REGIME IN IRAQ HAS FALLEN
US FORCES HAVE TAKEN CONTROL OF BAGHDAD'S CENTER AS IRAQ MILITARY DISBANDS, HUSSEIN GOES INTO HIDING
10 April 2003

Reports have been circulating, in conjunction with images of Iraqis and Americans tearing down monuments to Saddam Hussein, that the dictator's regime has fallen. Iraq, as such, is now without any clear civil government. The regime's ambassador to the UN has said "the game is over", referring to the war, and the diplomatic debates.

He, like many around the world, offered his wish that the Iraqi people be allowed to live in peace from now on. The whereabouts of the ambassador and other senior officials is unknown at present. The United States is treating Saddam Hussein as a fugitive from justice, and assumes at present that he has gone into hiding.

Though the central regime has fallen, it is unclear whether the surrounding regions will recognize the authority of an occupying force as a governing power, or whether the Sunni population will accept a replacement to Hussein's regime which removes the sectarian minority from power. [s]

WORLD BRACES FOR WAR
18 March 2003

Last night, US president George W. Bush declared that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would have 48 hours to quit his post and leave the country, if he wishes to prevent a devastating military campaign. Dissident European allies of the US insist that diplomatic options have not been exhausted, and they will persist, even in the face of impending war, in their efforts to achieve a "miracle" truce. [Full Story]

NEW OBSTACLES
1 March 2003

The Turkish parliament, under severe public pressure, has voted to refuse to allow US troops to launch a northern campaign against Iraq from Turkish soil. The US administration is reportedly cautious and awaits "clarification" of the vote, presumably clarification of whether or not this is the final word. [Full Story]