I feel compelled to add that the Russians have flatly denied this a baseless rumour, but I'm throwing it out there anyway as a possibility. They have had their intellegence following this war closely, without giving any really explanation (articles on request), and this possibiliy, which unlikely, is not inconcievable.
http://english.aljazeera.net/topics/...&parent_id=258
Could Saddam Hussein be striking a last-minute deal?
WednesdayÂ*09,Â*April,Â*2003Â*/Â*Last Updated:Â*11:07PMÂ*Doha time,Â*9:07AMÂ*GMT
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein may be negotiating an eleventh-hour deal that could see him exiled to a safe country.
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SpeculationÂ*has rife as to whether Saddam Hussein is dead, alive, staying with his government or fleeing. In the lastÂ*few minutes Lebanese television has reported that he is in the safety of the Russian embassy.
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Al Jazeera's correspondent in Moscow reported earlier today that theÂ*Russian delegation that came under fire from US forces as it left Baghdad on 7 April may have been dealing with senior representatives of the Iraqi government in guaranteeing a safe exit for Saddam Hussein.
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A Russian diplomat wounded in Iraq and his colleague arrive at the Russian embassy in Damascus
?This explains the lack of resistance by the Republican Guard and Iraqi forces,? a Russian general told Al-Jazeera on condition of anonymity.
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Akram Khouzam, Al-Jazeera?s reporter in Moscow, reports that the general's claim may explain the absence of organised resistance in Iraq, even in the capital itself where communications could not have been disrupted completely.
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BaghdadÂ*hadÂ*been expected to put up stiff resistance to the US-led invasion but in the event it appears to have capitulated, withÂ*the Iraqi militaryÂ*putting up less opposition than inÂ*more poorlyÂ*defendedÂ*places such as Umm Qasr and Basra.
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Russian intelligence has officially denied reports that diplomats who left Baghdad last weekÂ*took with them Saddam?s secret archive, saying this allegation was being made to justify the US attack on the diplomatic convoy last week.
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However, the Russian general speaking by phone to Al-Jazeera said his claims wereÂ*based on the cooperation of Saddam and a group of his close officials with the United States during the Iran-IraqÂ* war and encouragement for Saddam to invade Kuwait in 1991.