NYA,
On 9/11 I was standing around with a bunch of construction guys. About half of them served in Vietnam. (and by the way, most of the contrstuction guys were a bit more genteel than you!). By the end of the day, all of them were shaking their heads, and every one of them was saying that the sleeping giant was awakened.
Despite the diatribe on these boards, the American military was snoozing as Clinton continuously cut their budget. Ossama committed an act of necrophilia, and now we are off to the races.
The 90's were heady days for the US, with dotcom fever, and Nasdaq 5000. We could care less about starting conflicts or challenging the status quo. Clinton's idea of all out war is killing a bunch of camels and tents with tomahawks.
Now that the sleeping giant is fully awake, it is time to close the book on open sores around the world.
I believe we have gotten pretty rusty at the diplomacy thing, or maybe just don't care as much after 9/11. Bush was not elected to go out and change the world. He was a safe choice, and only marginally more interesting than Gore. (Don't blame me, I voted for Gore, for reasons I can't quite recall.)
The choice of Palestine/Israel or Saddam first is an interesting one. I think that the conclusion was made that if Palestine/Israel was going well, that any conflict with Saddam would have derailed it anyway. And Palestine had not addressed leadership issues, secretly, we were hoping for a more moderate Israeli government. Saddam came first by default.
Unless Saddam has a nuke in his pocket, there will be no world war. The US will not make the mistakes of the past, they will finish the conflict so that it never has to be fought again. That will undoubtedly make for some painful images, and the world may get a look at war like they have never seen before, courtesy of 500 journalists along for the ride.....
Saddam, is also going to be an object lesson for the midget in North Korea. He is going to see things that will scare the crap out of him, and if we are lucky, his military. The US might have been more patient if it were not for Lil Kim throwing tantrums.