WASHINGTON -- Top Bush Administration officials announced Thursday that former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein would be allowed to return to Baghdad and resume competition at world domination after he completes a two-month suspension.

"Saddam has done some very bad things, and we want to make it perfectly clear to everyone that the sorts of things that he's done won't be tolerated in any way, shape or form," said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a news conference.

"In accordance with our policy of zero tolerance, Saddam is hereby suspended for two months," Rumsfeld said. "Stealing, lying and torturing Iraqi civilians by lowering them into shredding machines is the sort of thing that will be met with the harshest possible temporary suspension."

Some Iraqis protested the decision.

"I can't believe it," said one resident. "It's probably a big misunderstanding. They say he stole what would be nearly $1 billion in U.S. dollars from a bank just before the start of the war, and that that money belonged to Iraqi citizens. But anyone could make that sort of mistake."

Administration officials said that the suspension would be effective retroactively, as of the start of the war, March 19. Saddam's suspension would therefore last until May 19, officials said.

"This will give Saddam plenty of time to think about the wrong things that he's done, reflect on them, suffer a temporary punishment for them, and then return to a completely normal situation as a full-fledged peer of honest and sportsmanlike world leaders as though absolutely nothing had happened," said Secretary of State Colin Powell.

President Bush, speaking before troops aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, said that Saddam was an evil dictator, and that it had been absolutely necessary that the United States and its allies remove him from power.

"That's why it will be so very interesting to see what he does next when his suspension is over," Bush said.

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WASHINGTON -- Top Bush Administration officials announced Thursday that former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein would be allowed to return to Baghdad and resume competition at world domination after he completes a two-month suspension.

"Saddam has done some very bad things, and we want to make it perfectly clear to everyone that the sorts of things that he's done won't be tolerated in any way, shape or form," said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a news conference.

"In accordance with our policy of zero tolerance, Saddam is hereby suspended for two months," Rumsfeld said. "Stealing, lying and torturing Iraqi civilians by lowering them into shredding machines is the sort of thing that will be met with the harshest possible temporary suspension."

Some Iraqis protested the decision.

"I can't believe it," said one resident. "It's probably a big misunderstanding. They say he stole what would be nearly $1 billion in U.S. dollars from a bank just before the start of the war, and that that money belonged to Iraqi citizens. But anyone could make that sort of mistake."

Administration officials said that the suspension would be effective retroactively, as of the start of the war, March 19. Saddam's suspension would therefore last until May 19, officials said.

"This will give Saddam plenty of time to think about the wrong things that he's done, reflect on them, suffer a temporary punishment for them, and then return to a completely normal situation as a full-fledged peer of honest and sportsmanlike world leaders as though absolutely nothing had happened," said Secretary of State Colin Powell.

President Bush, speaking before troops aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, said that Saddam was an evil dictator, and that it had been absolutely necessary that the United States and its allies remove him from power.

"That's why it will be so very interesting to see what he does next when his suspension is over," Bush said.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!