Word: saddamism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...best-laid American plans for military action against him. On the surface, the letter dispatched to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeared to fulfill U.S. demands that Iraq let unfettered inspections resume immediately. But it came with a two-page annex listing nine items Iraq wanted in return, which Saddam dubbed "positions" but the U.S. called unacceptable "conditions." The approval--and global sigh of relief--that initially greeted Saddam's backdown soured into fresh anxiety. Annan, who had welcomed the missive as a "positive step" that "in my opinion" met U.N. demands, was forced to call for "clarifications...
...told the military to stand down. In a Sunday morning press conference, the President (who confessed he hadn't had much sleep) called the result a win: "Our willingness to strike produced the outcome we preferred." But he also made it clear that the U.S. would continue to watch Saddam. "This is not a question of faith," the President said. "This is a question of action...
...also a question of pragmatism. Saddam's letter, late as it was, nearly instantly vaporized the international political consensus that would have supported a strike. Though the U.S. had insisted it would act alone if necessary, Saddam's retreat forced the White House to regroup with its allies. The tense see-sawing of the day produced a profound sense of deja vu. "Haven't we been here before?" sighed a Navy officer. "How many times are we going to let him do this...
That, of course, is the question that has been vexing Clinton for six years. Since taking office, he has pursued a policy aides call "keeping Saddam in his box." But he refuses to stay put. Clinton tried peaceful diplomacy, but Saddam just signs and cheats. He tried Tomahawk diplomacy; Saddam just ducks and ignores 'em. Even as Clinton last week charted a sustained bombing campaign that one offiCIAl likened to a "slow, soaking rain," no one suggested that it would rid the world of Saddam. The goal of the strikes was more modest and less satisfying: to "degrade" Iraq...
...letter, however, was all Saddam needed to rev diplomacy into high gear. His yes-but reply arrived in New York City just hours later, forcing the Pentagon to hit the hold button on its imminent air strike. Then Annan gave an early-morning "positive" appraisal to the letter, deflating the momentum for military action before Washington had time to react. "We did a remarkable job isolating Saddam, and the Secretary-General undermined that," lamented a U.S. official. "It was not helpful. And that's a massive understatement...