Dilan I don't recall linkage of 911 and Hussein. At least not for my part. In point of fact we know that while there was no direct linkage or planning, Hussein for his part met with Al Quaida and provided haven. That is an argument of a different type and deals with a larger picture than 911. No one has said Hussein planned 911. I merely mentioned that no doubt there was co-operation at some level. Also, since it was argued that Iraq "distracted" from Afghanistan "distracted" , then what would you have the boys do when throngs of escapees hit the borders of Iraq when flushed out of Iraq? Not follow suit due to this "soverignty" issue? That is absurd and no military planner from the Greeks onward would stop at borders and then declare nothing can be due to "the border" issue preventing us from getting involved elsewhere. I often ask people--what was the type of German plane that flew over Pearl Harbor?????

Oh yes, the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero? Manufactured in Berlin no dbout? See the problem here. You are saying on the one hand we need to cull back the efforts to the whole region by mulishly focusing on Afghanistan alone and then....if they flee and get relatively safe haven? Remember--911 came before the final decision to REVISIT Mr. Hussein. Read Hitchens posting about this again on "Foolish Myths about Mesopotamia" for the easy evisceration of this "we need to stop short" type arguments.

I have no problem with doing nothing militarily--in principle. But you need to have a strong stomach. And we need to be consistent. Elsewhere, as before, the questions about when to intervene vs not are still mostly unanswered. It is poor philosophy as well as poor policy to say that Iraq is not a model for change and stanching of danger while other areas that while tragic but nowhere CLOSE to being even a physical long term threat to regional allies and whole regions is absurd on its face. We are left again with liberals yet again finding ways to argue that the role for the United States military is absolutely, positively, nothing whatsover other than if the Congolese hit LA or we need to guard food deliveries. Now then, that former is not a bad thing in prinicple. But again, we need some shoring up in the consistency department. Either sanctions and law have force behind them or they are just words mouthed in steam bathes at the UN and all for posturing our dispeasure. Economics alone cannot stop people from garning WMD in the long run if the right price is met to able and willing contractors. As with grandma eating steak, without your teeth in the bite your gums alone can't do the deed.