Why are we telling Saddam when ew'll attack?

[rexalllsc]

It's also been leaked that we want Saddam dead or captured within 48 hours of invasion...so why does everyone know that we're going to invade on March 17? Now he can go hide out, and so on...

[ice4277]

I don't think it really matters. Once the first bombs start falling he'll be halfway to a hideout anyways, regardless of whether or not he knows when the attack will start. The only way this wouldn't be the case is if we somehow could pinpoint exactly where he was and sent a special forces mission in to take him out. But I don't find that very likely.

[Dutch]

I would prefer he goes and hides. Then his armies will surrender that much faster.

We take control of the government, lift the sanctions, and put start the process of putting another government in place. It may take a while, but if Saddam is not in charge, capturing him is very cosmetic. Something for the newspapers. But for the reality, once the regime is finished, so is Saddam.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Originally posted by Dutch
I would prefer he goes and hides. Then his armies will surrender that much faster.

We take control of the government, lift the sanctions, and put start the process of putting another government in place. It may take a while, but if Saddam is not in charge, capturing him is very cosmetic. Something for the newspapers. But for the reality, once the regime is finished, so is Saddam.

By the way, what kind of government would that be ? I mean, the chances are actually pretty high that a fundamentalist islamist government (like in Iran) takes Saddam's place, and wouldn't that actually be worse ?

I believe that was most probably the reason why Saddam was left in power back in '92, there was just no better alternative... and that is a very scary thought indeed...

[ACStrider]

I believe that the talk is of a democratic republic. I guarantee you that we won't stand for a fundamentalist regime to assume power immediately upon removal of the old one. With the fall of the Soviet Union, fear was of a dictator assuming power and controlling the military in Russia. We pumped a lot of money and support into the transition and now we have a lot of eastern European allies to show for it. Even Russia, although not the strongest of allies, is not an enemy anymore. I don't doubt that the same thing could happen in Iraq, and you better believe that the idea of a successful democracy in the middle east scares the bejezzus out of the fundamentalist regimes in that area of the world.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Hey, if it works, I'm all for it !!!

[Dutch]

By the way, what kind of government would that be ? I mean, the chances are actually pretty high that a fundamentalist islamist government (like in Iran) takes Saddam's place, and wouldn't that actually be worse ?

Well, there are Fundamentalist Islamic nations in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yeman, Oman, and the UAE. None of them would be considered bad and all of them have assisted greatly in the war on terror, and some are even our friends.

However, the first government will be the US and UK militaries and we will govern for as long as it takes to restabilize.

What happens after that is largely up to the leaders in Iraq that will emmerge post-war. I couldn't answer for them. So who knows. But this is something I can guarentee you the United States and United Kingdom and Australia and the Europeans have discussed for a long time.

[panerd]

Originally posted by Dutch
Well, there are Fundamentalist Islamic nations in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yeman, Oman, and the UAE. None of them would be considered bad and all of them have assisted greatly in the war on terror, and some are even our friends.

Outside of a few PR measues I would harldy say Saudi Arabia has helped with the war on terror or is our friend. Maybe the people at the top of the government, but outside of that I would say we are pretty detested by the rest of the citizens of our great "ally"

Edit: Re-reading your post. You have have been saying Turkey's friend, which I don't know enough about to dispute. I am talking about America's friend.

[Dutch]

Outside of a few PR measues I would harldy say Saudi Arabia has helped with the war on terror or is our friend. Maybe the people at the top of the government, but outside of that I would say we are pretty detested by the rest of the citizens of our great "ally"

In the war on Terror, our biggest allies are the governments, not the people. Saudi Arabia isn't a very good example, I agree, but if we felt key players were located in Saudi Arabia, they would let us nab them. Remember, Usama Bin Laden hasn't been allowed back to Saudi Arabia for years.

Edit: Re-reading your post. You have have been saying Turkey's friend, which I don't know enough about to dispute. I am talking about America's friend.

I'm not sure how Turkey fits into a topic of Islamic Fundamentalism? Turkey has a parliament and a prime minister, and while there current government has Islamic roots, they are very much popularly elected and can be popularly un-elected (probably will unless they back the US and their economy turns around).

I consider the Arabian penisula to be the heart of Islamic Fundamentalism and it weakens from there. While Iran is an Islamic Fundamentalist nation, the people would be open to change if and when it feels it's current regime is harming them. That's just my opinion, of course, and not a popular one.

As for the Iraqi people are far gone removed from Islamic Fundamentalism and I think once Saddam is removed, the transition for them to a democratic system will be challenging, but not unrealistic.

[BishopMVP]

Originally posted by Dutch
In the war on Terror, our biggest allies are the governments, not the people. Saudi Arabia isn't a very good example, I agree, but if we felt key players were located in Saudi Arabia, they would let us nab them. Remember, Usama Bin Laden hasn't been allowed back to Saudi Arabia for years.

They are not our friends at all, and as soon as Iraq under our control begins to get the oil fields up near capacity we can get the hell out of Arabia. Bin Laden has shown in the past that he can strike in Saudi Arabia and his goal is to take over that country, so why hasn't he ever attacked a single Saudi official or building? Because they pay him off. The Al-Saud family is the greatest exporter of Wahhabism and thus Islamic terrorists in the world.

I consider the Arabian penisula to be the heart of Islamic Fundamentalism and it weakens from there. While Iran is an Islamic Fundamentalist nation, the people would be open to change if and when it feels it's current regime is harming them. That's just my opinion, of course, and not a popular one.

I think the theocracy in Iran will fall to a rebellion within a year of the removal of Saddam. They already had to move out the Iranian troops from Tehran and replace them with Hezbollah because they fear a coup so much. 70% of that country is under 25 and they have grown up hating the system because they live under it.