Backtracking?

Not necessarily.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has spoken of “regime change” in Iraq for at least 18 months, said Sunday the United States might not seek to remove Saddam Hussein if he abandoned his weapons of mass destruction.

Other semantically equivalent statements:

“The United States might not seek to remove Saddam Hussein if Susan Sarandon, Woody Harrelson, Alec Baldwin and Sean Penn issue a joint press release that isn’t utter nonsense.”

“The United States might not seek to remove Saddam Hussein if the Democrats will support elimination of the corporate income tax.”

“The United States might not seek to remove Saddam Hussein if the sun rises in the west.”

“The United States might not seek to remove Saddam Hussein if snowball fights break out in Hades.”