Everyone on the inside of the administration, including Colin Powell, knew what that would do to the entire Middle seast and they knew we had no credible answer for it and were not prepared to prevent it. After the inspectors went in, we found out that he did have 'other things' he could have sprinkled around the Middle East. Blaming Powel for suddenly turning 'dovish' is absurd in light of these facts. We were blackmailed.
This time around, we will not be blackmailable in the same sense. We will prevent the scud launches with technology the Iraqis cannot counter. That's why this nation will not be told of the close hour for jump time. Probably three hours into the assault, the president will inform the nation ... but CNN will already have aired the start by driving to Jordan to post.
That the entire of the democrat party seems unable to grasp the notion of blackmail tells us a lot about the rats ... they know all this and still claim they see no reason to attack Iraq.