The president had ordered attack preparations a
second time after calling off the first hit, which was
delayed in the wee hours Saturday night as U.S.
and Iraqi diplomats huddled.

Clinton said he changed his mind on military
strikes to give Iraq one last chance to comply with
weapon-inspection guidelines drafted eight years
ago.

Iraq has backed down, but that is not enough. Iraq
must live up to its obligations, said Clinton, who
listed five separate conditions for Iraq to follow to
avoid a heavy-duty bombing.

If Iraq reneges, Clinton promised a speedy
response that may not come with a warning: We
will remain vigilant, keep up the pressure and be
ready to act.

The U.S. late yesterday halted the military buildup,
but kept forces in the region on alert.

Inspectors - cooling their heels for the past six
days in Saudi Arabia - are expected to be back on
the ground in Iraq today or tomorrow, said Richard
Butler, chairman of the U.N. Special Commission
overseeing Iraqi disarmament.

Clinton's announcement came less than a day
after he sent U.S. aircraft to Iraq for a bombing
mission, only to abort the mission when Saddam
Hussein offered an 11th-hour compromise.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulated
Clinton on winning Hussein's turnaround.

President Clinton's statesmanlike response will be
welcomed by the entire international community,
said Annan.

After the U.S. military stand-down, Iraq declared
victory and partied in the streets.

Our views are correct, said Vice President Taha
Yassin Ramadan.

With Iraq celebrating, critics in the U.S. questioned
the wisdom of promising action and once again
failing to deliver; Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.)
advocated the outright killing of Hussein.

I would certainly say we should apply force, said
Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) on Fox's Early Edition.

Lawmakers also predicted more flare-ups as long
as Hussein remains in power.

Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) complained that
U.S. officials have allowed Hussein to call the
shots for seven years.

We have not had a very concerted effort to remove
this man from power, and I think we need to have
that kind of an effort, Dicks told Fox.

Our country and the rest of the world ... are at risk,
will continue to be at risk, so long as Saddam
Hussein rules Iraq, said Sen. Richard Lugar
(R-Ind.) on NBC's Meet the Press.

Clinton has to move on course with the military
authority ... we've been embarrassed, added
Lugar.

This new dust-up is the latest in a series of
confrontations between the U.S. and Iraq in the
years since the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq invaded
Kuwait and was prompted spanked by U.S. and
other ground forces.

Western countries have threatened force against
Iraq every time Hussein throws obstacles in the
way of U.N. inspectors - who are charged with
nosing around the country for clues of chemical
weapons.

After resisting inspectors, Iraq increased the
stakes on Aug. 3 and again Oct. 31 by refusing all
cooperation with inspections.

For its part, Iraq complains that tough economic
sanctions are starving its people and killing the
country's economy. Hussein also says U.N.
inspectors are spies for Israel and the U.S.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on CNN that
sanctions against Iraq are counterproductive.

The sanctions have hurt the Iraqi people ... The
sanctions have not hurt Saddam Hussein,
Feinstein said.

Clinton made his announcement at the White
House, standing side by side with Defense
Secretary William Cohen and the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry Shelton.

-- Midknight - 11/16/98