[Coop]

Deterrence of what? There is no negotiating with a whacko like Hussein. We tried that in 1990, 1991 and almost every year since. Now they're letting it be known that we're done negotiating. Sounds pretty smart to me. And any messages sent out now, implicit or explicit, are hopefully being taken very seriously by the opposition forces.

I find this approach a very intelligent one.

[traditionalist]

Deterrence of what?

The aiding and abbetting those who would attack us.

There is no negotiating with a whacko like Hussein.

What's there to negotiate? My only claim is that a wiser course of action would be to put Saddam on notice that if he tries anything against us he's history. Otherwise we let him alone. Saddam is not a wacko. He would not have survived in power this long if he were. He's a cold, brutal, calculating dictator, but certainly not an irrational one. He knows that if we wanted to we could topple him before you can say Baghdad.