Seriously, the war against Iraq will be totally different than Desert Storm. I imagine we'll continue the covert preparations until our SF guys have tracked down Saddam. They'll create new holes in his head then we'll begin overt military operations to paralyze his forces. We'll send in the "inside-out" forces to rout the few diehards left in his army around Baghdad.
I guess my main concern is how we prevent some random Scud commander from launching at the outset. Hopefully, we'll have our psyops people ready to simulate normal radio traffic to his commanders (eg. "All is well, Ahmed").
Very possibly not, if they're smart. Treat it just like Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
Just because we do not need to eliminate Baghdad with a nuclear strike does not mean that we should not do so. But the option should indeed be considered, from all the possible military and political viewpoints, before wasting US troops going in on the ground, building-to-building.
And if a joint strike was made with another nuclear power, so much the better. And they could share the determination of the region's future with us.
-archy-/-