Let me get this right.
With all of the technical abilities we have, that enable us to look from space into someone’s back yard, we are unable to find Osama bin Laden.
So we are going to invade Iraq.
I am missing somthing.
You are missing the “o” in something.
:smack: I mean the “e” in something. And I am missing coffee!
Afghanistan is one mother of a backyard, and he may not even be in that country anyway. Having said that I wouldn’t be suprised if they have tried using satellites to look for him.
Welcome, zipper!
Osama Bin Laden is one Arab – a Saudi, I believe – in a region swarming with Arabs. Sure, he stands out a bit among Afghans – he’s taller than most and has somewhat different features – but you’re not gonna find the bastard with a satellite, f’Chrissake.
No one has yet said that “we are going to invade Iraq,” either. GWB is pushing that option, but I think there is as much in the way of politics involved as there is in the way of strategy in our clearly-declared war against terrorism. GWB is seeking ways to align his forces and garner approval, or at least acquiescence, from his allies and from the American public. His speech to the UN General Assembly the other day was part of that, and IMHO, he presented himself and his views pretty well.
Saddam Hussein is a sick puppy; the evidence supporting that contention is overwhelming. Saddam Hussein is also involved with terrorism; the evidence supporting that contention is less complete, but nonetheless compelling. It is known that at least one member of his government met with at least one of those involved with planning the events of 9/11/2001. It is known that Saddam, along with other Arab potentates, has offered and paid compensation to the families of the 9/11 terrorists and other homicide bombers who kill in the name of Islam. It is known that terrorist groups, including Al Quida, have found safe haven in Iraq. Saddam has, without question, directed the wholesale murder of Kurdish Iraqis within his own borders, and he has used chemical and biological weapons to do so. Saddam has, without question, initiated war on Kuwait, and probably aimed at continuing his conquest into Saudi Arabia, in 1990.
Recent revelations from defecting Iraqi military personnel and especially from one of Saddam’s former lovers tend to round out the picture. The man is a loose cannon in a region that can ill afford cannon-fire.
Consider that Saddam most definitely possessed mass-destruction weapons in the Eighties, and used them, both against Iran and against his own (Kurdish) people. Consider that Saddam unilaterally and without provocation invaded Kuwait, then upon recognition of impending defeat ordered the rape (burning) of Kuwaiti oil fields. Consider that Saddam has actively participated in at least one plot to assassinate an American president. Consider that, since his defeat on the battlefield in 1991, Saddam has continually blocked or impeded enforcement of UN-imposed sanctions and, in 1998, kicked all UN inspectors out of Iraq.
The man owns some, and is seeking to obtain other, weapons of mass destruction, period. No other conclusion fits. And the man has demonstrated the willingness to use same against internal and external enemies alike.