[Zebra]

I remain convinced that the entire reason for the delay in prosecuting the war has been to allow th in-country special ops and on-ground intelligence personnel to devise a rapid capitualtion strategy that minimizes the loss of allied military and covilian lives. My guess is that this work is near completion.

The horror scenario isn't that Hussein visits horrible weapons like this on our troops--the difficulty of delivering such weapons effectively against the type of light, mobile force we will send is immense. Rather, it is that he will deploy these weapons against large civilian targets. Our military leaders know that he knows that he will never survive the invasion--thus, he has nothing to lose and will likely act accordingly.

The delay in moving has been to allow our forces to interdict those units that will remain loyal to Hussein to the end--the ones who can execute his orders. These units are comprised of those most likely to bear the brunt of vengeance from the liberated, formerly oppressed. They, too, have little to lose.

Exhaustive planning is the hallmark of successful wars. The hand wringers in the media grossly overestimate the capabilities of the Iraqis (whose military is roughly 1/3 the Gulf War size and equipped with weaponry that has felt the effects of 12 years of sanctions) and their willingness to mix it up once Uncle Sam starts shooting. Likewise, the media grossly underestimate the caliber of our current weaponry and tactics.

The delay has permitted thorough planning and intelligence gathering that will minimize the loss of civilian and allied lives. The hot part of this engagement will be less than 96 hours.

[arkady_renko]

Our military leaders know that he knows that he will never survive the invasion--thus, he has nothing to lose and will likely act accordingly.

Boy, Zebra, I hope you are right. He can not escape justice. Please assure me that this will not happen in this case.

A_R

[George W. Bush]

Rather, it is that he will deploy these weapons against large civilian targets.

Yes, in a last-ditch stand in Baghdad, to release the gas on our troops moving in and just happen to hit 50,000 of his own people. We get blamed and slowed way down. Maybe even stopped if it's Novichok or VX.

The Pentagon has made statements to indicate they are planning for the situation. The problem is, Saddam is such a vicious killer that you can't count on him to do the rational thing.

I do agree with your other points.

One of the things we never hear discussed is how to secure the WMD. These are very portable and would fetch a good price in other countries or from terrorists. Like the USSR, a collapse can let very deadly weapons fall into the wrong hands or, even worse, it just disappears.