Hi Old Guy,

Now I see some objectivity in this discussion. Are we complaining or looking for a lasting solution?

I think there is a built-in solution. I don't agree that the inspections should cease.

As I asked before, does any body here really believe the WMDs do not exist in Iraq? If they believe they do not exist, will they guarantee they do not exist?

The reason I don't think that it matters if they do or don't is that Iraq doesn't have the capability of doing the damage that the adminstration says it does.
The US was wrong about the military capability of the former USSR and it's wrong, here. It they do exist, it is ineffectual.

My point is that the war protestors say that the plans of the administration are absolutely wrong but they don't propose a long range plan to take its place.

Not true. The inspections have worked and will continue to do so as long as we don't abort the process. Some hot heads may be impatient but where is the long term solution being offered by the adminstration? In fact, the scenario seems crazy. it is to bomb Iraq into submission and establish democracy there through occupation of a military dictatorship. Or even worse, drain it of oil and forget about it the way the US is now doing in Afghanistan. Does anyone see democracy happening in Afghanistan?


What will result from more inspections?

The world community will see what is happening and decide to take action as a unified body. If we don't have this, we may as well kiss democracy or any semblance of it goodbye because it will give licence for India to attack Pakistan, the Koreas to go at it again, or any other country who feels a "moral" obligation to have a pre-emptive strike.


If the WMDs are found can we attack then or will protestors still protest and say that we should get rid of them and leave Saddam in power?

If war missiles are found, then it should be evaluated as to what good they really would do. Waging war is an expensive proposition and few countries have the wherewithall to do it successfully. Germany was able to mobilize it's economy under Hitler and there was not much opposition by the US or the European community because it was not known what Hitler was doing. In fact, I don't believe that the US officially declared war on Germany until Hitler had done considerable damage. Here, the situation is different. Iraq has an impoverished economy and it is not in their best interest to take on a Goliath. Saddam is a brutal dicatator but probably not as crazy as some hot heads think he is. In fact, he may be playing his political advantage with the rest of the Muslim world by painting the US as a dictatorship. This would be substantiated in the minds of many in the Muslim world community if the US conducted a pre-emptive strike.


Will we inspect for 10 years while Saddam moves the stuff around and completes his mission?

Saddam does not have the capability. Lets inspect for as long as we need to keep his agression at bay. It has worked and can continue to work.

Then he will be in the position of the North Koreans. Other countries like Iran will follow the same path and no part of the world will be safe from nuclear, chemical or biological attack.

No country in the world is in fact safe from nuclear, chemical or biological attack at the present time as we have witnessed on 9/11. Our safety will depend upon the strength of the UN and the rest of the world to unify. If this adminstration strikes Iraq, the risk grows higher that we will alienate a large segment of the world population and thus create furthur instabilty here in the US. It's a hazardous risk that has no constructive outcome.

The only way I see inspections finding the WMDs is to send 5 inspectors for every minder. I heard that Saddam has a department of 2,000 men solely to "deal" with the inspectors and thwart their efforts. They even pose as students, workers and scientists with all the right answers.

Who really knows this? Do you really trust this information? Even so, who cares as long as Saddam is contained?

Hopefully the U2 planes will find something. Hopefully the U2s have night vision so they can see what happens at night.

They may or may not. We won't really know if the information we get is "classified".   I think it comes down to whether not one has faith in this adminstration to do constructive work here. I don't.

I heard last night that there are ongoing battles in northern Iraq already. Let's hope that the rebels there get the support they need to overthrow Saddam. Remember he is of a sect that is a very small minority in Iraq.

The Sunni sect has many followers but we don't really know how many because no one has really paid attention to this.

The northern and southern parts of Iraq are two other sects of Muslims that vastly outnumber the ruling sect.

The Shi'ites. But you can't obliterate a religious sect by blowing them away. (Sunnis). They can make converts faster than you can blink an eye.

I also saw a news segment about the financial market in Kuwait. Their stock market hit a new high in January. They are speculation on new trade with Iran, The price of land on the Iraq border is shooting up. It looks like the people in Kuwait want the war. I have heard similar about other neighboring countries but I am not too sure about Syria.

There is a possibility that there are factions who have financed Al Quaeda within Kuwait as well. If the US goes it alone, it might also being playing into the hands of questionable allies...the sheiks who can turn our foolishness into their profit. Remember, democracy is a concept that does not exist in Saudi Arabia. Syria is governed by Assad, a well-known dictator. Then there is still Lybia. What the US is doing by a pre-emptive strike is lighting a match to a powder keg.

Frank Hamilton