[Rudey]

Iran was a different situation. The US was more than right in supporting the Shah's government in my opinion (I'm Iranian). However, the US wasn't the only global player in the region. Ask me and any other Iranian how we feel about the French or, even more, about the British.

And yes K Sig, the US isn't in the business of handing out money without having their own interests first. Every single country in the world is like that. The fact is that Israel (please spell the name of the country correctly as it makes me feel whomever spells it "Isreal" doesn't know what they're talking about) is one of America's greatest assets and serves their military and economic interests.

Israel was the first country to destroy Iraq's nuclear capabilities through a raid via their elite air force. Scientists all over claimed that Iraq would have another 8 years before having a functional nuclear warhead. The Israeli Mossad (intelligence) showed otherwise, and, in the midst of peace negotiations with Egypt, Israel ran a full raid destroying everything Iraq had built up. Almost immediately Israel hurt diplomatically around the world - including with the US.

In Operation Desert Storm, it was US officials that were grateful to Israel for knocking out Iraqi nuclear capabilities. And it was the US that learned they cannot wait and allow nuclear proliferation in hostile nations. Currently scientists say Iraq will be nuclear capable within 5 years - once again, intelligence shows a different story (Janes Defense article on this) and that's why battle operations will be exercised in the region.

The only reason America hasn't attacked Iraq this year is the fact that elections are coming up and it's best to wait after election time. Once again it's personal interest that comes to play. The fact is that Iraq also contains many biological and chemical weapons. What our generation has been brainwashed into believing is that these weapons are nothing compared to nuclear weapons - many of them are just as powerful. Iraq has a record of war crimes in targetting innocent population areas within the Iranian borders, the Kurdish regions, Kuwait, and Israel so it's not questioned whether they will use these weapons offensively as opposed to defensively.

This time there is no longer a slew of Arab allies to support America. Tensions are too high for that, so Israel is the ONLY friend it will have in this war. The goal is to destroy the ability of Iraq to use these weapons within the first stages of the war. The latter stages will involve the overthrow of the government to make sure such weapons are not developed again.

But the question that begs to be asked is what to do with nations like Russia and China. They are essentially like the British 50 years ago. It is their technology in Iraq. It is their technology building nuclear "energy plants" in Iran - a country with vast oil reserves that needn't even consider alternative forms of energy at this point.

-Rudey
--An even bigger question we should ask is whether or not to outlaw camel racing in the region.