JJ Slim

Exactly what does that mean? Does that mean they will bomb the heck out of them? Does it mean they will retaliate in kind, in other words use chemical or biological agents against them? Does it mean they will target civilians? Does it mean they will pull the stops out and use nukes?

Most people are looking at this looming war as if it will go similar to the last war there and the war in Afghanistan - bomb the heck out of them and then go in facing little resistance and very low casualities. But what if things get out of hand? What if they do use chemical or bio weapons? What if the chem gear our troops have aren't as effective as we thought and casualties start to pile up? How many Americans were killed in the last Gulf War? You could probably count them on both hands. But what if we had deaths in the hundreds or even thousands or more? And what if Iraq actually has a nuclear device and is able to successfully deploy it, either against our troops or Israel? I know most people don't think they have that capability but that's not a guarantee. Would the US stand firm, take it's losses and continue with conventional weapons or would they retaliate with nukes, possibly Baghdad, killing millions of civilians?

And what if there were terror attacks in the US using chemical, biological or nuclear weapons? Once again, most people feel that can't or won't happen. But what if it did? Imagine thousands or even millions of our people dying instantly or a slow agonizing death.

I just bring up these questions because there are no certainties with this war. I would hope the people running this war would have thought about these possibilities not only on how to avoid such things but also if they can't. Do you trust them that much?

And finally, one of the main goals of this war, and the issues we have with North Korea, is to keep weapons of mass destruction, especially nukes, out of the hands of as many as possible. But what is the US going to do, invade every country that begins a nuclear program? And it's not just countries. The holy grail of terrorists is a nuclear device. Do you think that the US and other countries can keep nukes out of the hands of terrorists forever? I think it's not so much an issue of whether terrorists might use nukes as when and where. Over the last 50+ years the world has been able to avoid the destructive use of nuclear weapons. But it has always been large powerful nations that have had these capabilities. We are now seeing smaller rogue states and individual organizations that are determined to get or develop nukes. Most of them are not open to political discussion and diplomacy. I don't know about the rest of you but that scares the hell out of me.

Chandler Mike

I have faith in our military that they have everything under control. If they use chemical weapons against us, i think we're probably prepared enough with the bio suits and gas masks.

I honestly feel we have at least 90% control in this way...there may be some unforseen factors that come into play, like any war, but for the most part, I have to think that as powerful as we are, with the technology available to us, that we can repel anything Sadaam sends our way.

Mike

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bratwurst

What do you expect the guy to say? Do you think it would have been better if he said, "hmmm, good question, I'd have to think about that."

I would expect someone in his position to answer the question vaguely but yet showing an extreme amount of force. Thats exactly what he did. By doing so, he leaves the answer up in the air. The idea is to leave people guessing what could possibly happen, and it works.

Besides, if we came out and said, do it and we nuke your whole country, then the whole argument that we are trying to do this without hurting civilians is lost.