OK, Mister B. I'm all for a well-thought out backup position, intelligently planned and all that.

There are SO many more creative ways to change minds, I tend to think of ALL violence as an extreme failure of imagination. No matter whose. I think it is a confession of extreme inability to manage things to be backed up against such a wall. But I know, historically that it does happen.

If you review the history of how it happens, I suspect there are plenty of places where MUCH less effort would have turned things to a much better result.

I am not sure what you are referring to about the screams against demands for compliance. As I recall, before the drums of war, the only complaint being voiced by the left wing was that the sanctions against Iraq were resulting in a lot of starvation of children. I think it is understandable to protest wrongful death, especially of children. Sure, you can fob it off by saying it was Saddam's decision and his problem. But that changeth the cruelty of it not a whit, and some folks just aren't cut out for cruelty.

A