Doug,

I'll deal with your comments out of order :

>Given the nature of Sadam v most everyone else he's a barbarian at best.

I don't disagree with you.

>I think the 'flaw' in your thinking is one of presuming moral equivilence.
>At what point is it more moral to stop someone as opposed to not? I'm not sure exactly where this might be myself in any given case but I'm sure there are folks who spend their entire careers on these kinds of issues.

I'm not commmenting on the rights & wrongs of the proposals.

The point I am trying to make, though it may not necessarily be clear, is about the advisability of the current administration so openly speaking about their plans. By being so open, are they putting American lives at risk ? By speaking so belligerently (even bellicosely), is that increasing the risk of pre-emptive retaliation ?

(A very cynical view may be that that is the intent, American lives a deliberately being put at risk, so that there is little world condemnation of an all out attack on Iraq following the pre-emptive retaliation).