--if he doesn't meet the goals by the date specified, start moving your troops out to the region at that point. Then just keep going, and strike when ready--say, spring 04 rather than spring 03.
Tekboy.. As I seem to recall the events that transpired since Bush went to the UN, Bush's policy a matter of carrot and stick for both the UN and Iraq. Enforce the existing resolutions and bring the issue of Iraqi compliance/non-compliance to a conclusion, or risk unilateral US action.
Both Iraq and the UN were slow to react until Bush displayed the "hammer" and risked performing an "end-run" on them..
But of course, this required the presence of US troops in the region to ensure that Saddam recognized the dire risk of not complying with UNMOVIC inspections.
And has been discussed here this evening, it was the unwillingness of the Bush to wait until the heat of the summer to attack, or to permit several hundred thousand US troops to languish in their tent cities through that heat.
Right or wrong, Bush felt, and I believe rightly so, that unless the US backed up its threats to carry out unilateral action against Saddam with men on the ground, Saddam (AND the UNSC with French and Russian intransigence) would turn 1441 into the same "game playing" situation that he did with UNSCOM. Keeping that many US troops spread out in Kuwait for an entire year was just going to be unacceptable.
1441 allowed 30 days for Saddam to provide ALL pertinent documentation related to his weapons programs. He failed to do, merely providing previously obtained data.
1441 also stated, I believe, that UNMOVIC would be given 90 days to INSPECT, not investigate, the unaccounted for weapons that Saddam had failed to disclose previously. By March, it was clear this was becoming just another game as it was in 1998.
But the bottom line Tekboy, is that there would be no "right time" for a US invasion. It wouldn't be
"right" in 2004 anymore than than it was in 2003.
And the fact is that the invasion should have taken place in 1998, when Saddam completely stopped cooperating with UNSCOM inspectors and thereby committed a material breach.
But a particular president was embroiled in scandal and impeacement ceremonies.
Hawk@youcan'tsatisfyeveryone.gov |
