Posted on: Thursday, November 14, 2002

EDITORIAL
Saddam must heed the writing on the wall

In a weird bit of kabuki theater, the Iraqi parliament made a show of rejecting the tough new U.N. inspections resolution, followed a day later by acceptance by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Since the parliamentarians are, as President Bush put it, a "rubber stamp" for Saddam, it's unclear why they seemed to allow their leader to reverse them. Perhaps their vote was intended to demonstrate that Iraqis are willing to follow Saddam over a cliff, if that's what he wants; to which Saddam now in his munificence responds: "Not yet."

But the U.N. Security Council never asked Iraq for acceptance of its resolution, only compliance. Compliance "without conditions" must happen on a daily basis until the Security Council and, perhaps more to the point, President Bush are satisfied that Iraq's disarmament is total.

Although Iraq objects that the resolution is unfair, it so far has accepted the return of inspectors "without conditions, without reservations." That means inspectors will have their run of the place. Saddam must know, said Bush, that any "deception or denial or deceit" will mean war.

The issue, as far as Bush sees it, is not whether Iraq allows inspections, but whether it discloses and destroys its weapons of mass destruction. "If he chooses not to disarm," Bush said, "we will disarm him."

The first inspectors are to leave for Baghdad Monday. The next critical date is Dec. 8, when Iraq must issue to the Security Council "a full, accurate and complete" declaration of all its programs to develop and deliver weapons of mass destruction and civilian materials that could have military applications.

If inspectors are impeded in any way, or if that declaration differs from what can be demonstrated by U.S. intelligence, Bush will have his cause for war.

Either way, the endgame very likely has begun for Saddam. His only chance seems to be full compliance.

The world must hope he leads his people away from that cliff.