LOL I can't drink it straight yet. Not much I can drink straight. I used to slam Jager all the time, but it's gotten to the point where I about ralph when I shoot that. Only thing straight I can shoot now is probably Cabo Wabo.
Current Article:
Conflict with Iraq: Battle near Syrian border designed to protect Israel
Saturday, April 12, 2003
By LISA HOFFMAN, Scripps Howard News Service
A major aim of the firefight underway near Iraq's border with Syria Friday is to stamp out embers that, if fanned, could engulf the wider Middle East in war.
U.S. commandos and warplanes, along with British and Australian forces, are pounding Iraqi units around the remote Iraqi border town of Qaim, a battle that has blazed largely out of sight of television viewers for several days.
Along with keeping Saddam Hussein and his regime from slipping out of Iraq to Syria — or weapons being smuggled in for Iraqi fighters — the purpose of the allied attacks is to ensure Iraq cannot launch ballistic missiles at Israel, Pentagon and U.S. Central Command, officials said.
"Our goal is to make sure (Iraq) is not in a position to threaten" Israel, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said Friday, describing the U.S. air strikes around Qaim as "preventive medicine."
It was from this approximate area that Iraq in 1991 lobbed many of the 39 Scud missiles that slammed into Israel, causing a five-week siege of terror that contributed to at least 16 Israeli deaths.
One of the biggest dangers the Bush administration contemplated as it prepared for war in Iraq was that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would again employ whatever Scuds he had remaining — and perhaps load them with toxic agents this time.
Israel bluntly told the White House that if Saddam attacked with weapons of mass destruction it would strike back. That raised the specter of an explosive escalation that could spiral out of control throughout the already volatile Middle East.
To blunt that threat, clandestine U.S. forces took to the rugged western desert of Iraq even before the March 19 start of the war, hunting for Scud launchers. Since then, special operations reconnaissance teams, quick-strike squads and spy drones have scoured the vast western reaches.
Though little noted by U.S. Central Command briefers in Doha, Qatar, these forces have destroyed Iraqi command centers, missile sites, air defense systems, warplanes and bridges. They also captured three Iraqi airfields that they now control, according to Pentagon officials. And they have attacked Iraqi weapons convoys, taking the enemy soldiers prisoner, and hunted for toxic weapons caches.
This week, Central Command declared that allied forces have full control of the air in the entire region, meaning any missile launch could be immediately detected and countered.
For Israel, that is not quite enough of a guarantee that it can let down its guard. On Thursday, Israeli army commanders decided to keep the nation on high alert for the time being.
"The potential threat against Israel is still not over," said Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, "and there is a need for patience."
http://www.bonitanews.com/03/04/naples/d928606a.htm