[ARCADIA]

p>In South Florida, an old-timer told me what it was like during the crucial week of October Missile Crisis back in 1962. During the days immediately before Kennedy spoke to the nation, trains rolled uninterrupted down the single railroad track running through Ft. Lauderdale.

This railroad track runs north/south right through the city. There was not way of going east/west except accross it. Well, during that week, if you got stuck on the wrong side of the tracks, you were stuck!! The trains rolled one after another and did not stop.

And they were carrying scary stuff, army equipment, lots of dark olive tarps covering it. Laid back resort types were scared out of their minds.

[ARCADIA]

Sorry about the typos, but it's my first vanity.

[Drango]

I am just looking for general concepts -- not "loose lips" type stuff.

What's the difference?

[dead]

When the NY Times starts talking about the coming bloodbath for American troops, the disastrous effects of the war on the economy, the horrific sense of international isolation, the anger of the French, the outrage of congress, and other assorted so-called tragedies, you'll know it's close.

By the way, they started last week.

[Mohammed El-Shahawi]

You make an interesting observation and a good point for discussion. One has to look for "war fever". War fever was present in London in 1983 just before Britain went to war with Argentina. It is absolutely unmistakeable when it happens. It means crews are working 24 hour shifts welding parts to ships, military personnel are going crazy. Officers are on the phone begging their unit commanders for a place in the action. Professional soldiers want a war - of course they do. The more dramatic the war, the better. The coming conflict with Iraq is likely to be the biggest event since WWII - they wouldn't miss it for anything.

Is there presently "war fever"? I would say no - in fact not by a long shot. Maybe this thing is much further away than we think.

[jlogajan]

"How do I know that war is coming?"

When the French announce their surrender. :-)

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I agree with #5 (we're already at war), and would be very surprised if we didn't already have special forces in Iraq and Iran today. The build-up to Desert Storm was very visible and took some 6 months of preparation -- including a congressional vote that had NO support from democrat leadership. This will be different, IMHO.

I also suspect a large-scale military action COULD be launched at any time against terrorist interests in the region.

[Aliska]

Think October surprise. That's what they are saying on the radio. Elections and what have you. If the Republicans are just starting military action, voters might not want changes. That had better not be true. The timing I mean.

[Junior]

Pizza deliveries to the Pentagon.

[The Great Satan]

I am just looking for general concepts -- not "loose lips" type stuff.

When Bush publicly fingers Saddam Hussein for 9-11, the showdown begins. Bush's finger started turning last Friday, when the White House officially confirmed Mohammad Atta's meeting with Iraqi intelligence agent Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. When Bush calls a press conference and we go to the videotape, that's when you'll know the ballon is about to go up.

"If the time comes for action, people will have the evidence presented to them." - Tony Blair, July 24, 2002

[SamAdams76]

As I was sitting in my backyard this weekend in northern Massachusetts, I noticed a steady stream of large planes leaving contrails over my house heading almost due north. I found this unusual because most air traffic over my house moves towards the northeast or even due east, apparently on their way to Europe from Chicago and other points west of me. These planes were headed almost due north, as if they were going to cross the Arctic. Also these planes seemed larger than the commercial jets I usually see and also seemed to move faster across the sky. Perhaps they were U.S. Air Force cargo planes. Or perhaps the planes were just headed that way because of the way the jet stream happened to be blowing that day. I don't know. But there you are for what it's worth.

[terilyn]

Major Bob Bevelacqua was on Fox News earlier today. He was furious at the American company that produced the sattelite photos of Qatar and the development of our air base there.

He said it was bad enough if somebody outside the US did it, but this idiot company was aiding in providing intelligence to our enemies and could likely cause loss of life or serious injury to our troops.

I've heard the rumors re trucks/tanks being painted desert sand brown. Munitions factories working 24 hour shifts to replenish the bombs we used in Afghanistan. Our strategic oil reserves being filled...

He said that it would be difficult to mount any type of a ground attack before early next year, but that an air attack could be easily achieved in about 30 days.

[mystery-ak]

Im an Army wife, I wouldn't tell you or anyone if I did know....I may suspect, but that's all.

btw...didn't Bush promise Congress that there would be no attack on Iraq until after the elections in Nov?

[Grut]

When Iraq attacks our troops in Kuwait and catches the US government with its pants down. Watch for the outraged response: "Just because we said we were going to attack doesn't give them any right to attack us first!"

[CJinVA]

When Saddam releases all prisoners in Iraq with sentence under 10 years.

[Always A Marine]

If and when we move, Ray Charles will be able to see us coming. There is no way that we can order, marshal, transport, deploy and sustain the men and equipment for a job this large without the whole world knowing well in advance. So you don't need to bother with tea leaves or hidden signs.

This obvious lack of secrecy is not such a bad thing, really. Since any enemy will know we're coming, we must have overwhelming force to overcome the lack of surprise. This keeps politicians and planners from going to war on the cheap...

[Mike Darancette]

If you're watching Sadam --- Just move on, nothing to read here.

[stuartcr]

Can you remember all the way back to Kuwait?

[pfflier]

The government was monitoring a series of electronic attacks launched early Tuesday against U.S. Internet providers, hours after European authorities passed warnings to the FBI predicting the attacks.

Just a personal observation but this occurred and became more intense just prior to 9/11. The attacks were of Chinese origin using worms that nearly stalled out AOL as well as other providers. If the attacks become more prevalent and some providers are severly affected I would go to the next DEFCON state.

[CIB-173RDABN]

Interesting question. I see the responses have been all over the board from jokes to serious, with predictions from soon to next year.

I have already made my prediction that we will be attacking Iraq before the end of September.

I believe the men and machinery are already in place.

The problem for us is how do you gain surprise, when you have told everyone in the world what you are going to do?

One thing is you attempt to confuse your enemy. There have been so many leaks on what our plans are, that if someone had the 100% true invasion plans and published them, they would be lost amoung the hundreds of untrue plans. What we are going to do may already be out there but how do you tell which is the real one. I don't know.

After 9/11 up until recently, the administration had down played Iraq's involvement in the attack, but recently stories are coming out connecting the dots, with one big dot being Saddam.

As the date of the attack against Iraq you will see more stories about their involvement, but the truth is, very few will know when it will occur until it is already in progress.

Keep in mind a lot of what you read is untrue.

I do know this is going to make an interesting book when it is all over.

[det dweller too]

I would look for a sudden rise in real estate prices in Tierra del Fuego