Posted on 08/19/2002 10:55:02 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
Iraq is dead center in our commander in chief's cross hairs. While the trigger hasn't yet been squeezed, our forces are on the march, and soon a giant juggernaut will be cocked and locked. The Butcher of Baghdad will be hit everywhere but loose if the attack order comes down.
No question Saddam Hussein – with spies near every U.S. military base and at our overseas launching pads reporting on the beans and bullets, war toys and boys – is watching the fist move into position.
For sure he must be thinking that President Bush wouldn't talk war, activate the Reserves, spend billions of dollars moving tens of thousands of fighters and megatons of gear into place and then call off High Noon – possibly committing political suicide after all the saber rattling – because of a lack of consensus with our allies.
Saddam-the-Guilty has got to be worrying that despite widespread dissent, the odds are that "43" will make his case for war to the American people using Iraq's failed compliance with the '91 Desert Storm peace agreement. Or by proving once and for all that Saddam's got the Doomsday factories going full steam. Or that Saddam's one of the firstest with the mostest behind al-Qaida.
But while the phony field marshal's battle record reveals that the master of military miscalculation would flunk Tactics 101 faster than the dumbest recruit in the regiment, Saddam has earned a doctorate 10 times over in ruthlessness and cunning. And when Psycho Saddam's finally cornered – the bottom line being his bunker simply isn't deep enough to save his sorry butt from what we'll dump on him – he has to have figured out that he's got nothing to lose by taking as many of those he hates with him as possible. His idea of a good time these days is probably putting loyal kamikazes in place to strike back at us big-time with Weapons of Mass Destruction – real nukes, chemical and biological weapons or dirty bombs.
The Israelis know exactly what to expect from Saddam. Not only do they have an anti-Scud missile-defense system up and running, they're making sure their citizens are protected from WMD: Each house-building has a sealed room to keep out the deadly bugs and fumes, and everyone has a gas mask. All first-responders – medical, police, firemen – are being vaccinated against smallpox. Even anti-radiation pills might soon be distributed to the general population. Based on past experience, Israel's already implemented the carefully conceived plans that will allow the besieged country to survive Saddam's final hits.
Thanks to our own proper planning, our forces in the desert will also be protected – by good gear and top detection devices to tell them when the unthinkable's about to happen. And if the present crop of generals is Stormin' Norman smart, the charge across the desert after the WMD exchange should be even easier than the ground phase of Schwarzkopf's brilliant 1991 Desert Storm campaign.
But are the average Joe and Jane and their kids in the USA similarly set for the bad stuff? Because if you ask savvy members of our security screen about Iraqi WMD, they'll tell you they're already here, that Saddam's agents have been sneaking them in for years. If we can't stop tons of cocaine and heroin, they say, how could we stop a few containers of WMD?
Unfortunately, the average American family is about as ready for Armageddon as the good people working in the World Trade Center were up for evacuating the Twin Towers on the morning of Sept. 11. That's because in almost a year the only tangible thing our Homeland Security apparatus has done – besides spending a bunch of bucks building the slickest bureaucracy in U.S. history – is produce a color-coded warning system that most of us still don't understand.
Regrettably, the history of our country tells us that we only get our act together after we're knocked down. But this time around, the white stars and crosses could stretch from New York City to Los Angeles and back.
Mr. Bush, don't squeeze the trigger until our citizens are as well-protected as the Israelis. Right now, Saddam's exit from the world scene simply isn't worth the tragic price our unprotected citizens might pay.
Hack that is fine but 911 is ancient history to many Americans, especially those that deem every move made to do as you advise a bigger threat to their personal freedom than terrorism. You will be accused of fronting for the police state and of using terrorism as a way for the military to gain control of the country. You are fighting a losing cause.
And what would that mean? To roll over and die? Hell, no, we won't go quietly into the night!
. . .agree with the Colonel. Of course, these people need to be dealth with and soon, but not a day goes by that we do not hear of another breach of security or a 'political correctness' that challenges our sanity and our judgements re our security. . .
. . .for one, it seems ludicrous that as we ponder our war against terrorism and against those who manufacture it; we continue to make this country so hospitable to huge populations of what could be, and most likely would be, and in a moment; our enemy.
We must plan our Homeland strategies as seriously as our strategies beyond our borders, IMHO. . .otherwise, we could easily have a kind of Trojan Horse effect/scenario.
Sadly, the changes since Septembe 11 give me little confidence that reason is in any way prevailing .
I suppose the EU could come in and negotiate.... NOT!
That would be nice, but it aint going to happen... People are already freaking out about taking thier shoes off at the airport. The democrats will cry foul if we try to organize any civil defense measures. "It will be to destabilizing!"
The real concern that all Americans should have. We should prepare our communities but we shouldnt delay the assault and give these demonic people more time to get this stuff into the country.
. . .and I share your 'optimism' re the future of 'home security'. . .
. . .but a Grandmother from the Ozarks, should not have to remove her sneakers either. . .at the expense of ignoring a more serious 'shoe threat'. :^)
This is the scene in the scary movie where the kids have got the boogey man down and they drop the gun and start hugging each other. We all sit there and say- "No, shoot him again! He's going to get up!" Well, we need to keep the upper hand with this offense and keep sticking it to the jihadis until they don't get up no more. We need to send "Jason" to hell.
What part of "WE HAVE THIS ANTHRAX YOU CAN NOT STOP US" don't you understand?
But honestly, in this case, Hack is doing nothing more than playing the part of useful idiot to this whole NYTs/ Scott Ritter/Scowcroft undermining of the war effort. How many Freepers have I seen in the last 2 days that are suddenly "having doubts" because of this Scowcroft thing? It was obviously designed to undermine our resolve and that's exactly what it's done.
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