Saddam Hussein

It is totally amazing, but not unexpected, that the U.S. believes that Saddam Hussein is hiding material that would show him to be a liar regarding the sanctions imposed on his country (Nov. 5). But even more important is the wimpy United Nations response to him, which is exactly what he is expecting. The inspectors postpone their inspections. The U.N. postpones the U-2 flights. That is exactly what Saddam wants--giving him time to move whatever it is that he is hiding (and we all know that he is playing a shell game).

What ought to be done is: Issue an ultimatum that the inspectors be allowed to do their jobs or, if he does not allow this, to give them time to remove personnel in that building and promptly send in F-117s to destroy it. The U.N. is being very naive if it thinks that Saddam is being upfront with the world regarding his programs for weapons of mass destruction. The U.N. ultimately failed in its too-limited objectives of the Gulf War and its poor handling of events afterward.

LARRY GORNEY

Van Nuys

The American part of the U.N. team was on the verge of finding biological and other weapons caches, prompting Saddam to order their expulsion. Now President Clinton, averse to confrontation, has a problem how to paper over his defeat. Saddam knows that Clinton will not engage in enforcement of weapons control. After all, Iraq has been allowed to export oil in spite of serious infractions of its commitment after the Gulf War.

Clinton does not bear the responsibility of preserving Saddam. Still, a mild slap on the fingers of Saddam as he invaded Kurdish areas, by shooting a few missiles, assured the rogue that America can be challenged again and again. In this Saddam is helped by such American quasi-allies as France, which refuses to join in controlling the flight of Iraqi military aircraft, to contribute a penny to the expansion of NATO and subsidizes Iran’s nuclear development.

BRANKO PLACIK