Footnotes in history are dead people on the ground. Noone's going to make war on America, if that's what people are worried about. There might be some people blown up or shot in reprisal, more footnotes in history. Unless they happen to be important people, which they hardly ever are.

This isn't anything to do with anything except politics, nothing to do with protecting opponents of Saddam, or safeguarding pilots, or putting Saddam in any kind of risk. Politics, making some kind of political statement for domestic purposes.