a bullet in the head will cause death, naturally. -----Original Message----- From: Cleveland, Kyle E. To: [log in to unmask] Sent: 9/12/2002 9:59 PM Subject: Re: 911 was Tomorrow Deri, Unfortunately, I'm reading your posts in reverse chrono order, so forgive, please, if I mention something you've already addressed. One wonders how the west cam improve the lot of the average Iraqi with Sadaam ready to snatch every crumb of aid we might send their way? Since his "party" came to power a couple decades back, he's squandered all his resources on his military might (war w/Iran, etc.). I would venture to say that with Sadaam--and his regime/family--out of the way, our chances of helping the average Iraqi attain life's essentials markedly improve. Have there been accurate, unbiased reports on how the Iraqi citizenry have been harmed by UN sanctions? I agree with the "surgical" approach to eliminating his WMD capability. WMD are not the root issue for Blair/Bush. It's that Sadaam is alive and capable of causing mischief in an already unstable region. He presents no "real and present danger" to either the U.S. proper or your green and pleasant land (love that lyric!). I think Bush hinted to the UN today that he is willing to wait until after 1 January to act unilaterally, which garnered favor with France and Russia. Their collective assent, and whatever is in Blair's "dossier" may be enough to change the tide of world opinion. Nevertheless, the coalition does not need favor in the court of world opinion. We are, in fact, the world's only real Superpower, and as Bobby indicated earlier, no Arab state LOVES America anyway, so what do WE have to lose? Well, possibly the active involvement of Isreal in a World War. One certainly hopes that the dossier is juicy enough to justify the absolute meltdown of the cradle of civilization. If it is, then to hell with world opinion, let's 'get it on'! If it isn't, then we might be better off letting Sadaam die of natural causes. I don't envy either Mr. Bush or Mr. Blair. -Kyle -----Original Message----- From: Deri James To: [log in to unmask] Sent: 9/12/02 9:37 PM Subject: Re: 911 was Tomorrow On Thursday 12 Sep 2002 11:03 pm, Cleveland, Kyle E. wrote: > Oddly enough, the Pentagon conundrum is not, as the media contends, > between the Hawks and Doves. In reality, unilateral attack is > probably moot. The issue is whether to go forward with an > Afghanistan-style operation (promoted by the Air Force) which > prefers an air assault directed by teams of Special Forces on the > ground (200 soldiers, tops). The Army, however, prefers more of a > "Desert Storm" approach of using the air forces to take out the > infrastructure, followed by a mechanized ground assault on Baghdad. > There's a lot of inter-nicene squabbling about the "how" of the > attack. Critical to both approaches is how fast stability can be > brought to the region without a Kurdish uprising, thus pissing off > Turkey. A Kurdish uprising would be the least of their worries, if US/UK unilaterally attack Iraq the whole Middle East will be thrown into turmoil, at least two "pro western" countries whould switch to Moslem fundamentalism. If Bush/Blair have such good "dope" on his "Nuke Factory" then take it out, you don't need to invade the whole country. Snatching away his toys every couple of years is really going to piss him off. Drop the sanctions, improve the lot of your aaverage Iraqi, make them think "well maybe Uncle Sam's not so bad". > Sadaam's point-of-view is that if the regime can survive the > initial assault, the US will not have the stomach for a full-scale > ground assault on Baghdad (which is what happened in 1991). > > Bush and Blair are quickly losing credibility by holding their > cards close. They say, "We have the goods on Sadaam. We'll show > you (U.N. Security Council)next month or November." Sorry, Tony > and Dubya, you boys ain't got a month. > > The coalition can and probably will win the war, but waiting until > the mid-term elections are over is too transparent even for a dumb > redneck like me. > > -Kyle > Cheers Deri