- The rhythms of the American electoral cycle mean that
if President Bush fails to attack Iraq at the beginning of next year, he
may have missed his chance.
-
- The Pentagon is unlikely to consider launching thousands
of US troops across the desert in the following summer months, when temperatures
rarely fall below 100F.
-
- There is an opportunity to strike in the autumn of next
year, officials say, but waiting until then risks the fighting spilling
over into 2004, leaving President Saddam Husseinís fate unresolved
at the start of a presidential election year, something that Republican
political strategists are loath to contemplate.
-
- Despite Mr Bushís early rhetoric against Saddam,
his room for manoeuvre has always been limited by the calendar. Reports
of an invasion being launched this autumn were always likely to be wide
of the mark. Americans go to the polls in early November for the critical
mid-term elections and Republican strategists do not want their quest to
regain control of the Senate wrecked by the unpredictability of war.
-
- Although Mr Bush enjoys the tacit support of many leading
Democrats for taking on Saddam, that could change in the ruthlessly partisan
atmosphere likely to prevail in 2004. Mistakes and reverses in a war that
left thousands of Americans dead could hurt Mr Bush in a presidential campaign,
especially if exploited by a canny Democrat who presented criticism as
patriotism.
-
- There are early signs that Mr Bush will not enjoy a free
political ride. Joe Biden, the Democrat chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, said yesterday that he wanted to question administration
officials in public this autumn about their proposals for Iraq.
-
- Mr Bush has public opinion with him in targeting Iraq,
but there are signs that is weakening. A recent Gallup poll found that
support for sending troops into Iraq has fallen from 74 per cent in November
to 59 per cent. White House officials want to use support while it is there.
-
- A Fox News poll found that 75 per cent of Americans would
support Mr Bush authorising the CIA to use deadly force to overthrow Saddam,
a step that he has not taken. Fifty-five per cent think that Washington
should try to assassinate Saddam.
-
- Mr Bush set a clock ticking in his State of the Union
address in January, when he labelled Iraq as part of an axis of evil, along
with Iran and North Korea. Mr Bush said that the trio posed a ìgrave
and growing dangerî. He said that time was not on Americaís
side and added: ìI will not wait on events while dangers gather.
I will not stand by as peril draws closer and closer.î
-
- By the time that Mr Bush stands before Congress next
January, he will need to demonstrate that he is living up to his own rhetoric,
and acting. Yet the Administration remains deeply divided about what precisely
the mission should be, let alone how to accomplish it.
-
- Personality clashes have also frustrated the war planning.
Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, believes strongly that the mission
should be focused entirely on Saddam. The toppling of the Iraqi dictator
should mark the successful completion of the operation, he believes.
-
- Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, wants a broader
brief, to include the transition to a democratic successor regime, the
kind of nation-building that Mr Bush derided in his 2000 presidential election
campaign. The success in Afghanistan has emboldened some in the Administration,
who say that it shows that intervention will be welcomed if it is swift
and decisive. Officials talk increasingly about the search for an ìIraqi
Karzaiî, referring to the new President of Afghanistan.
-
- In the past the Presidentís National Security
Advisers have thrown their weight around in debates between the Pentagon
and State Department. The role assumed by Condoleezza Rice is different.
She takes a back seat in debates, acting as a private summariser for the
President.
-
- The arrangement pitches Mr Rumsfeld against General Powell,
a faultline that is likely to grow as planning intensifies. Mr Bush confirmed
this week that he was playing a central role. ìIím involved
in the military planning,î he told a press conference.
-
- However, some diplomats in Washington doubt whether an
invasion will happen. One said: ìI know he wants to do it, but when
you look at everything involved, I still donít see how he does it.î
-
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-352826,00.htm
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