This is not the time to "investigate" and "blame" --it's time to turn Iraq into a glass parking lot and Afghanistan into a cinder. It takes less than 30 minutes to re-target and deliver the ordnance... I'll settle for the Casablanca Inspector: "round up the usual suspects". Anything less than a dramatic response of 'shoot first and ask questions when there is silence' is insufficient. Bin Laden may have been capable of placing the hijacking teams, but Iraq is the clear beneficiary. Bin Laden may get revenge, but Saddam gets an opening. A ground war against Iraq's legions would be foolish --the Gulf war was won against his hordes by pulverizing them with carpet bombing and demoralizing them --by the time our troops moved, there was virtually no resistance. I'm automatically ruling out North Korea (not capable); Iran (enough problems of their own and not capable of sustained action); Russia (not in their best interests); and China (could not afford the economics of war). Bin Laden is bent on revenge, and Saddam is a megalomaniac who does not care if his people are targeted. If Bush fails to take a dramatic step, eg: incinerate Baghdad, then the talking heads will be playing Neville Chamberlain; the UN will "condemn" the action while accusing the US of creating the conditions which brought on the attack; and, Iraq and the rest of the Arabs, etc. have the opportunity to play counter-threats.... If the US waits to retaliate, the Arabs will show a united front --if Iraq is gone before they can even start to argue among themselves, there will be muted satisfaction in their governments that Saddam's head was finally delivered on a platter. If the retaliation is fait accompli, nobody has time to comment --and no-one, other than perhaps the Syrians will mourn the loss of Baghdad. If Iraq is not permanently neutralized, they will power strike across Jordan and Syria into Israel --at that point, the Israelis will preemptively nuke Baghdad. From a strategic standpoint, it would be far preferable for the US to do its own dirty work than accept world opinion that the US was either a) too impotent to clean its own mess; or, b) that Israel was the pawn, thereby uniting the Arabs. We probably have upwards of 20,000 dead in NYC alone; now is not the time to be squeamish about collateral damage in foreign targets. Lastly, what the US does in the first hours will determine the US' ability to prosecute the action in its entirety. Today we determine whether or not America has the will to survive. If we falter, the whole world will kick us when we are down --eg: the third vision begins. Make us proud to be Americans, George...
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attila!