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| Update
on Iraqi Politics
The most important developments in Iraqi politics are occurring not in Baghdad but in Washington. Ever since President George W. Bush made Iraq part of his controversial "axis of evil" during the 2002 State of the Union Address, the threat of an invasion or other military action by the United States (with or without its allies) has loomed on the political horizon. By late August, nothing was clear. Few American allies (including the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia) were will to support US military action let alone join in--at least for the moment. A number of high-ranking officials of the first Bush administration joined some Republican and Democratic senators in voicing their doubts about a unilateral invasion at this time. Public support for a possible war also began to decline. However, in a speech by Vice President Cheney on 26 August and in other statements, it was clear that a war with Iraq remained a definite possibility as far as the Bush administration was concerned. The regime in Baghdad made some efforts to defuse tensions by, for instance, inviting some sort of arms inispection program to return. However, these offers were rejected out of hand by United States, United Nations, and others.
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