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Howdy

Not to put too fine a point on it, we have been at war with saddam's regime for twelve years.

We only have a conditional cease fire operating in that conflict, but saddam's regime has not observed one single condition of that cease fire.

Additionally, saddam's regime is the planet's premiere state sponsor of terror. Therefore, post September 11th, we are technically at war with Iraq two times over, explicitly, as a matter of international law and American foreign and domestic policy.

Heretofore, we have prosecuted that war diplomatically, except for combat air patrols over the no fly zones, and the cruise missile bombing of Baghdad in 1998.

This diplomatic exercise has borne no fruit, saddam has only increased the magnitude and potency of his weapons of mass destruction arsenal. Only marginal gains have been made, and those only as a consequence of a quarter million man army on saddam's border.

So, your question is really, when will a shooting phase of the ongoing conflict mark the beginning of the end of this twelve year nightmare?

Hard question, I predicted mid January originally. But we had a long, humiliating, brutal awakening to the fact that france is our enemy in the war on terrorism and its state sponsors in a surreal, seemingly endless UN debate.

The realization that our ally in france is actually not an ally, not even a friend, but rather, an enemy dedicated to American death, destruction, and diminishment, came as a shock.

Now that this has passed, we are left with a UN endgame and the timetable on which the coalition of the willing will proceed, and the domestic landscape is one of resolute determination, even some domestic partners of terror on our political left have begun to call for the Commander in Chief to "get it over with".

The military landscape is different and the same. Our troops are at peak readiness, with every passing day degrading that level of readiness to prosecute this conflcit to its conclusion, they are also calling out to the CinC to proceed. Every passing day also worsens the environmental conditions, with sand storms and rising temperatures.

Finally, each passing day provides saddam with more time to prepare his defenses and maneuver his military.

Given the diplomatic, domestic opinion, and military readiness conditions, and the Iraqi military maneuvering for early advantage, and given that President Bush is a profoundly moral man, mindful of the untoward consequences tht will flow from any further dilly dallying about, I think that troops will move within 48 hours with 70% probability.

90+ percentile probability of MOAB falling to start the show is Thursday/Friday in my opinion.

God speed, American fighting men and President George W. Bush.

And dear Lord look over my nephew, deployed in the theater of operations, and over all of our brave men and women confronting evil, that the American People, and the US Constitution, may survive.

Prayers for the safety of your nephew and for the sacrifice he is making. My step-son is in the middle of things as well and he was ready and willing to go. Our soldiers make us proud.

And dear Lord look over my nephew, deployed in the theater of operations, and over all of our brave men and women confronting evil, that the American People, and the US Constitution, may survive.

Your nephew will be in my prayers.

And dear Lord look over my nephew, deployed in the theater of operations, and over all of our brave men and women confronting evil, that the American People, and the US Constitution, may survive.

Many thanks to your nephew and all his comrades in arms. We'll never forget their gift to us.