Arthur, At 22:36 02/09/02 -0400, you wrote: >www.debka.com is back after a break with some interesting and intriguing >stories. True or not they trace out different scenarios.
Thanks for reminding us of this source. As Jan wrote a week or two ago, Debka has to be read with some discrimination. However, the item about Saddam's "mysterious apathy" in the face of Bush & Co's speeches seems so unusual that it strikes me as being authentic. If Saddam calls some district governors to a meeting and then harangues them about the state of their sanitation systems instead of the condition of their defences against an American attack, then this information is not likely to have been invented. Also, Debka says that several other defence preparations in Iraq are being wound down rather than being accelerated. But I don't believe that Saddam is necessarily in a state of depression or is apathetic, as Debka implies. If Saddam is unworried it's because he probably has a shrewd idea what lies behind Bush's apparent bellicosity. Let's recall that last week the Qatar Foreign Minister went to Baghdad for talks. The Americans have just completed a large airbase in Qatar and, undoubtedly material is already being delivered there. Are the materials and facilities relevant to large American troop landings (for subsequent use in an invasion of Iraq) or does the Qatar airbase seem to be equipped for units of 2-3,000 personnel only as seems to be happening in several other Emirates around Saudi Arabia -- more suitable perhaps for special purpose operations into Saudi Arabia if the oil wells are in danger. The Qatar Foreign Minister ought to have been able to give an informed opinion to Saddam Hussein. Keith ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________
