ON SADDAM'S ASSASSINATION - CHARACTER AND OTHERWISE.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

SO MUCH OF TV's coverage of the impending war with Iraq sounds like cheerleading these days - go, America, siss, boom (particularly boom) bah - that MSNBC's ``Wargame: Iraq'' seems something of a miracle.

``Wargame: Iraq,'' from NBC News Special Projects executive producer Mark Lukasiewicz, assembles a mock National Security Council composed of foreign policy experts - Les Gelb, president of the Council of Foreign Relations, portrays the national security adviser, for example, and Susan Rice, late of the Clinton administration, plays America's ambassador to the United Nations, and so on.

Its members debate whether to plunge into war against Iraq based on an evolving series of frighteningly plausible scenarios - Saddam Hussein jerks around the weapons inspectors, the grimly ubiquitous specter of domestic terrorism lurks, violence between Israel and Palestine escalates. Through it all, there's thoughtful, open-ended debate that considers every repercussion war might bring - alienation from allies, catastrophic body counts here at home, oil shortages and, of course, ridding the Middle East of at least one homicidal megalomaniac.

The conclusions this faux council reaches will make you feel anything but secure. The sooner America moves against Iraq, the more vulnerable it will be (Gelb notes the bleak irony that our military is better equipped to pummel Iraq than protect the homeland). On the other hand, delaying an attack would make the country look weak, possibly inspire more domestic attacks and give Hussein more time to hone his weapons. It's a provocative debate that also provides insight into both the function and the mindset (``You can't keep France happy'') of the National Security Council.

Why America is so dead-set on bringing Hussein down is capably explained in the cheeky Cinemax documentary ``Uncle Saddam.'' French journalist Joel Soler spent a month in Iraq and sneaked out with interviews with people close to Hussein and rare footage of some of Saddam's more eccentric behaviors (lecturing at length on hygiene, fishing by tossing grenades into lakes).

Soler examines Hussein's legacy of nepotism and violence - family members are in charge of sundry facets of his dictatorship, and, as George W. Bush has said, anyone not with him is against him. Of course, anyone against him is summarily tortured and executed. Sometimes the nepotism and violence go hand in hand, as Hussein has had many of his own family members murdered and imprisoned.

Hussein nonetheless posits himself as a grand humanitarian, the ``Leader of All Muslims'' and the man on Earth closest to God, so naturally, his ego gets a little out of control - it's said there are as many likenesses of Hussein in the forms of murals, statues, etc. (the Saddam Art Center is aptly named, filled with paintings of Saddam) in Iraq as there are Iraqis (20 million, in case you're counting). He's currently building the world's largest mosque, which will feature an island shaped like his thumbprint. Meanwhile, the rest of the country suffers in poverty - 3 million children have died since the U.S. applied sanctions in 1990.

Former Kid in the Hall Scott Thompson, with Michael Moore (``Bowling for Columbine'') clearly in mind, wrote the script, which is delivered in occasionally grating fashion by Wallace Langham, who tries too hard to sell the wackiness. Still, it's a stunning portrait of a dangerous loon - regardless of where your sympathies lie in terms of war, you'll have to agree this nut job shouldn't be in charge of anything but his own fan club. Which he apparently thinks he is.

WARGAME: IRAQ - Three and one half stars

What: Simulated sessions of the National Security Council debating whether to go to war against Iraq.

Where: MSNBC.

When: 7 tonight.

In a nutshell: Thoughtful, provocative, insightful - and disturbing as hell.

UNCLE SADDAM - Three stars

What: Darkly comic biography of Iraq's dictator.

Where: Cinemax.

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday; also Dec. 12.

In a nutshell: Not as amusing as it believes itself to be, but Hussein's epic lunacy speaks for itself.

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Several new disturbing revelations about Iraq's dictator come out in ``Uncle Saddam.''

Associated Press