rats fleeing a sinking ship - the times of london reports that senior members of the iraqi regime are 'starting to look for an exit strategy' once the us declares war on iraq. my prediction is that any war on iraq will end quickly, and saddam hussein will eventually meet a fate similar to that of romanian dictator nicolae ceausescu. i just wish that hussein's death is captured on film, so that other middle east tyrants begin to get nervous and their long-suffering subjects start getting ideas on regime change.

the only question is whether iraq's military will actually use the chemical and biological weapons on any invading force, or more likely, on israeli targets via missile attack. currently, american warplanes are supposedly dropping leaflets on iraqi military installations that warn local commanders not to use their chemical and biological arsenals. it's a scenario right out of a james bond movie--will the iraqi regime risk overwhelming retaliation from the us and israel and go down in a blaze of glory? let's hope that some iraqi general bumps off hussein before most of the firing begins.