I understand that Iraq has ignored U.N. sanctions, regardless of how the tubes were misused. What I meant was, there is more to the situation than the violations. We should also take the consequences of those violations into account. What are the consequences in this case? None of any substance, unless a link to nuclear weapons can be proved. I don't think it is worth it to waste American and Iraqi lives just because Saddam is "thumbing his nose at the world," as Bush put it, particularly while the weapons inspectors are keeping Saddam from making a new move, North Korea is known to have nuclear weapons, and the majority of Americans are more concerned about getting the economy in order than ousting Saddam.

This is because most people only care about their immediate future and things that affect them personally. (ie, the economy.) In the 'big picture', leaving a country like Iraq to its own devices, and not effectively cutting off the head of the serpent like government that is now in place there would cause problems much larger then, "damn, my 401k isn't doing so hot!", down the road.

I don't think we should let Saddam continue to defy the U.N. forever, but there are more pressing issues in the world right now. Iraq is not an immediate threat, and until it becomes one, we should not be rushing into a war, particularly without foreign support. You're entitled to your opinion, but this is mine.

Immediate or otherwise. It isn't like we can only focus on one issue at a time. This is the argument of the myopic, who cling to the cry of "what about osama?" What about him? Just because we're going after Iraq doesn't mean we aren't still going after Osama. Did our soldiers in Afghanistan disappear? Did our intel or the intel of INTERPOL suddenly stop their work? No and No. Similarly, N. Korea being a 'bigger' threat by some peoples estimations isn't going unnoticed simply because we chose (or might choose) to engage Iraq first. If the world would just wise up, and realize as tragic is life loss is - sometimes sadly enough, it is required, then we could handle these multiple problems much more quickly.

The Seeker Of Truth

www.oddtodd.com