WAR IS EASILY AVOIDED:

Saddam should be given the chance to avoid a war that seems inevitable: To be credible, a UN ultimatum has to offer Saddam's regime a genuine way out if he chooses to take it (Donald Macintyre, 22 September 2002 , The Independent uk)

For the casus belli to be clear, let alone legitimate, there has to be some hope, however modest, that the ultimatum can be met, even if that has not yet happened. And that may mean the odious Iraqi regime has to be given some reason for believing that there is some alternative, however unpalatable, to a war it almost certainly can't win; that "regime change", in other words, is not inevitable.

Mr. McIntyre appears to have confused two entirely separate issues here. War is avoidable but regime change is not. If Saddam wishes to spare his people a war he can step down now and call for elections. Which does the Left seek for Iraq, human rights or Saddam? Posted by Orrin Judd at September 21, 2002 7:32 PM