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Article: SADDAM TAKES A CHANCE.(Saddam Hussein )
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- December 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The collapse of America's Middle East peace efforts and the Israeli-Palestinian violence has provided a perfect opportunity for Saddam Hussein to bolster his position and the Iraqi leader has wasted no time in exploiting his advantage.
Within days of the start of the conflict, he was promising to send troops and equipment to help the Palestinians. "An end must be put to Zionism," said the Iraqi leader, in one of several aggressive attacks on Israel. Volunteers were being signed up in Baghdad to fight the Israelis. A Republican Guard division was reportedly moved west towards the Jordanian border.
Symbolic gestures, perhaps. But they meant the Iraqi ...