Bush, Blair, Laden and Saddam in fray

Major players in the Iraq war dominated the shortlist for Time magazine’s Person of the Year award and film-star-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also made the cut, Time said on Wednesday. With most of the year’s headlines about Iraq, President George W. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his deputy Paul Wolfowitz, Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice are all under consideration.

Former bodybuilder Schwarzenegger is vying with them after an unprecedented election that recalled California Governor. The winner of a prize that generates debate in the media will appear on the cover of Time’s December 22 issue.

Other potential winners include Paul Bremer, the top US civilian in Iraq, and Gen. Tommy Franks, who ran operations during the war. Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi leader, is also among those put forward by the magazine’s editors for consideration.

Also in the race are Hans Blix, the UN weapons inspector, UN head Kofi Annan, French leader Jacques Chirac, British PM Tony Blair, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Israeli leader Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The magazine has given the award since 1927. Previous winners have included Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. (Reuters)