I don't think this is gonna be a 2 week romp in the sandbox, fun in the sun like '91. The CBC interview with Tariq Aziz was interesting. No real big 'America must die' statements, just that they are ready for it, and they know there will be a lot of death. Not just to the Americans, but to each side.
Will they use human shields? Does Baghdad, with the millions of people that populate it, count as a shield? It's the capital city, of course they are gonna defend it! Will the rest of the world enjoy seeing civilians bombed and massacred? Probably not.
I think it's gonna be a street fight, and street fighting historically has been the messiest, biggest casualty producing form of warfare. America does have superior air power, but I think the Iraqis will fall back into defensive cover in the cities, and force a ground war. Could be real ugly.
I am still undecided that Iraq needs to be burnt to the ground. The whole State of the Union address, and Colin Powell show-and-tell session looked pretty theatrical. I don't know how dangerous Iraq actually is to the welfare of the USA. Certainly dangerous to the surrounding countries like Isreal, but I haven't seen the hard proof of danger to America.
Test some new ordnance, get the economy rolling, scoop some oilfields, and live knowing you took out a madman. Sweet. And if Saddam does unleash some bio and chem weapons, you can say "See, told ya so..." to the rest of the world.
www.cbc.ca/national/news/iraq/interview_030127.html