(2003-02-26) — The White House and Saddam Hussein have finally found common ground on one issue of the current crisis. The breakthrough came when Mr. Hussein told CBS News reporter Dan Rather that he won’t go into exile.
“We will die here,” said the Iraqi president. “We will die in this country and we will maintain our honour.”
The Bush administration immediately accepted the proposal.
“The president doesn’t know who else Saddam’s talking about when he says ‘we will die here’,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, “But as long as that includes Saddam, we’re open to the idea. Of course, there are still a lot of details to work out. But now that he has conceded one of our major demands, it’s just a matter of timing and methodology, and how much of our assistance might be required.”
Mr. Fleischer said Saddam would have to supply his own “honour”.
“According to our data, he doesn’t have any of that in stock,” Mr. Fleischer added.