[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Spelca: Quote: Originally posted by Iron_Ranger: Good point. But it just takes us back into the never ending circul. Lets say we give the inspectors a bit more time...So what? Saddam will never fully disarm. He would continue to lie and deceive. I really dont see a point in waiting any longer.

You see, this is what really bothers me... What was the point of all these inspections? Did the US go with them just so people wouldn't be able to accuse them of not listening to the UN? Why should Saddam disarm even a little if the US will call him a liar even if he does disarm? Would you disarm if you knew you'd be attacked even if you did? I sure wouldn't. I think the US doesn't care not even a little bit about the inspections or the UN for that matter, and would push this through no matter what. They just did all this so that people wouldn't be able to accuse them too much... Or so it seems to me.[/QUOTE]That is not entirely true, Spelca. Saddam agreed to a complete disarmament after Desert Storm in 1991. But as soon as the inspectors showed up to catalogue the weapons and oversee their destruction, he began stonewalling them. He completely denied them access to certain buildings and delayed inspections of other sites for several days. He has NEVER lived up to his end of the agreement back in 1991.

I agree it is a circular argument. The "anti-war" group says "Give the inspectors more time", the "pro-war" group counters says "Saddam has already had 12 years - how much longer should we give them?"

I agree that President Bush made it clear from the very beginning that he would remove Saddam by force if necessary - regardless of whether the U.N. supported his decision or not. But he has stated all along that all Saddam has to do is provide full disclosure of ALL the weapons he has stockpiled and give a comprehensive list of locations and quantities where these weapons can be found. These are the terms Hussein agreed to - but never complied with - back in 1991.

I do agree that Bush could have been a bit more diplomatic in his approach to the U.N. and possibly gained much more support from them for his decision. But that wasn't the approach he took. He knows that Saddam will NEVER disarm nor leave power willingly. The ONLY way to get "compliance" from him will be through the use of force. That's why he has said from the beginning that he WILL go to war if that is what it takes...because the reality is that nothing other than war will remove or neutralize the threat posed by Saddam.

President Bush reiterated in his public address last week that Saddam could still prevent the war by complying with Article 1441. If he were to give his full cooperation to the U.N. Inspectors, I do believe George Bush would call off the military. Of course, I also realize that there is practically NO CHANCE of Saddam actually doing that...so war does seem inevitable at this point. [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img]