A Gold Watch, Too?(A)(EDITORIALS)

Iraq: Talk is spreading of a possible "deal" to send Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein into cozy exile, thus writing a neat end to a possible war. It would be a huge mistake.

The latest rumor to sweep Washington is that Iraq wants to negotiate, perhaps through Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal, an end to Saddam's rule over his troubled, oil-rich country.

As the rumor goes, Saddam would agree to retire to, say, Saudi Arabia in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to attack.

There's precedent for this. Uganda's murderous Idi Amin, who butchered hundreds of thousands before his bloody reign was brought to an end in 1979, lives now in air-conditioned splendor in Saudi Arabia. After all, despite his sins, he's a fellow Muslim.

It's tempting to let Saddam go the same way. No one truly wants war, and exile sounds like a simple way to avoid bloodshed.

But to let Iraq's Saddam avoid responsibility for the terror and pillage he has carried out during nearly three decades of misrule over that unlucky country would send the wrong message to the world -- and embolden other tyrants just like him.

Worse, it would leave Saddam's socialist Ba'ath Party with its hands still in control - an invitation to future mischief, mayhem and, perhaps, even more terror in the U.S.