[jyl]

This is OT, but as long as others are jumping in . . . I have a pretty conflicted view.

1. I am intensely opposed to the Bush Administration. From the economy to the environment, from personal liberties to foreign policy, even to the approach taken against terrorism, I disagree with just about everything that Bush, Cheney, et al do. I think this is the most ideologically extreme administration since Reagan.

2. I reluctantly feel that Saddam has to be removed and that the UN inspections will never succeed, hence a war is the only way. I don't necessarily think Saddam is a threat today, but in 5 years he'll have nuclear weapons and be the de facto leader of the radical Islamic world in the midst of the most unstable region of the world. We can't deal with North Korea now - imagine North Korea with oil money. So I'm in the unhappy position of supporting Bush's war while opposing Bush's Presidency.

3. Once the war starts, it is in everyone's interest that it be fast and decisive. Whether you support or oppose the war or the Administration, it's a fact that the longer the war, it more will cost in every dimension - US/Allied lives, Iraqi lives, civilian and soldiers, economic destruction here and abroad, etc. Including possibly some Pelican members. So I'm rooting for our troops to win a crushing victory. It's not war-mongering, it's not supporting the President - it is painful logic.