No they are not right now, but that's why I suggested we look 10, 20, 30 years ahead (with an ageing insane paranoid Saddam in power) you would be surprised the kind of weapons and equipment oil money can buy you FAST when you monopolize a resource like oil.
Personally I think the current administration is looking at this scenario and they realize that their investments will go kaputt if they don't take advantage of the fact that US Armed Forces kick butt NOW and they are mobilized NOW. Many people are not aware of the $$$ and effort it takes just to mobilize an army and move it half way across the world. This kind of effort does not repeat overnight.
Ultimately I hope for a coup, the man is a tyrant and the country would benefit even with puppet regime but I really worry about what happens AFTER. There will be all kinds of instability with Iraq possibly fracturing along ethnic lines and neighboring armies intervening. This could snowball into a mess fanatics like Al-Queda would only benefit from. Despite this if I was in the White House that's what my strategy would be =) After all the contract with the Saudis and other gulf nations is to protect them from threats like Osama and Saddam. You just can't be a soldier without a war
Last edited by Ironhorse at Jan 22 2003, 05:36 PM