Saddam, however, has proved to be a most uncooperative host. He repeatedly has balked at opening up his secret bases to the U.N. inspectors, acquiescing only after the Bush administration rattled its saber. Last week Saddam was at it again, refusing to allow U.N. helicopters to roam unrestricted over western Iraq to look for stashes of “unconventional weapons.” Suddenly the headlines were full of threats and war rumors. Bush himself turned up the heat, warning Saddam that he was “plenty fed up” and hinting that he would use force if need be. Saddam sneered back that Bush was just looking for an opportunity to resume the killing.
The Iraqi strongman may back down once more, at least temporarily. But as U.N. inspectors get closer to his hidden arsenal, administration officials expect Saddam to balk again. Each time he resists, the United States and Iraq draw a little closer to the brink. Unless Saddam caves in, the White House will deliver an ultimatum this week. If Iraq does not allow open and unimpeded inspections by the United Nations, the United States will just barge in. Marine helicopter gunships will fly shotgun for the U.N. choppers. American warplanes will fly cover overhead. U.S. soldiers may have to escort the U.N. inspectors on the ground-and it may also be necessary for the United States to clear a safe corridor by once more taking out sections of Iraq’s air-defense network. If Saddam resists, NEWSWEEK has learned, America is prepared to seize an airfield in Iraq as a forward operating base.
And if shooting breaks out, all bets are off. The Pentagon has offered Bush a large menu of bomb targets. The most accurate bombers of the gulf air war–F-111s and Stealth F-117As-will be sent into action. The aim would not be simply to destroy Saddam’s weapons-making capacity, but to go after his command structure and, possibly, Saddam himself. Bombing is not a very effective way to take out secret weapons plants; even with smart bombs, U.S. warplanes are likely to blow up mostly sand. But Saddam’s command bunkers and rebuilt communication centers are vulnerable. The Pentagon doubts Saddam would be killed, but planners hope that another round of devastating airstrikes would finally provoke the Iraqi military to revolt.
Bush is not trigger-happy. “This is no son of Desert Storm,” he told reporters. Fearing an open-ended involvement, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Colin Powell are preaching restraint. So is Secretary of State James Baker, who worries that renewed hostilities would torpedo a Mideast peace conference. But Bush is frustrated by Saddam’s persistent evasions. And national-security adviser Brent Scowcroft has told Bush that it will take stern steps to get that message across to Saddam. “Scowcroft has strapped on his six-shooter, and is moseying on down to the OK corral,” says a senior administration official.
Bush genuinely sees Saddam’s continued defiance as a test of collective security and his fledgling “new world order.” He is mindful as well of the political risks at home. If Saddam is still thumbing his nose in 1992, the Democrats may be able to jeer that Bush failed to finish the job in the gulf. “People may wake up and realize that the parades were premature,” says a Democratic congressional aide. Significantly, Bush for the first time last week acknowledged that his " mission" would be incomplete until he had destroyed Saddam’s ability to threaten his neighbors. He doesn’t have to destroy Saddam to do that. But he does need to take away his deadly toys.
