[jdege]

Air strips could be built and siezed inside Iraq - why then bother with siezing them outside Iraq?

[RightWhale]

why then bother with siezing them outside Iraq?

Axis of Evil and Axis of Almost-as-Evil countries cannot resist the forces of modern civilization. Iraq is just another on the list. In the nuclear age, having just one base or a group of bases in a small area is asking for disaster.