Some Thoughts

"A virulent hatred of America is being preached in the Middle East and around the world, and that propaganda is often echoed by regimes that claim to have no connection with terror. Yet they give these jihadists aid and comfort, not to mention hideouts. The way Saddam Hussein sheltered the late and unlamented Abu Nidal. And continues to work with others, as Colin Powell pointed out in his prosecutor's brief at the United Nations.

That's why, in addition to tracking down individual terrorists like Richard Reid, the free world must go after those governments that produce, nourish and dispatch them.

Terror needs a sponsor in order to flourish. It needs a base - like Afghanistan before Sept. 11, or the mosque where Richard Reid hung out in London, or the caves along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. . . .

No, toppling Saddam Hussein will not put an end to the hatred for America that pervades a once great but now sick, decayed civilization. But acting in Iraq will strike a clarifying blow at the widespread contempt for America in that part of the world."
Paul Greenberg, Al-Qaida is a distraction

"Hussein is above all a master of survival. You don't gain control of a brutal police state and keep it for three decades without a keen instinct for self-preservation. He showed it during the Gulf War, when he chose to leave his chemical and biological weapons on the shelf rather than invite complete devastation. He showed it again afterward, when everyone expected him to be overthrown. If he sees that he can survive this time by giving up his forbidden arsenal -- and only by giving up his forbidden arsenal -- he may seize the chance.

That outcome would not please quite everyone. Administration hawks are after regime change, not mere disarmament. They don't want Hussein defanged; they want him dead. Their preference is understandable. But it would be criminal if the administration spurned the chance to solve the central problem without the grave perils of invasion and occupation.

If Bush is hoping to force Hussein into submission, he's handled this showdown perfectly. But he has to be prepared to take yes for an answer."
Steve Chapman, In the drive toward war, a last exit

"The enemy has exposed its fangs and is fighting our religion and is doing its best to drive Muslims away from their religion. . . . Your enemy would not defeat you with its vast troops and equipment, but you will be defeated if your faith is weakened."
Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheik, commenting during the Hajj.

I should write some commentary too--but instead I think I'm going to go hide under my bed 'till this thing blows over.