The sanctions never worked only hepled to kill off a good deal of the population. Starvation & thirst will keep a population far from being resistent, Saddam probaby has been thanking us for the last 12 yrs. We always knew (from our relationship over the many yrs) that he didn't give a care for the people & neither did anyone one else that knew of him. Did the US/UK/UN/NATO/ANYONE think it would have an effect on Sad-man. Where we hoping even back then that the masses would rise up against him after we pulled out, if we did then I'd say that the Kurds are standing on shifting quick sands about now. Whisper when you speak of the theory of the WMD's were moved into Syria (I quoted other's before saying "the road to Damascus is through Baghdad", Iran's only just over the ridge from there) though I've heard it reported that it would be impossible to move that kind of equipment unnoticed through that kind of terrain(?). The assumption may be all that Shrub & co. need to continue in laying seige to Syria. Aren't there a few songs that warn "God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more rain but fire next time". I can imagine this hell fanning the fuel while all end up dying in the hellfire of the burning desert. Maybe they did have a pipeline back then to the future. The irony would be that the death of civilization happening in the same place where it first began. Bush may be the one & only holiness in the mid east left, cause his Christ may die in grief after he soils the soil that his Lord toiled over. Barry