But almost any regime in Iraq, or even a loosely-confederated Iraq, with Kurds leaning towards relationships with Kurds in other countries, and Shia leaning towards relationships with Shia outside Iraq, would be preferable to the rule of this killer who now controls Iraq. There will doubtless be a lot of disruption, confusion, and probably some rather nasty Iraqi leaders if Saddam goes, so this will take a great deal of patience on our part. We have to show the Iraqi people that we are trying to help, not rush into war. Well, I believe that this crisis has been created by Saddam, not by the Iraqi people. And his ruthlessness and his willingness to ignore them and even to kill them is virtually boundless.
Public opinion has no real effect on what happens in Iraq.
Over the long run, the kindest thing we could do for the Iraqi people, in my view, is to help them get rid not just of Saddam but his regime. It is illegal under executive order 12333, signed by former President Ford in the mid-1970's, for us to try, directly or indirectly, to assassinate any foreign leader. What this all means is that it is against the law for the CIA or any other part of the US government, to try to carry out or even to assist an assassination. But bombing raids that target, for example, Saddam's palaces are not illegal. Again, the problem is not just him as an individual, but the nature of his Ba'athist nationalist regime.