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"The American people must know that the sad events that took place recently were the result of their government's wrong policies. Your government is perpetrating all sorts of atrocities in Muslim countries. Instead of supporting your government's policies you should urge your government to reconsider their wrong and cruel policies."

I am tempted to ask him just what those atrocities might be. Nahh. Talking's over. He ain't SEEN "cruel" yet.

Not to nitpick, but the war started when Bin Laden and his cohorts issued their open season declaration on Americans two years ago. The Taliban second the delcaration when they threaten the American people with more atrocities like 9-11. Anyone dancing in the streets in celebration of the attacks or editorializing alongside the Taliban should be considered as training grounds for terrorists. Ditto for the so-called schools who preach hatred of western civilization.

Although the "war" has not begun as far as the American and international press are concerned, it has begun in fact. American and British Special-Ops are already in Afghanistan, just as they were in Iraq before the start of the Gulf War. I feel certain of this not because I have inside information about this war, but because I have paid attention to the history of the last war.

Special-Ops were dug in and observing the Basra Highway in Iraq, the only ground link between Iraq and Kuwait, at least a week prior to the start of the attack. I know this first because of the definitive book, The Gulf War by my colleague, Thomas Houlahan, but also because a friend of mine was one of the American troops watching the Basra Highway, and reporting back by "burst" transmissions.

The visible fighting will therefore begin within days. That makes it all the more important that President Bush correct immediately the only mistake he has made since 11 September, the failure to ask Congress for an official declaration of war.

The first link below discusses this. The second discusses the law of war in much more detail, including the only time (1806) that the US declared war without naming a nation as the enemy. (Any who are interested in a copy of The Gulf War, please e-mail me.)

The (More er Less) Honorable Billybob,
cyberCongressman from Western Carolina

Click here for Billybob's latest, "The Engineering (and Law) of War." The next will be, "Bush is DEAD Wrong.

Click here and go to "ALCU Watch" for a detailed legal discussion of how the US declares war, both historically and in this instance.