[TomB]

Have no idea what the number of troops needs to be. I just know that if the US was not ready to attack then Bush should not have run off his mouth implying that war was imminent, UN or no UN, for the last three months.

Why? Did he hurt your feelings? Why should he tell the truth to Saddam and give him ANY break?

I guess he should have said "No, I can't see us having assets in place for another couple months. This would be a good time for Saddam's army to stand down and rest and reequip."

Brilliant.

[BJR]

Come on now. How about speaking softly and carrying a big stick... in other words using "quiet" diplomacy while still doing a massive military buildup? Just using a little common sense instead of: motivating millions of people around the world to demonstrate against the war, making that frog Chirac the darling hero of the ant-america crowd, getting troops stuck in a desert and revved up to fight while you go off to a luxury resort, and destroying your own credibility as a president who "means what he says."

The length that some people go to excuse inexcusable performance is truly astounding!