[DJ Frisat]

I have a couple of problems.

1) Although I realize that this might be pure hogwash designed to obfuscate real plans, it might not be. If it's not, I don't like the idea of their knowing our strategies in advance.

2) While I think protecting the oil fields against Iraqi sabotage is a great idea, an immediate takeover with an announced intent of financing our operations would give the libs and the Arab nations too much ammunition in the "It's all about oil, America wants to control our resources" argument.

It's not about oil, it's about freedom for the Iraqi people, continued security for our nation and denying dangerous dictators the possesion catastrophic weapons.

[SLB]

The technology of today is much advanced over that of 1991. The media is telling us that in the first two days there will be more cruise missiles fired than in the entire 40 days of the 1991 war, there will be more bombs dropped and they will almost all be guided. Fine - our technology base is better. What about their technology? What is to keep them from having placed charges on each well head in the past 10 years that would be detonated by cell phone? I would like to have someone explain to me how the military can protect against that. In a matter of a few seconds comp-uter generated calls to 1500 phones and what do they accomplish? Plenty.

[RightWhale]

I don't like the idea of their knowing our strategies in advance.

It's easy to say: "Secure the oilfields soon to prevent their scorched-earth destruction." Such a strategy would be equally obvious to attacker and defender. Implementation of the strategy would be through tactics, and that is what the defender cannot guess from the huge number of alternatives.