NOW WE CAN ATTACK

today was our generations version of the cuban missle crisis. secretary of state colin powell did his best impression of adlai stevensons u.n. presentation in 1962 where he presented satellite photos of nuclear weapons in cuba. today we saw photos of trucks, buildings and weapons systems that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that saddam has, and is actively trying to conceal, his weapons of mass destruction. mr. powell also let us listen to intercepted phone calls of iraqi generals and lieutenants urgently discussing how to mislead the inspectors. AH-HA! now we've got you. send in the B-52's!

unfortunately, it was about as anti-climactic as it was dramatic. as great as powell may have been, it basically did nothing to further the case for an attack on iraq. either you believe saddam is lying and readying WMD's for a terror attack sometime soon or you dont. todays multi-media presentation, with all its photos and telephone transcripts, did nothing but reinforce everything we have heard before. for anybody on the fence, you can stay there for now. until saddam says he is ready to launch an attack rather than what he has been saying which is "who me", our proof is old news and we still dont have worldwide support to change the regime.

back to the waiting game. maybe next week when chief u.n. scavenger hunt leader, hans blix, makes his 2nd report to the u.n. we will be justified in attacking. but only if he throws up his hands and pulls out his fellow u.n. wild goose chasers. as long as france, germany , russia, china and various others countries continue to further the inspection process, we will be as powerless as switzerland. so like a boxer dancing around the ring before the big fight, our determined president continues to amass our countrys bravest and best sons all around iraq.

by my calculations, based on the latest deployment announcements and the time-table set down by mr. powell, sometime between valentines day and the ides of march we will begin removing saddam from power. according to the press reports i have read, the process(war) will start with a bombing attack using some 3000 precision guided bombs to 'soften' the iraqi army and disrupt the political power base. this will be coordinated with a ground assault on the oil fields to secure them. once these objectives are met we are going to invade over land from every country that touches iraq with some 50,000 - 100,000 troops, all the tanks they can drive and apache helicopters they can fly. by the beginning of spring we should have it all wrapped up and oil will be $20/barrel just in time for the summer driving season. bush will declare another victory in the war on terror and he will set his sights on nuclear korea. the victory will give the economy a needed boost of confidence and that will set him up to get the tax plan pushed through which in turn will set up an easy victory in the 2004 election.

hopefully thats how it works out. if it does i would sell my gold and by stocks again. if it doesnt, i wont. i will say this, i am getting a bit scared at the urgency our leaders seem to feel iraq deserves. do they really know saddam is a clear and present danger? why not show us all the proof? would it be too scary and cause a panic of some sort? all i do know is that they have put forth such a forceful and solid case that we must go forward with the removal of saddam.

tonight my daughter asked me when we were going to war. i cant even believe thats a part of her world. she said it like its a hockey game. "dad" she said, "when are we going to war?" i thought for a second or two deciding how to answer and then i said, "i think by the end of february, but i'm not sure". she said "why do we want to go to war"? i said "we dont but we have to in order to keep the world safe". she said that didnt make sense. and i couldnt really explain it so we went upstairs and read a book. the whole thing is a bit crazy.

have a grateful day!

larry