Michaelr: I beg to differ. I think Saddam kicked the inspectors out of Iraq. I dont' know why there is so much hemming and hawing about who is to blame for the cessation of inspections anyway. Saddam is clearly in violation of the U. N. Accord because he agreed, at the end of Desert Storm, to allow unfettered inspections. He reneged. Seems pretty clear to me. I do think it would be wise for Bush to go back to the U.N. and take another shot at requiring Saddam to allow the inspectors back in and allow them to look wherever they wish and at whatever they wish. If he doesn't agree, and there is ample proof he is planning the kind of mischief the administration thinks he is, then go get him. His offer to allow a congressional delegation in to make the inspections is laughable.

Someone earlier asked, why should there be inspections in the first place? It was a condition Saddam agreed to in order to stop Desert Storm from going on into Bagdad and killing his sorry ass.

Nicole: Do you REALLY believe Bush would start a war only to line his own pockets with money? If you do, I think that is sad.

The fact that people DID go out and buy consumer goods their tax refund is greatly responsible for the economy's improvment. That and the tax reduction.

Telling folks to save oil isn't going to get the job done. Americans still want to drive their SUVs, pickups, big cars, etc., and consider the right to do so, almost as important as preserving their civil rights.

I just saw an interview with Alan Dershowitz (sp?) on TV. Now no one can point the finger at him and say, "Conservative." Yet, when asked about the loss of civil liberties so many of you are concerned about he said, (paraphrasing) "there are times during national emergencies when it is necessary to revise our civil rights to suit the situation." Not an exact quote, but that was the gist of what he said. I agree, and I never thought in a hundred years I would ever agree with him on anything.

I was around during WW II, which was the last declared war as Don pointed out, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and I do not remember any debate about the formality of declaring war. As I recall, there was only one single vote in the Congress against declaring war against Germany and Japan in 1941.

DougR