"Saddam cannot win a war with the US, if the US has the will to win. However, if he attacks first and achieves military control over much of the middle east, he can reach a position of strength to negotiate from and may not only maintain his power but extend it."
Implies and requires that the US military would not be able to a stop a seriously weakened and poorply supplied Iraqi Military from taking "much of the middle east"....and goes on to imply and require that even if by some miracle of fog of war osmosis Iraq did extend its military out and took control of a large part of middle eastern oil, G.W. Bush and the American people would then pull a European rule of life out of its hat and negotiate with Saddam Hussein as opposed to completely unleashing the US Military on him.
Fundementally flawed, laughable scenario. [That in my mind only a liberal or someone without military competence could think up.]
...Next.