"Harry Krause" wrote in message
news:briob0$3od99$1@ID-

Who wants an escalation of the conflict in Iraq?

Any Bush detractor with a "beat Bush at any and all costs" mentality.


I do wonder how many more body bags it will take before more Americans
finally realize the idiocy of Bush's political war against Iraq.

Only time will tell on that one. The costs will have to weighed out against
the benifits. I'm afraid only after it's all over can we assess it properly.
In light of any gains or losses made. It's hard to play armchair quarterback
mid-game.

Saddam has been out of the picture as a player for many months now.

I don't know what he has or hasn't directed. I think capturing him has to
be a hell of a demotivator for his supporters though.

Do you anticipate a drastic change in the *security* situation in Iraq?
If so, why?

See above.... though I think at first there might be an escallation by
****ed off Saddam followers. But the head of the (that) snake is gone.

Do you think with the capture of Saddam the attacks against American
troops will cease? If so, why?

No... I think there are more forces at play than just Baathists. I hope they
will slow up a bit.

Do you think the United States is any safer from international Moslem
terrorists than it was before Saddam was captured? If so, why?

No. Unless he divulges any intelligence - if he has any.

Do you think the "show trial" of Saddam will be scheduled so as to
impact the U.S. election campaigns next year? If not, why not?

Given the fact that the new Iraqi Govt. will take power in late June - I
can't see how the trial *won't* be in the summer or fall. I'm sure Bush
would *like* to see Saddam hang the on the eve of balloting though. That's
politics as usual.

What do you think the impact might be of another serious and deadly
Moslem terrorist attack on the U.S. before next fall's elections?
Please elaborate.

Tough call. On one hand it could cause a "rally round the flag and the
Prez" mentality. On the other hand it could look like a big failure of Tom
Ridge and his boss. I'm hoping that *if* it happens again we begin a close
investigation and screening of all Middle Eastern types that have been here
for 10 years or less.

As I stated this morning, it is good that we've captured Saddam and can
put him on trial, assuming the trial is run properly, but his capture
has little to do with the terrorist threats against us.

I'm not sure how to run the trial "improperly"? I mean, his past crimes
against humanity are public and notorious already. I could think of a few
hundred thousand reasons to hang him. I just hope we get all the intel we
can *out* of him before he's tried and hung. It's important that any trial
held has all the trappings of fairness though. And it's important that it be
run by Iraq or the UN. And IMHO the death penalty is important here to give
real closure. As for the fundie terrorists - no, little impact. Only upside
is that they have US targets over there to strike at. I'd rather they
strike at armed US warriors than airline passengers and businessment.

-W