The Baker-Aziz meeting proved to be mainly rehearsed theater on both sides, except in one respect: at the urging of Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, Baker issued a stark warning about what the U.S. would do if Saddam used chemical or biological weapons. “The American people will demand vengeance,” Baker said. “And we have the means to exact it. Let me say with regard to this part of my presentation, this is not a threat; it is a promise. If there is any use of weapons like that, our objective won’t just be the liberation of Kuwait, but the elimination of the current Iraqi regime.” The retaliation
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