> Well, Dennis, I CERTAINLY have no problems with Saadam
> being overthrown. I DO have a problem with it being
> done by the CIA (US) though. I may be wrong, but if
> the US takes Iraq, then who's next? Iran. Iran would
> be surrounded by US forces in that case. I dont know
> that my speculation on this matter is sound, perhaps
> someone more knowledgeable on the region could
> comment.
Well, any overthrow of Saddam is gonna come at the end of a US rifle, like it or not. While I would much prefer to see Iraqis of all stripes run Saddam's sorry ass into the Hague and establish a mulit-cultural democracy in his wake, I'm afraid it ain't gonna happen that way. Look -- Saddam's going, and going soon. The US has dicked around with him long enough, and 9/11 has given the US the cover it needs to oust him once and for all. According to Hitch, Bush is now distancing the US from the Iraqi opposition, a major mistake in his and my mind, but that opposition will remain post-Saddam, waiting to see what the US installs in Baghdad. That gives me hope, for I trust they will not keep silent or inactive. And in the brutal, imperial short run, once Saddam is toppled the criminal embargo will probably cease and Iraqis will be fed, given medicine, etc. That's also a good thing, despite the means used to achieve it.
As for Iran, I really don't see the US going in there, not with elected officials and a populace agitating against the mullahs' rule. Unlike the Iraqi opposition, many of whom (but not all) are willing to work with the US, the Iranian opposition is gaining momentum and I highly doubt that they need or desire US interference.
DP