The Connection Excellent article. Short response to it: If I were more a partisan than an American I'd feel tickled pink about this. I'm so tired of arm-chair version of Sherlock Holmes who attempt to draw inferences from headlines alone. Bush family in the Oil business? Then Iraq must be about oil! The fact is these infantile theories of cause and effect are easy to foist on the American voter, especially one who doesn't spend a whole lot of time doing their own research. "Well, if Move-On put it on their web page then it's good enough for me." And Ben and Jerry's DOES say we are spending too many Oreo cookies on the military. Maybe it's time to go get ice cream! But there are other speculations that don't come so easy. That doesn't make them any less likely to be true. My wondering always goes quickly to motive, and past performance. Sadaam had plenty of motivation against th US. He DID threaten the US, Bush Sr. and anyone else who got in his way. That WAS his way. And it won't be surprising to see (eventually) a flood of evidence that he was either behind or at least involved with several plots against the US. What if this all could have been prevented by going on to Baghdad in the first Iraqi war? Will we get a Mea Culpa from those involved in that decision? More importantly will we get at least an apology from those like Al Gore and John Kerry who are attempting to make so much political hay over the issue? One or both of them might actually be in high office by then, and it would at least be refreshing for those of us who are not convinced yet to hear just exactly what would they be doing differently. In Sherlock Holmes stories almost all of his inferential leaps are correct, even when he later admits to guessing. In the real world it is hardly ever so. Time to stop guessing and start planning, and if you don't like the plan that's in operation now, present an alternative! No hand waving, details please.