[america-rules]

What the chest thumpers don't think agout is what kind of proof do we have Iraq is behind terrorism? I wouldn't doubt that they are but for every "Breaking News" story on this it turns to piss after the details come out. Headline grabbers may think saddam is behind terrorism but without some proof Bush can't go to the world and UN and say we're gonna take him out. Most Americans would probably go along with it because they trush Bush but the world wouldn't. We didn't give a rats butt what the world thought taking out the taliban because there was ebough proof - But Iraq?

They haven't made it public if it's there?

[spetznaz]

On your thing anout Iraq i have to agree with you. Saddam is largely inert, and due to his being a dictator he has managed to keep subversive elements (read Islamic radicals) out of Iraq. The country is basically an atheist nation in reality due to his fear some islamic zealot demagogue will usurp his rule. And once he 'gets out of office' his sons will take over, and they have been characterized as even worse than he is. Thus although he is horrible for the Iraqi people, he is benign for the international community. All the stuff he has been doing after the Kuwaiti affair has been sheer sabre-rattling.

Now look at Pakistan. This is an Islamic nation with a wide base of religious fanatics who think the country should be an Islamic theocracy. The leadership is also under constant threat of revolt or even a coup de tat. And they have a nuclear arsenal!

However standard US policy is that it is an ally because they are helping us capture elements of al Queada and the Taliban. Which is strange because until late last year they were one of only two nations that surported the Taliban, and if you believe the British Foreign Secretary they are one of the paramount surporters of global terrorism.

However we stick by them, deluding ourselves that they are our allies. And although Musharaff may have no beef with the US, you can be certain that most of his cabinet, and a lot of the Pakistani people view the US as a force of moral and spiritual decay. And if the current state of Pakistani nuclear production continues, who is to say they will not leak nuke tech to their follow Islamic nations, just as China leaked nuke tech to them (since Pakistan could not compete with the indigenous Indian nuke program).

Then the US will go there 5 years from now to remove some crazy Pakistani president who took after Musharaff, and then the US will be facing a state with nukes that is willing to use them. Do not for one moment think that Pakistan fears retaliation (like the way the US and the Soviets respected the Mutually Assured Destruction concept). Even if they know they will be destroyed they will still use their nukes. Think of it as a suicde bombing, but instead of plastique they are using fussion weapons!

And even with the risk of this people are fighting for the US to go inside Iraq. Sheer myopia if you ask me.