I just read this on CNN's website.Hopefully this is true & maybe we can avoid a conflict:
U.S. officials told CNN on Wednesday that surrender negotiations have secretly begun with key Iraqi military officials in hopes that some military units will not fight U.S. and coalition forces if there is war.
Communications with these Iraqi military officials are not being handled by the Pentagon, but instead by other elements of the U.S. government, the officials said.
One senior official said that some elements of the Iraqi military may have already agreed not to fight.
This underscores assessments by both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency that the leadership around Saddam Hussein is brittle. Officials have been making that assessment somewhat public as part of their effort to publicize what they say is Saddam's vulnerability.
The officials said they could not give specifics, out of concern that Saddam would enact retribution.
To the dismay of the U.S. officials involved, the secret effort was first publicly hinted at Tuesday by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
When asked at a press conference how the Iraqi military could signal support for the U.S. effort, Rumsfeld said, "They are being communicated with privately at the present time. They are being, will be communicated with in a more public way. And they will receive instructions so that they can behave in a way that will be seen and understood as being non-threatening."
One official said Rumsfeld's public acknowledgment about the private communication was not expected.
U.S. officials told CNN on Wednesday that surrender negotiations have secretly begun with key Iraqi military officials in hopes that some military units will not fight U.S. and coalition forces if there is war.
Communications with these Iraqi military officials are not being handled by the Pentagon, but instead by other elements of the U.S. government, the officials said.
One senior official said that some elements of the Iraqi military may have already agreed not to fight.
This underscores assessments by both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency that the leadership around Saddam Hussein is brittle. Officials have been making that assessment somewhat public as part of their effort to publicize what they say is Saddam's vulnerability.
The officials said they could not give specifics, out of concern that Saddam would enact retribution.
To the dismay of the U.S. officials involved, the secret effort was first publicly hinted at Tuesday by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
When asked at a press conference how the Iraqi military could signal support for the U.S. effort, Rumsfeld said, "They are being communicated with privately at the present time. They are being, will be communicated with in a more public way. And they will receive instructions so that they can behave in a way that will be seen and understood as being non-threatening."
One official said Rumsfeld's public acknowledgment about the private communication was not expected.
