[The Great Satan]

Here's what Saddam is saying to Bush:

You saw what I did to you on 9-11, using a handful of men armed with box cutters. You have the analysis of that powder I sent to Daschle. You understand what a few more such men could do with that powder. So, you have to ask yourself: "Do I feel lucky?"

Your predecessor, President Clinton, was smart. He understood: what people don't know won't hurt them. Listen to him now.

I'm happy with 9-11: I got my revenge, and it was a gas. So let's call it Even Stevens, okay? Because, if you point the finger at me, you'll have to kill me. And if you kill me, you'll regret it for the rest of your days. Got the picture? How about it?

Care to venture a guess at what Bush is now saying to Saddam?

[EternalHope]

Nicely put. My guess is that you got the Saddam part of the coversation pretty close.

Saddam clearly thinks he has some very high cards, and I believe he does.

Care to venture a guess at what Bush is now saying to Saddam?

That's the million dollar question. You can bet it includes an explanation of what will happen to Iraq/Saddam if weapons of mass destruction are used against us.

It looks to me like President Bush thinks we are ready, and has decided to take the next step. Alternatively, he knows we are not ready, but believes waiting will only make it worse.

BTW: It looks to me like neither side will back down. If this is a game of chicken, my guess is that we are about to crash. We live in perilous times.

[mhking]

Care to venture a guess at what Bush is now saying to Saddam?

What's Bush saying? Probably something akin to:

I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?

[Mitchell]

Saddam, hypothetically: I'm happy with 9-11: I got my revenge, and it was a gas. So let's call it Even Stevens, okay? Because, if you point the finger at me, you'll have to kill me. And if you kill me, you'll regret it for the rest of your days. Got the picture? How about it?

If this is what he's saying and we fall for it, we are fools.

Why should we think that he'll be satisfied with "Even Stevens"? Once he has found a vulnerability, he will continue to exploit it. Moreover, so will every other barbarian out there, once they realize that we blinked (which will be pretty fast).

He's buying time, because time is on his side. The longer we delay, the more he will have built up his WMD.

And, on top of all this, do you think Israel would go along?

[Alamo-Girl]

Interesting analysis! Thanks for the heads up!