War is really being delayed and alternative options are being discussed.
This,
however, is unlikely for the following reasons:
Military
preparations are not only continuing but intensifying. Only hours after
ordering 35,000 extra troops
to head for Iraq, the Pentagon ordered another 62,000
on Sunday. Furthermore, such a large number of troops cannot be maintained
for too long in the region without military action.
Last
week saw some high profile meetings between
American and Iraqi opposition leaders, indicating that preparations
for a post-Saddam Iraq are still continuing.
The
US/UK have some hidden evidence that they believe will clearly show Saddam
in breach of the UN and guarantee backing for war from the UN Security
Council, possibly even with another resolution. So they are now in the
process of giving the impression that they want to avoid a war and are
willing to give inspectors the time they need until they release this
information before Blix's January 27th report.
The
US has decided to go to war without the UN. To cover its back and to quell
opposition in parliament and the country, the UK government is creating
the impression it wants to avoid a war and would like to go through the
UN, so that when the US announces they are going alone, Blair can claim
he is forced to join so as to influence and restrain the US.
Blix said in his latest report that his team had not found "any smoking guns",
but that Iraq's 12,000 page weapons declaration "failed to answer
a great many questions". Saddam, in his annual Army Day address,
accused UN weapons inspectors of being spies - possibly indicating
that when he feels he can no longer buy himself more time or when inspectors
are close to finding his weapons he would expel them.
