Dear C.A.,

To the best of my knowledge, nobody who regularly contributes to this forum has ever defended Saddam Hussein. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in the U.S., outside of a very small group of Islamist extremists, who would defend Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein is a cruel, tyrannical dictator whose only concern is the brute power that he wields. He has absolutely no concern for human rights or human decency. He deserves to be removed from power. If there were some way for Mr. Bush to target Saddam, specifically, I'd be glad to help the man push the button.

The issue is strictly the method which is being contemplated for removing Saddam from power. That method, as we all know, is total war. It is impossible to prosecute a war against just the leadership of a country. By its very nature, war is waged against the country's entire population.   Iraqi men, women and children who may well despise Saddam more than any American does will become unwitting enemies and, hence, casualties just by virtue of where they were born.

Bruce