Let me see if I can get to all your statements. 1. The one and the other quote. He was supposed to have gotten rid of a lot of weapons 12 years ago based on the sanctions and cease fire he agreed to. Scud missiles were one of many things that were supposed to be gone but he has been lobbing them into Kuwait. Chemical weapons of which he stated in the 1200 page report that went to the UN said he didn't have but we have found the chemicals and factories that we have captured along with the suits, masks and antidotes to go with them. Blix purposely ommitted in his verbal address to the UN that he had found evidence of WMD but put them deep in his written report, he tried to avoid a war at all costs. Just as many people think peace at any cost, that's how we got Hitler. 2. We are not laying waste to the city. We have only hit bunkers and palaces along with targets of oppurtunity (tanks, APC's etc). Just because we have been bombing for almost 18 days doesn't mean we are hitting the cilvlian areas, we have purposely avoided bombing some targets because of their location. This isn't like it was in WW2 which only used dumb bombs and you had to drop hundreds just to hit a building. These bombs and missiles are so accurate that we can pick which window to drop it into on a particular building. Fact is we have done very little damage to the city itself. 3. Saddam is very much like Hitler and in some ways worse. He murders his own people, has children raped in front of their parents, kills people for simply speaking out against him, the list goes on. This info is from some of the Iraqis that have fled the country. He is the type of person that sactions don't work on (he simply got richer while the Iraqis starved as evidenced by the warehouse found full of tons of food), diplomacy dosen't work and weapon inspectors don't work as evidenced by 12 years of constant manuevering on his part. This war here is just a continuation of the one 12 years ago, Saddam broke the cease fire almost as soon as it was begun, it's just been reduced to skirmishes until now. 4. Saddam may not be directly connected with Al-Queda but several of their operatives have been captured fighting along-side Iraqi soldiers as well as several other terrorists groups. Training camps have been seized and destroyed. Saddam was giving $10,000 to the families of suicide bombers, etc. He is as much guilty as the terrorists, he is a terrorist to his own country. 5. If the USA treated it's citizens like Saddam treated his I would hope someone would step up to the plate and help get rid of such a corrupt govt. We would be fighting right alongside. But you see we aren't like that. The USA contributes a hell of a lot of aid to the other countries and in truth I think we need to cut back and help our own citizens first, then what's left over can go to other countries. But that's another story. In truth I could care less if we really find WMD's or not, Saddam needed to be taken out (and others should be handled too, hopefully without having to resort to war to do it.....one step at a time). I feel we are doing the right thing and that is bolstered by seeing the Iraqi people cheer when the forces take over a town. No way do I beleive 100% everything that has been stated by any of the govt's as to why this war is happening, some may have ulterior motives. the end result is still the same, the Iraqi people will not have to live in fear of their lives everyday based on what they say. They won't have secret police and Baath party members living in their houses. Jobs will be increased, food will be made available, medical help, etc.