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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-433350,00.html The Times (London) October 2, 2002 One bullet would do it, White House tells dissidents By Roland Watson THE White House urged disaffected Iraqis yesterday to assassinate President Saddam Hussein and avoid war. President Bush�s spokesman said that the cost of a conflict would be far greater than �the cost of one bullet the Iraqi people take on themselves�. Asked if he was advocating that the Iraqi people kill their leader, Ari Fleischer said: �Regime change is welcome in whatever form it takes.� Within minutes of making his remarks, Mr Fleischer had to clarify the Bush Administration�s position. A presidential executive order bans the assassination of foreign leaders under US law, and Mr Fleischer insisted that he was not advocating a new policy.He said that he was making a rhetorical point that few would shed tears if the Iraqi people took it upon themselves to eliminate Saddam. However, his rhetoric jarred with that of other administration officials on a day when Washington tried to win support from Democrats on Capitol Hill for congressional authority for the use of force, and among other UN power-brokers over a resolution authorising a new weapons inspection regime. Mr Bush emphasised that his initial policy was to disarm Saddam rather than to topple him. Mr Fleischer made his remarks when questioned about congressional estimates, which stated that it would cost up to $13 billion (�8.3 billion) a month to deploy US forces in and around Iraq, with combat costing up to $9 billion a month. Mr Fleischer said that Mr Bush had not yet decided to go to war, and added: �I can only say that the cost of a one-way ticket is substantially less than that. The cost of one bullet the Iraqi people take on themselves is substantially less than that. The cost of war is more than that. But there are many options that the President hopes the world and people of Iraq will exercise themselves.� Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, has already speculated about the possibility of Saddam seeking exile, and said that it would satisfy Washington�s policy of regime change. Last week Mr Bush allowed a glimpse of his family�s personal grudge against Saddam, referring to him as �the guy that tried to kill my Dad�. Earlier this year, Mr Bush signed an an executive order allowing the CIA and special forces teams to capture and even to kill Saddam if they were acting in self-defence. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
