Putting words in other people's mouths again, eh Rolo?Both Franklin's and your (nilknarF's) answers are predictions. Only time will tell what the results of this war will be. All we know at this point is that Iraq had not attacked us or threatened us, that Iraq did not use its weapons of mass destruction in the first Gulf War, that it destroyed at least 95% of those weapons in 1991, that no concrete evidence of remaining WMD were found prior to present hostilities, and that if such weapons are used, it will be because of this war, not despite it.We're still living with the results of the first Gulf War, including delayed casualties among US veterans (Gulf War Illness), oppressive sanctions on the Iraqi people (which I admit I once supported), even the attacks of 9/11 and now of course the present war are largely results of the first one. It's interesting that both Osama bin Laden and Bush & Co. cite the plight of the Iraqi people as justification for their actions. But five thousand preventable child deaths per month -- half a million over the last decade -- should shame everyone. Each “sides” blames the other, but I think both sides are to blame.Yes, Saddam Hussein diverts huge amounts of money to himself and his family and is reported to have 7 billion dollars in foreign bank accounts. Surely he's been robbing Iraq ever since he came to power, yet prior to the first Gulf War and sanctions, the Iraqi people were among the most prosperous in the region. Their present plight is not due solely to Saddam but also to our refusal to allow the necessities for reconstruction after the first war, such as equipment for battlefield decontamination and water purification, as well as a multitude of common medicines, out of fear they might be put to military use. The sanctions continued even during periods that Iraq allowed weapons inspectors.Five thousand needless deaths per month (and most of them children) -- what is that, the toll from 9/11 every 3 weeks? And probably more than the total number of combatants and non-combatants who will die in this war. Our imperative should be to end the sanctions. I would have preferred that they end without war, but since the US and UK would never agree to that, at least the war will end them.I provided this link regarding the effects of sanctions before, but just in case someone missed it:http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=380738And here's a link on Gulf War Illness:www.sftt.org/gwv.docAnd if anyone dislikes Blowback's music, I suggest he start his own band rather than merely criticizing from the (right) wings....