[supercat]

You left out IMHO the real reason for taking action against Iraq: the U.S. had for so long made or been party to empty threats that it had to either make good on one of them or be seen as a paper tiger.

Pacifists would say we should have been content to be a paper tiger, but such a philosophy is not tenable. Paper tigers get attacked. The question was not whether we would someday have to strike at someone who proded us, but when (and at who). Our choice of time and place was not an unreasonable one, and I see no reason to believe waiting would have given us any better options.

[ZULU]

That's another good point and I agree with you there.