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There will be no frontal attack on Saddam Hussein in the near future, just as I have predicted here for the last six months. Those who think otherwise haven't been listening to the President. There is nothing we can do today to counter the threat Saddam communicated to us following 9-11 ("WE HAVE THIS ANTHRAX YOU CAN NOT STOP US"). There is *no way* Saddam would have executed an attack on the United States of the scale of 9-11 without cast-iron back-end security. He is homicidal, not suicidal.

But, there's more than one way to skin a cat and, as Bush likes to remind us, our President is a very patient man. Saddam has the initiative, and the advantage in warfare always starts out with the agressor. But the objective correlation of forces has already moved solidly against Saddam, and every day the noose tightens around his neck. In the long run, he will face the choice of a trial and imprisonment, or death and revenge. Better hope he lives up to his reputation as a "survivor."

There will be no frontal attack on Saddam Hussein in the near future, just as I have predicted here for the last six months.

Whether or not there is an imminent attack is besides the point. The real issue is regime change, not just in Iraq, but in the ME.

One of the problems with FR is that the majority of commentary is merely counter-punching easy targets like the press.

How come there isn't any analysis regarding what is obvious to all: that the scribes in the State Dept. and elsewhere throughout the gov't have been busily preparing a multitude of documents ranging from joint recoginition of governments, to military pacts (US bases/occupation) and trade treaties (ie turn on the oil spigots).

What I'd like to see discussed is the game behind the game: what companies will be there first the day the treaties are signed? Consumer products? Or will the first order of business be infrastructure? (Cat, Halliburton, et al.)

What are the plans of the big banks? Will the US be backing billion dollar loan packages (backed by oil reserves) so that the Iraqis can immediately start purchasing goods and services?

If FR really does have the lurker population that many speculate about, I'd sure like to see some *real* downstream info (no, not military secrets), not this boring surface level stuff.