Posted on 02/04/2003 10:13:54 PM PST by Fusion
With the United States soon to attack Iraq, citizens should begin to prepare themselves for the likely ramifications. Barring a sudden coup versus Saddam, America will launch the attack within the next five or six weeks. The president has made this decision and the countdown has begun.
The threat from Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction program is a clear and present danger to the security of the United States and is the primary reason for this war. By disarming Saddam and effecting regime change the United States is able to neutralize the catastrophic possibility of nuclear and chemical attacks within the region. In addition America's weakest link -- a struggling national economy teetering with the world's interlocking financial structures on the brink of the abyss -- can be solidified by acquiring the oil fields of northern Iraq.
Make no mistake about it; this war is also very much about oil. The US economy delicately balances in a range where the next oil shock will spiral it into depression.
With this as a major weakness, the president seeks to defend our vulnerability. Gasoline prices may hit the two to three dollar ranges this year, but by 2008 a gallon of gas will cost you 65 cents again. This ultimate lowering of energy prices across the board will produce real economic growth, as more money becomes available for business to expand and consumers to spend.
Americans should also realize that the war is no sure thing despite America's overwhelming military advantage. The analysts point out how Iraq's military is substantially degraded from 1991 and how US forces are much stronger. However in 1991 the war was contained within the theater, this time Islamic entente forces have the capability to counter attack in the Far East, the Balkans, and in Europe.
The US has a 75 percent probability of winning an overwhelming and decisive victory in four to five weeks after the initial air bombardment. There is a 20 percent possibility of a stalemate -- an indecisive result as in 1991 where Saddam stays in power but the US declares victory.
There is a five percent chance the US will be defeated. Very unlikely but a one in twenty possibility. The first Defense Department war game last year of a US attack on Iraq resulted in one carrier being sunk and some twenty-thousand American casualties from an Iraqi fourth generation asymmetrical warfare assault. The war-game was quickly halted and started over, with the American Special Forces commander of the Iraqi side being replaced.
President Bush is rolling some big dice with this war but it is the correct call. We cannot afford to let Saddam develop nuclear weapons that threaten the US and most of the world's energy supply. We cannot allow the enemy to neutralize our strongest weapon -- the world's greatest military -- while they attack American civilians with impunity around the globe.
British counterintelligence forces with a brave and correct call in upping the UK alert status Wednesday on the heels of Secretary Powell's speech. Increasingly signs point to a major Islamic entente strike against London in an attempt to derail the allied assault on Iraq.
Until the balloon goes up Britain must be on her guard. The space shuttle tragedy has inflamed radical Islamic elements to almost beserker status -- the Brits must now be prepared to shoot first and ask questions later...
The forces of freedom on the move. Europe trembles.
May the Christian god have mercy on the UK...
The forces of freedom on the move. Europe trembles.
Haven't seen this insight anywhere.
You're right. Our fight in Bagdhad may not be strictly limited to regulars, and not even irregulars who are Iraqi.
The USA has a lean mean fighting machine, so any heavy casualties would cripple its future operations for some time.
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