Perry, believe it or not, all of our cities are defenceless against a home-made cruise missile. Parts for a delivery mechanism are legally available in the US for under $5000. Now all you need is somebody who knows how to assemble one, and a nasty warhead... high explosive will do if you have a few million bucks so you can build lots of them and terrorise people in every city.

There is no obvious defence against this apart from removing the "purpose" for targeting civilians in this fashion.

That's why Iraq is so crucial. Another cynical generation in the middle east is watching, expecting "the big con" from the US at any moment with your cruel ulterior motives revealed. So this freedom/order/democracy thing needs to be carried through or we will see *another* generation believing the worst of us, with depressed individuals offered not counselling but a chance to be a glorious martyr.