EVEN JANEANE GAROFALO CAN'T SAVE HIM NOW

What part of "buh-bye" doesn't Saddam understand, the "buh," or the "bye?" It's probably too late for him to catch a flight out of Baghdad, but he still has enough time to drive to Turkey or Saudi Arabia. Defecting to the Kurdish-controlled region of Iraq technically does not count as leaving Iraq, and is not recommended in any event. Defecting to that other country Saddam once considered part of Iraq would probably not be a smart move, either.

UPDATE: So much for the 5:00 PST / 8:00 EST deadline. By Iraq's choice, the war is on. Link via Instapundit.

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: Or maybe not? No one but the Independent seems to be reporting this, and we all know the Independent has a nasty habit of reporting news before it actually happens. I guess we'll find out soon enough, though. ANOTHER UPDATE: Whether the war has started or not, it's pretty clear that Iraqi surrenders have. Here's hoping they won't get sent back this time around.

UNRELATED UPDATE: Master of the Obvious David Lazarus writes that this might just be one of those conflicts you can't mediate away. I'm sure the blogosphere's favorite mediator would agree with this assessment.