Perhaps I am a fool. If so I believe I would like to continue my life, what there is left of it, acting out my foolish ways. Living in a fools paradise if possible. Some would probably be frightened by the suggestion that one that would seek to find peaceful resolutions to the issues of the day could be considered a fool. Why don't Kevin and Pat refer to me going forward as "The Global Village Idiot", that's fitting isn't it?
The only name calling up here was by........oh yeah he's gone.

I'm not actually a pacifist. I do believe that given the nature of the human animal violence, regretfully, becomes a viable alternative. Kevin I do owe you an apology, when I responded to your post about going back two years I assumed you were for this war with Iraq. You corrected me and showed that you had stated you were against it. Although it appears that you have changed your mind, I will not pursue that thought until you directly state that this is the case. As to the comments about my friend in the Army, he has seen more violence in his lifetime than, I would guess, all the people that visit this board combined. The sad and most troubling portion of this is that the reasons for it seem to have been left so frustratingly opaque. His military service having cost him his wife and his health aside, he continues to serve and put himself in harms way to defend the people and the policy of our nation. The people part is easy, the policy part is open for interpretation. He has killed people, something I would think most rational and sane individuals would require some good reason to justify. At least if you wish to remain what society would deem a sane individual. It does not seem to be an act that one should commit with haste and without a great deal of forethought, luxuries a soldier is not often afforded. He trusts his superiors to have done that thinking and to have found that justification for him, so that all he needs to do is act. Powell seemed to have struggled with the justification part of this war right down to the wire. I wonder why.
Maybe he was enlightened to what was really going on. He should be a barometer for the left since they closely align with his stances

Maybe my approach to this has been a bit too harsh in tone. It would seem that this has created a bit of a rift in terms of understanding what I said. Pat, you seemed to miss the point of pretty much my entire post to you.
I missed only one point there Reg and that was the problem of Muslims in France. If France is concerned about this problem then they ought to solicit the help of the U.S. instead of alienating them. The other point Dale made was oil interest of the France in Iraq. I knew about that already

I have stated that I think Saddam is better off dead. Iraq was not behind the 9/11 attack. Iraq is in no position to attack us. They don't have an air force or missiles that have the capability to harm us here on US soil. They don't have a fleet of ships that will be setting sail in our direction and they never will. They can attack Israel. They could attack Saudi Arabia. They could attack Iran. The threat to the United States is assumed to be "the possibility of WOMD being sold to a terrorist organization that would find a way to get them here to the United States".
With that attitude we would have thought that Bin Laden would have never been a threat either.
Reg warfare has changed a little here. Can you imagine what one case of Biological warfare would do this country after a "little anthrax" scare brought us to our knees?

Why with so many options open to them would a terrorist outfit approach Iraq to make such a purchase knowing they are under such intense scrutiny? Why not buy from any of the other nations or organizations that are stockpiling this stuff. North Korea is looking to sell and has already been caught doing so.
We need to send a message here Reg and the message is this. If the U.S. says they are going to do something like send in the military if you do not cooperate then you had better believe them. Iraq has been not cooperating and we know it. Now they suddenly want to "Cooperate". Why not before? Did they think we "were kidding"?

I am not interested in defending Iraq or sending Saddam off for milk and cookies. I am interested in our relations with the rest of the world. This war with Iraq is also exactly what bin Laden wants. He wants the United States to appear hostile to the Muslim community of nations with the idea that such an attack would unite them against us. I'm sure his immediate goal would be to get Israel involved in some way because that would create a whole world of hostility in the Middle East.
Providing that Bin Laden is alive. I personally think he is dead and this whole tape business is a hoax.

Do I think it's all about oil? No I don't. We're not going to go there and take the oil to lower our gas prices. That's stupidity. I'd say what we would want is to give Iraq to the Saudi's, to put in place a Saudi friendly regime, so we have that indirect access to the oil. Bush and his cronies are already in bed with them so problem solved on that front. I think it's mostly about politics, sort of about oil, and in general all just a bad idea.

Hey, Dale not only understood everything I said in my post to you Pat, but drew all the appropriate conclusions. I think us New Englanders think in practical terms, using a great deal of common sense. I would guess maybe I can't spell it out for you Pat but maybe Dale can.
As I stated before I missed only one point and that would be Muslim presence in France

 He obviously made quite an accurate analysis of my points. I don't think the French can sort out their issues. Their politics are, in all honesty, a lot more sloppy than ours. Yes, I do think they are frightened and a bit lost as to what to do. The fact that there are boatload of Muslims with French addresses, I would guess, is certainly playing a part in their decision making process.

So what do I think we should do? I think we should get focused on North Korea. I think we should be in serious talks with China to enlist their help. I think we should be full time focused on hunting down terrorists who are currently in the United States. Let's see, what would make me feel safe, 170,000 troops in Iraq or the money and manpower we've enlisted in that effort being used right here within our own borders to find and destroy any terrorist cell that may be at work right here. You know those guys that now have us at threat level Orange. Seems to be an easy choice.
You've got to kill the plant first and then go after the seeds otherwise you will be continually killing seeds

                                              Reg

                                   aka The Global Idiot
Stop acting like a Martyr. You made some good points. I just happen to disagree with all of them