Outlining King Abdullah's proposal for an amnesty for Mr. Hussein and other top Iraqi leaders, one official here who has met Mr. Hussein said he was almost certain to choose a fate akin to Hitler's death in his bunker in 1945 Berlin if American forces arrive at in Baghdad.
Other top Iraqis, including both of Mr. Hussein's sons, Qusay and Uday, would be likely to choose personal survival over a cataclysmic end, these officials said.
"Uday might be the first to shoot his father if he refused an amnesty," one senior Jordan official said. He added that Jordan's estimate of the Iraqi leaders was that many in the top 50 who might be included in an amnesty offer, including high-ranking generals, might summon up the resolve to kill Mr. Hussein if he refused an amnesty that was the last lifeline available to them. In his 23 years in power, Mr. Hussein has survived numerous assassination attempts, mostly by disaffected generals, and has executed dozens of alleged plotters.
Senior Jordanian officials say they believe that a "quick war," with limited casualties and damage to Iraq's infrastructure, might lead to an equally rapid reversal of popular opinion across the Arab world. Scenes of Iraqis hailing their liberation, these officials reason, could send a powerful message to Arabs outside Iraq who until now have supported Mr. Hussein.
In discussions with these Jordanian officials, there is barely any reference to the dispute between the United States and European nations over the best way of containing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. These officials cite the American resolve to get rid of Mr. Hussein in saying the issue in Iraq is "regime change," not weapons, and they make clear they favor the switch.
These officials say that most Arab leaders would be happy to see Mr. Hussein overthrown, despite the Iraqi leader's popularity with many ordinary Arabs.
The Jordanian officials speak in unvarnished terms — similar to those used in the reports of Western human rights groups — of the terror they say Mr. Hussein has imposed on Iraq's 24 million people.
See the key paragraphs below from John Burns's fascinating story in the New York Times today: 
