Hi everyone!

[Thomas]

Knowing Saddam's secular bent, I am sure wine was on the table--but then, he also is a health freak (his own, not his people's) so maybe he is against alcohol.

Atta's visit to Iraq is in dispute, but even so, there is no evidence that Iraq had anything to do with the attack on WTC. In fact, Iraq is an arch enemy to Saudi Arabia and, from the evidence presented: all but one of the highjackers were Saudi (one was Egyptian); most of the funding came from Saudi wallets. Also, our nation has no clue where Osama and his second in command are hiding. The war on Iraq seems our way of producing a weapon of mass "distraction" from the above facts.

Re, Japan; I agree with your assessment, but that does not preclude the rest of the world from wondering why we should have the moral authority on the matter. Are we saying to the world that only America has the right and the moral strength to own and threaten with nuclear warheads. Also, North Korea is run by someone equally, or possibly more, insane than Saddam. NKorea has nuclear capability; why not attack now? True, NKorea hasn't any oil, but let's not raise any distractions!!!

On a lighter side, being part of the neighborhood where wine was born, Iraq might be a nice feather in our wine cap--perhaps after we overrun the country we can make it over by planting vineyards along the once grape fertile land near the Euphrates and Tigres Rivers. The wine history of the area, of which I am a student, is vast and extraordinary.



[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 11-16-2002).]