[tw]

The Bush administration, in developing a potential approach for toppling President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, is concentrating its attention on a major air campaign and ground invasion, with initial estimates contemplating the use of 70,000 to 250,000 troops.
The administration is turning to that approach after concluding that a coup in Iraq would be unlikely to succeed and that a proxy battle using local forces there would be insufficient to bring a change in power.

One would think after having world realities stomped for 11 days into his face by almost every regional leader, VP Cheney would have seen the light. No, this right wing extremists lives in a world where everyone agrees with America:

Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and their senior aides contend that Arab leaders would publicly protest but secretly celebrate Mr. Hussein's downfall - as long as the operation were decisive - and that ousting him would actually ease the job of calming violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

This is closer to reality:

But others at the State Department and the White House argue that efforts to topple Mr. Hussein would be viewed by Arabs as a confrontation with Islam, destabilizing the region and complicating the broader campaign against Osama bin Laden and his network, Al Qaeda.

Are they so outrightly psychotic as to think a unilateral attack on Saddam would calm violence between Israel and Palestine? They must also think that Sharon is an honest man who just does not understand the word "immediately".

Honest? He promised to let the UN investigate. Another front page article in the NY Times:

After a lengthy debate, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet declared that the makeup and the procedures set down for the Jenin inquiry were unacceptable. The team had been scheduled to arrive Sunday after several delays.
The mission is to look into a bloody eight-day battle at the Jenin camp, where at least 50 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers died and Palestinians say Israel massacred civilians. Israel objects to the composition of the team and its planned scope.

Of course Israel changes its mind, again, at the last minute. Stall. Sharon cannot permit any of his massacres to be documented. Sharon all but proved that a US president has no backbone - or at least does not understand the defintion of "immediately". Why not make the UN look just as mentally deficient? Or at least stall long enough for all evidence to be destroyed. Even the victim's families are not permitted to see their bodies. Proof of a massacre?

Only a polictally extremist, mentally impaired person would think the US has any right to unilaterally attack Iraq. Did we not "meet the enemy and he is us" in VietNam? But then Bush did not even know Israel's dimensions until last May. Too mcuh alcohol and cocaine do keep one from learning about reality. And so we plan to attack Iraq using the same reasons that Hilter used to plan an attack on Czechoslovakia.

Some leaders are so introverted as to think they can create "Peace in our Time". Bush is talking like a dangerous, right wing extremist - and without sufficient knowledge even of the word "immediately". Will he say, "Read my lips. No new taxes". No. Even George Jr could remember that mistake.

Once registered for the NY Times, then all articles appear automatically on that computer without login. Its much simpler to register - or just buy the hardcopy edition.