timmerman wrote about the resurgence of the iraqi Western death lobby in the Wall Street journal of sept. 27. Saddam was being told by his european friends to lie Low and that maybe the United states would go along in six months or so. But he could not afford just to wait. The Oil embargo was not merely crippling the country but inciting rebellion among civilian iraqis and the armed forces. / Laurie Mylroie another expert on Iraq reported in a new York times commentary that in both the civilian population and the military Saddam Hussein has ordered amputation of ears feet and arms As punishment for rebellion or desertion. The Issue now is not what to do about Iraq if it does invade Kuwait but what to do if it does not. The answer is to tighten the embargo not loosen it by insisting that before it can be lifted the iraqi regime has to end Rule by terror against All iraqis and foreign targets. Saddam Hussein would of course not agree. Without terrorism he could Rule for a month perhaps not much longer. But when the iraqi army and civilians understand that the embargo would not be lifted with Saddam in Power they might take their own lives a and his a into their hands. The West could destroy Saddam by War. But by his own desperation and stupidity or both he has shown us that he is drowning in his own unsold Oil. Clintonia policy has been exactly right. One Send in troops in Case Saddam is not Only desperate but insane. Two try to prevent France Russia or the death lobby from throwing the Man a lifeline As he sinks and sinks and  new York time. I in an administration known for its blunders on the foreign policy front monday was a Day to savor. Raoul Cedras stepped aside and said he would leave Haiti according to plan. And maybe just maybe president Clinton a show of Force made Saddam Hussein blink. In massing his troops on the kuwaiti Border the iraqi Leader might have bargained that Clinton a who has appeared indecisive in other crises a would Lack both the resolve to stand up to him or the ability to reassemble the . Coalition that drove Iraq from Kuwait in 1991. It May have been a major miscalculation. Clinton moved quickly to Send tens of thousands of . Troops to the area he cancelled a political trip to new Jersey and began calling world leaders a starting with russian president Boris Yeltsin. And defense Secretary William Perry even pointedly declined to Rule out preemptive strikes against Iraq As he made the rounds of the morning to talk shows. By midday monday iraqis . Ambassador announced that his country was pulling Back its troops a although the administration expressed some Well be Lieve it when we see it scepticism. Still said White House press Secretary Dee Dee Myers a we have to give them Iraq a Little bit of time Here. You can to turn 80,000 troops around in five minutes.�?�. Even before the iraqi announcement Clinton s Quick move in sending troops to the persian Gulf had already won wide applause a even from former president Bush. A a Clinton then scheduled a prime Lime Oval office address on the developments in the two nations. In Haiti the restoration of democracy took another dramatic step Forward. Cedras Public resignation seemed a graphic vindication ocl in tones no invasion strategy. Not Only did cd dras step aside a All that was required in the agreement brokered by former president Carter a but he also agreed to leave Haiti As Clinton had initially demanded. Clearly the presence of 19,000 . Troops had something to do with add rash decision. C6dras gone. Next up Saddam. After the murky objectives and Uncertain villains of Somalia Bosnia and even Haiti Clinton has in Saddam a ruler widely viewed As a True despot a even in the Arab world. And there also loomed one tantalizing possibility that Clinton and his advisers had to mull Over As they plotted strategy finishing the Job that Bush left uncompleted. . Officials made it Clear from the Start that they would not repeat a mistake the Bush administration made in 1990 failing to Send Baghdad a Strong enough Advance signal on How the United states would react to an invasion of Kuwait. Tom Raum Saddam May have thought that flexing his Muscles might give him enhanced negotiating authority in seeking to gel the United nations to ease up on sanctions. But Saddam has a history of both bold gestures and costly miscalculations. Clinton Learned Early on that there was no political gain in appearing to appease Saddam. One of his first foreign policy disasters was to say in an interview with the new York times soon after his election that As a Good Baptist he believed in conversion a and that perhaps Saddam would change heavy criticism followed. And Clinton scrambled to change his Tunc. The widespread notion that the Job in Iraq was not finished gives Clinton More room to Man Euver in dealing firmly with Iraq. A this latest provocation is another reminder that the Region will not be stable so Long As Saddam is in Power. If the president can come up with a strategy that leads to Saddam a removal it would be widely supported a said Bill Kristol a former Bush administration official and usually a frequent critic of Clinton. Even Bush sounded a Little melancholy monday As he praised Clinton a moves while defending anew his decision to Stop the 100-hour ground War without going after Saddam. If Kuwait is attacked again by Saddam a forces the 41st president predicted a we will wipe him out bloody his nose As never  4. A a a a a. C the associated Presa