UK unveils 'timetable' to war

BBC ^ | 24 February, 2003

[Dog]

LOL!

[PJ-Comix]

whatever happened to "weeks not months" ??

Middle of March is just WEEKS away.

[VMI70]

You are right, to a certain extent.

I spent a little time in the military, and I have watched the planners do their thing. There is a lot of chest beating about all of our resources and our ability to quickly organize and mobilize. The truth of the matter is that our senior military leaders really are extremely cautious.
If left to their own devices, Saddam would die of old age. Unless ordered otherwise, we will not launch until the last Jeep, the last PFC, and his backup, are in place.

[BigTime]

A question: Since it has become clear that Colin Powell's "dove" days were an established ruse by the Bushies to bring in the Demoncrats who were still out there beating the anti-war drums, is it possible that there is a similar ruse afoot with the confounded French and Germans?

Try this one out: It has been foreordained that the French and Germans will get on board and at a predetermined point, they will rally behind the cause. This will fluster and surprise Saddam and force quick action. This may be going on with or without their knowledge. A true "smoking gun" could be coughed up at the appropriate time and force their hand and the machine would be in full steam when our troops are ready to roll.

The anti-war crowds may well be part of the bigger plan.

All during this "diplomacy stage," we have been staging our troops and preparing for the attack.

It may well be the hand has been on the public relations trigger the whole time and it will be sprung when it needs to be.

Witness Powell's speech at the U.N. Suddenly the Demoncraps fall in line when you whoop out an Iraqis Gone Wild tape on national TV.

How else to explain the sudden pair of nads that has descended from Tony Blair? How could he have the guts to go out there against public opinion and keep pushing for conflict unless they've got the guns to swing PR back on their side?

[Dog]

I agree....we have to be holding 5 aces.

I am convinced the French and Germans have been told to get on board or else.

Note today the French and Germans didn't offer up a competing resolution....just suggestions to make 1441 better.

I think the train left the station today....and they are running very fast to get on board..

[steveegg]

I think you answered your own question. It's the fact that we're in danger that's holding us back.

And WAITING is going to end that danger? It's far more likely that a meteor is going to crash into your hose than it is that WAITING is going to end the danger to the US.

[hoosiermama]

I said weeks ago we probably had fources on the ground already. Articles to that effect were posted a couple of days ago.
Also think the Germans and French are play cool because there are so many ME in their countries. By playing the part of "good cop" they can gather more intelligence. Expect many arrests in those countries as we take to the air.
THey may be our front line of Home Defence. Don't believe every thing you read in the paper or even on FR. What is said for the media may have motives.

[halley]

I agree 100%. They are underestimating our president. Even though some folks spend 8 hours a day on Free Republic and other valuable sites, we don't have anywhere near the intelligence that the administration has.

Have a little faith. President Bush is a great (not perfect) leader and before he's done, Sadam will be long gone and Iraq closed for renovations.

[kickme]

Is there any truth to the rumor that the Freeper Cruiser will be carrying WMD (and other cool weapos), and that we will be diverted to the Gulf War II to get in on the ruckus????? Turn us loose, George!!!!! Count me in if it's true! I want a cabin with a view of the Tomahawks.

[Momaw Nadon]

Attack on Iraq Betting Pool

[Diddle E. Squat]

Yep, the timeline has been pretty much planned all along, including some padding for the inevitable unforseen bumps. All the signs have been there as we progressd. But some posters are as impatient as little children, similarly tossing aside all logic and throwing their temper tantrums.

Bush knows what he is doing.

[Kahuna]

If I was in Sad-aam's shoes and I noticed that the US plunked down $16 big one's on the table via Turkey, I'd take another peak at my cards and run to the restroom. ( maybe a restroom in Libya) American's want instant gratification on the stock market, gas prices, security, and eliminating bad dudes from the face of the earth.

A good poker player never wears a wristwatch.

Really good poker players could care less if it's three in the morning or 10 AM. If the opponent starts to perspire on his forehead, time means sh**. Be calm and be confident..you are holding a royal flush, even though you folded for the past 12 years holding the same cards.

This time we call the bet.

[ffusco]

A ship? I didn't see any ship. ; )

[archy]

If this were GUNSMOKE, Marshall Dillon would've died of old age waiting for the bad guy to draw.

If they hadn't been using blanks, Marshal Dillon would have died a good deal sooner than that. He lost the draw to that opening-scene dressed-in-black opponent every week, fast-draw instructor and holstermaker Arvo Ojala. James Arness was a practiced amateur, Arvo Ojala was an artist and a master. And Big Jim Arness was not Arvo Ojala's only admiring friend...

-archy-/-

[ohioWfan]

But some posters are as impatient as little children, similarly tossing aside all logic and throwing their temper tantrums.

I noticed that. My thought......a lot of Type-A children. :o)

I'm sure that with the experience of Cheney, Powell and Rumsfeld, and the instincts of, and wisdom bestowed by the Giver of all Wisdom to President Bush, they have forseen the intransigence of the Frogs and the Germans, the delay in Turkey's cooperation, and many other things that us lay-people don't have a clue about.

One thing I've noticed though, is that while this so-called dilly-dallying is going on, we have added important countries such as the UAE and Jordan to the 'team.' AND.....the military is raring to go!

I agree totally.....Bush knows what he's doing.

[Siobhan]

I think there is an awful lot of post-conflict rebuilding Iraq to be done now before hand. There will need to be a stable government, and frankly King Abdallah of Jordan is looking like the most likely candidate. With the Hashemites back on the throne in Iraq, it would take very little for King Abdallah to give most of Jordan to the Palestinians for their homeland.

[Ethyl]

Give me a break...

The war will happen when the forces we need to take down Iraq are in place and not a day sooner.

So all this .....I will never vote for Bush again crap and handwringing isn't going to make it happen any sooner.

Do you want us to launch an attack without all our forces intact??


Yea, we haven't even gotten our troops into Turkey yet, but I hope it will be soon, then............

[over3Owithabrain]

Why did Bush, or his proxies, say "weeks not months" months ago? Why did Bush say "game over" weeks ago, then play another round of resolution roulette with the UN that will at the very least extend until mid-March? Why is he desparately trying to curry UN favor for a war he says is necessary to protect America from more 9/11s? Why does Bush bend over backwards for the UN far more than even that scuz Clinton ever did?

[maro]

We're not that clever. I think there is a good chance either the French or the Germans will fall in line at the last moment, but I doubt we wanted all this dissent as a prelude for the Big Strike.

[Once-Ler]

"This is a hostage situation. We are the hostages. The sherrif has deployed all his squad cars around the hostage takers' hideout, but all the squad cars in the world can't bring an end to the crisis. Expect this to take a while to resolve -- probably another 1-3 years. That's just the reality of the situation. We screwed up big time when we let Saddam get those weapons, and now we have to deal with it, whatever it takes."

You're silly. This war is gonna happen in a few weeks. You think we just paid Turkey 26 billion or 15 billion or whatever it is...to sit there?

Dubya has said he will go in with or without the UN. I see no reason not to take him at his word...do you?

Dubya has told the media they will be on the front lines with our soldiers. Why? To show the world how strong we are. To show all the wanna-be kiddie terrorist...the one's the enemy is forced to recruit because adults don't wanna die for nuthin'...to show them the face of American war.
To show them the bombed out tanks. To show them their future unless they shape up.

You wanna jump in all guns blazin' and scaring all our allies. Dubya has lead us to this point by being patient. Along the way he secured 'rat approval for war, UN approval for war, 30 some nations open support, NATO supplies for defense of our 2nd front - Turkey. U-2 plane fly overs to video tape our attack route, slow steady movement our troops, and most importantly of all, Dubya got the American people to rally around a change in foreign policy. We are taking the fight to the enemy and not waiting to be hit first. When this war starts Dubya will either have France's open support or American animosity for the UN.

Being a leader in this country is easy. Find out what the people want, then do it. If the people like the UN in America the President better like the UN. In our country if you want to do something the people don't want you have to change their minds. Guess what Dubya did?