Washington at Odds Over Iraq Policy

Madeleine Albright, meet General Anthony Zinni. The secretary of state has spent the week trying to enthuse Arab governments about U.S. efforts to topple Saddam Hussein, but on Thursday the commander of U.S. forces in the Gulf warned that the Iraqi opposition groups were not a viable threat to Saddam, and that supporting them could be dangerous.

Pentagon commanders have long been skeptical over last year's Iraq Liberation Act, which budgets $97 million in military aid to opposition groups. "Some believe the act was little more than the administration trying to show it was doing something," says TIME Pentagon correspondent Mark Thompson. "They believe that if opposition groups did try to topple Saddam, it would be nothing less than the Bay of Pigs all over again." The debate may be a little academic -- three of the most important Iraqi opposition groups have already said they don't want U.S. aid. After all, sanctions and bombing haven't exactly endeared Washington to the Iraqi people.