Shaunasi,

This is one more example where it would be political suicide to go against the Bush Doctrine. George W. (and even more so, his senior adviser Karl Rove) have warped the political system so far in their favor, it is still considered bad and anti-American to go against the "war on terrorism." Bush has called the Palestinians terrorists, and that's how it is. If a politician shows even an iota of sympathy for the Palestinian cause, you can kiss Washington good bye come November.

You also brought up the good point of money. The Palestinian cause in the United States does not have much money. The people who sympathize for the Israeli side have infinitely more power, money, and influence in this country. It simply isn't feasible in the current system to back the Palestinian cause.

With regard to your stance on Saddam Hussein, I have to disagree. This is an example of cutting off the head of the beast, only to have a more dangerous and evil head grow right back (not example of Dick Armey retiring). In this case, Saddam has two sons, Qusay and Uday. These are some of the worst people on this planet. Every day since birth, they have been taught to hate America and Israel, and to rely upon violence (including serious torture) to defeat their enemies. The boys killed for their first time at age 18 and 16, respectively. It was a Kurdish political prisoner who was against Saddam. They have been desensitized to any cries or pleas for help, and in fact doing so would only make them more determined.

I would love to see Saddam out of power. However, if one of his sons takes power, I think the situation would only get worse. The only way it could possibly get better is if another group took power from them, and that would only happen with US assistance (something that Deputy Director of Defense Paul Wolfowitz has been chomping at the bit to do since Sept. 12). It will be interesting to see what happens.

Britt