John;

If I may add to your excellent list: The United States will choose a puppet Iraqi for president who will turn out to be a worse bastard than SH. When it comes to choosing leaders (domestic and international) we have a great record! :)

Tom


>Naah. Just think a moment what would have happened if Saddam had quit, and taken the regime leaders with him (Bahrain springs to mind).
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>US/UK help the reconstruction immediately, send in food, water, engineers and other aid workers. Sanctions lifted. It strikes me that the Iraqi would be rather happy about this and cancel the "We hate Bush" parade. This all in day 1.
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>Bush goes on telly and tells the world that because of the actions of his administration and the coalition partners, Iraq is saved without firing a shot. And who could argue? Stock markets around the world hit record one-day highs. This is Day 2.
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>By the end of the first month afterwards, the vast majority of Iraqi reconstruction and oil contracts go to coalition countries and US/UK influence is vastly enhanced both in the middle east and in the broader world. The ambassadors from coalition countries to the UN will fall over themselves telling the media that the phrase "nah nah ne nah nah" has never crossed their minds.
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>Increased influence, enhanced sphere of influence in the middle east, an assured second term for Bush and a genuine place in history.
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>Naah, he didn't want that...
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>JC
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>>Well I'll offer my opinion as to why now...
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>>The cabal was in dread fear that something would happen at the U.N. to stop war plans and doing real war is CRITICAL to their future goals.
>It would NOT have served them for Inspectors to have found and destroyed all WMDs. Frankly, it would not have served them for Saddam to flee or surrender or suicide because they NEED THIS WAR.
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>>I'd say that this group will be exposed some time soon(ish) and that that will pose the greatest jeopardy to President Bush's re-election.