[wheezer]

The fact that we didn't finish a necessary job in 1991 (thank you, Colin Powell!) does not mean we must never finish it, it only means the cost of doing so has gone up.

Huh?...with all due respect I must ask.

According to the stated goals of the Gulf War, which part of the job was left unfinished?

If you mean gettng Saddam, I don't recall ever reading that as part of the job description, and blaming Powell for not doing something that wasn't on the to do list is unfair monday morning quarterbacking.

[CatoRenasci]

What was left undone was the complete destruction of the Iraqi military, in particular Colin Powell's persuading Bush I against the advice of Schwartzkopf to stop the air attacks on the retreating Iraqis and the failure to require the destruction of the Republican Guard.

Success in war is the result of recognizing, and taking advantage of, the opportunities that present themselves which cannot have been forseen. The collapse of Iraqi resistance and the disintegration of the Iraqi military was one of those opportunities.

To argue that because it wasn't specifically enumerated on some sort of to do list or job description (your words), taking advantage of the opportunity to destroy Iraqi military capablity completely, reflects an utter lack of strategic sense. It is Emerson's foolish consistency that is the hobgoblin of little minds, much beloved of small statesmen, philosophers and divines.