Saddam's ultimate objective was to hold on to a prize he deemed essential to his power. Then it was Kuwait. Now in the first weeks of February 1998, the stakes are weapons of mass destruction, but the game is distinctly the same. To alter that outcome, leading congressional Republicans have been advising President Bill Clinton to get rid of Saddam once and for all. Depose him, capture him, kill him if necessary.
Reality is different.
The U.S. must make its choices from risky, less conclusive options. As the diplomatic game is played out in search of a nonviolent end to this standoff, Clinton and the American public need to think hard about what, realistically, can and cannot be done. Few Americans dispute that there is a valid case for taking out Saddam. The Iraqi leader even more than his suspected arsenal menaces his neighborhood. He continues to frustrate U.N. resolutions designed to neuter his military might.