Everybody Loves A Winner

By DAVID ELLIS

In secret talks with U.S. officials, Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim opposition leaders have been told that Saddam Hussein could be replaced by a pro-West military junta sometime this summer. The prospect has prompted some Shi'ites to discard their historic anti-U.S. stance in the hope of taking part in a power-sharing arrangement with a future military regime. "We can get on with the Americans," asserts a European-based opposition leader. "We worked closely with the Russians for 40 years. What did it get us? Garbage: antiquated weapons, outdated industrial goods and a lame economy."

With reporting by Georgia Harbison