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Whoever comes after Saddam may be just as terrible as he is, or possibly even worse. And even if we are successful in instituting a friendly regime in Iraq, we still have 50 other Muslim nations that hate our guts.

thats like saying "let Hitler live because Herman Gehring might end up ruling Germany"

I'm glad to read your thoughts about attacking Iraq - good to see there still is some independent thinking here on FR! Just some comments though: You wrote that no one (except for Islamomaniacs) will mourn Evil Saddam's death. I disagree - the Islamomaniacs couldn't care less for Saddam, especially since he rules Iraq as a secular regime. From what I've read, OBL actually offered to fight on the side of Kuwait against Iraqi forces during the Gulf War!

As for keeping out all Muslims from the US: this may sound like an odd comparison but I think it is similar to the philosopy of banning all guns. The country has surely benefited from many quiet, honest, hard-working citizens some of which also happen to be Muslim.

From reading your profile you seem to be a man of real principle, which I admire. My comments are meant as friendly debate- not criticism. My 2¢.

"How would I conduct this war on terror? Instead of sending our troops halfway across the earth to Iraq, I'd station them in this country to protect our borders from illegals."

The terrorists among the illegals, like any other fighting force, need a secure rear area in which to train, receive funds, necessary supplies and obtain motivation and guidance. Without that, they will collapse into a rabble.

Every organization since time began needed these things. Without them, even the most fervent adherents lapse into the day to day, drift off and get married and find jobs. Iraq and other countries are center of the malevolence directed against us, without which no organized attack is possible.

Sealing the borders will never work, while aircraft land or ships dock or trains rattle through their appointed routes. A nuke can be set off in a ship before it reaches customs. A passenger or cargo aircraft can be preloaded with biological weapons in Arabia so that it can become a butterfly of death above our nation.

It is a regrettable fact that there isn't room enough on this planet for militant Islam and anyone else. The oceans aren't wide enough, nor any mountain range lofty enough to encompass their consuming hatred. They are burning up with it, like a fevered man, like a demon in hell. It is our curse, some would say our privilege, to stand between them and our children, and all the decent folk of this planet.

If there is more hatred to come, what of it? This is our time, and our fight.

Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods?"

You're incorrect in your assumption that the entire reason for invading Iraq is Saddam himself. It is his Baath party and their security forces that would actually be the targets since they control all of the WMD. Iraq also is one of the main states fomenting the infitada in Israel along with Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iraq also threatens Jordan, and is allying with Syria as well as Libya. Missile parts are purchased through intermediaries from North Korea. Saddam and his sons are indeed secular, however they spend plenty of money on Islamic hired guns.

The main goal of attacking Iraq would be to once and for all insure that the chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons production facilities are destroyed. Not through some BS UN inspection program where Iraq calls the shots.

You should remember that this isn't simply a war on terrorism. That's the PC way of putting it. This is a war of cultures: Basically the US and Russia vs. Islam. Call it the Crusades v.2.0 if you want - but it all boils down to the fact that Muslims worldwide with only a few exceptions want to see our society crumble and those of us who survive converted to Islam. So who gives a $hit about what the camelhumpers "feel" about the US? We should be more concerned about how to make them feel nothing at all. Nothing but a nice pigskin wrapping as their bodies are buried in the sands.

How would I conduct this war on terror? Instead of sending our troops halfway across the earth to Iraq, I'd station them in this country to protect our borders from illegals. I would stop all legal immigration from Muslim countries. . .

I don't think the problem is so much the ethnicity of legal immigrants as it is their lack of assimilation. It used to be that when immigrants came to this country they cast their lot with other Americans. They wanted to be Americans and for the most part it was true. I just read something recently where a woman said her (Italian-American) father and his four brothers all fought against Italy in WWII. With today's immigrants I'm not so sure that would happen. Some immigrants (and native born Americans too) put greater emphasis on their tribal loyalties than they do on being an American. What we have to tell these people is "We're glad to have you. Now you will have great opportunities and the same rights as everyone else. But in turn you must embrace your fellow Americans with at least as much fervor as you embrace other members of your religion or tribe."

If oil supplies are disrupted only for a few weeks, we could be in for a depression. Iran is next on the hit list so it might decide to intervene. They will try to close the Straits of Hormuz. They won't succeed for too long but it could disrupt oil supplies. They could also send in a million men into Iraq. That's a lot to handle for a 75,000 man expeditionary force that Rummy is envisioning.