[The Great Satan]

I agree, it seems highly unlikely our President would risk losing New York or DC unless the alternative was even worse

Well, of course that depends on what the risk level is, and whether the alternative is really worse, and what our confidence level is about that. We were here, forty years ago, with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Only trouble is, Russia hadn't already pulled off a 9-11, its ICBM placement could be verified by our satellites, and Nikita Kruschev wasn't Saddam Hussein.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Mr. Satan, I have read many a post from you about how Sadam has our country over a barrel, we won't attack, and so forth. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that within six months Sadam will be dead, the streets of Baghdad will be patrolled by U.S. Humvees and M2 Bradleys, and whatever remains of the Iraqi army will be a smoldering ruin. The only way this is NOT going to happen is if his generals turn on him before we launch the strike.