Maybe there are more folks than Serge who don't read posts longer than 5 lines
I have been saying for months that, in spite of my reservations about taking on this war now, it was something we had to do. Of all the nations in possession of chemical and biological weapons, only he has used them. His contempt for his own people and the agreements has signed is so visible that anyone who thinks that we can negotiate with him is either naive or very, very stupid. I have been worried about militant fundamental Islam since the late 70s, when I argued with a lot of my liberal friends who thought that the return of Komeini was a good thing.
That does NOT mean that I buy into the idea that this is a war agains all of Islam. That does NOT mean I see the need to start a crusade by the good white Christians against the heathen brown Arabs. That does NOT mean I buy the feeble attempts to pass the war with Iraq off as part of the war on terrorism. I am NOT convinced that the morons in control in Washington are focusing as much on the much more immenient threat of al Qaida as they should be. I see Sadam as a threat to me; just like I see a government that needs to snoop on what people are checking out of libraries as a threat to my liberty.
And besides ... I think most veterans will tell you they feel the same way. See, I know that the consequences of taking action against Iraq is going to result in dead Americans. It doesn't matter to me if the dead grunt comes from the barrio in LA, from Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem, the potato fields of Maine or Idaho, from the bayou of Louisiana, the farms of Iowa, or the suburbs of St. Louis. During the Vietnam war I felt that people in an age bracket appropriate to serve who felt we ought to expand the war should put their asses where their mouths were. I don't feel any different now.