While Independant Congressman Bernie Sanders ( he did vote yes on the House resolution supporting the troops ) condemns our use of military force against Iraq, because the Vatican and the United Nations doesn't support them; other legislators question the timing of the beginning of hostilities. I believe Iraq has had it coming, since it refused to turn over documents and grant access to a Baath party building to UNSCOM a few weeks ago. Weeks ago ( November 14th ), the aircraft were loaded and on their way, but recalled by Clinton at the last minute. Was the timing not right for Clinton? Is this the ' big picture ' that Madeline Albright said Scott Ritter didn't get? The Clinton administration said it was giving Saddam one more chance. Was this ' chance ', actually the chance of finding a better headline some where else, like Isreal? After all, isn't a headline of peace, better then a headline of war?

James Traficant says to throw out the war powers act. He says he supports the troops, but these attacks " were ordered by one man and one man alone ". He obviously thinks Congress should authorize or declare actions that amount to war!

George Gekas questioned the motivation of the timing in reference to the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, but voiced strong support for the troops. He cited Albright and Clinton in his speech, and hinted that their rationalization of the timing was suspect!

It was easy for Clinton to launch this attack. He knows how much the people of America hate Saddam ( me included ) and the voices are few, that condemn the attack. The only questions remaining are: 1) Was the timing of this attack designed to confuse the impeachment situation in the House of Representitives? 2) Was this attack trying to take attention away from the totality of Clinton's failed and phoney foreign policy?

The Timing.

The timing is suspect. Just the fact that folks have invoked ' wag the dog ', is proof enough of a lack of trust in the integrity of the President. The planes were on their way several weeks ago, but called back because of some ' promise ' made by Iraq. The Iraqis have never kept a promise before and had been making/breaking them for many years, so why call off the attack many weeks ago? The answer is the Wye interim peace accord ' victory ' declared by Clinton! The Palestinians would never have annulled the clauses calling for the destruction of Israel in their charter, had we attacked Iraq then. The wonderful photo opportunity for Clinton with Arafat at Gaza's " Terrorist International Airport " would never have happened. You want some proof? Here it is.

It is being reported that in the West Bank town of Nablus thousands of Palestinians chanting " Death to America'' and " Death to Clinton " burned a dozen U.S. flags, including some that had been used earlier to wave at the arrival of Clinton in the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem. Majeda Masri, a Palestinian teenager at the rally, reportedly said, " Two days ago, Clinton was here and we thought he carried a message of peace, but now it is clear that he is a murderer ". Safi Sayed, an adult merchant, said, " We are very sorry about this strike against our people in Iraq ". Hussein Najib, another merchant, said, " What Clinton has done is unfair, the only victims of such attacks are the Iraqi people ". In Gaza, elementary school children covered their clothes with fake blood. The Palestinian Authority was careful to allow protests by it's people, and issued a statement calling for the US to stop bombing Iraq and for Iraq to allow weapons inspections ( remember Arafat supported Saddam in 1991 Gulf War ).

It is quite obvious to all, that the attack grabbed the headlines in the American press, away from the impeachment inquiry.

Failed Foreign Policy.

In Israel, the peace is in pieces. Today, it is being reported that in Bethlehem and Hebron, Palestinian police had to break up dozens of Palestinian teen-agers, who threw stones at Israeli troops. In China, the pro-democracy movement is thwarted by the trials of ' political dissidents ' like Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin. Many more have been arrested or questioned, in the recent two week old crack down. The Moscow news agency is reporting the imminent launch of another ballistic missile by North Korea ( remember the one that flew over Japan in the summer? ). The North Koreans have also refused to permit the inspection of a suspected nuclear research facility. In Kosovo, the Serbian police is arresting ethnic Albanians once again. Even the Serbian media called the United States, " the biggest accomplice of the most monstrous crimes of the Albanian terrorists ". In Northern Ireland, the IRA has not disarmed and a new Irish government is still in limbo. Tough talk and actions are beginning to pop up in the areas of the world that have been neglected by Clinton ( possibly because the chance of positive media photo opportunties was slim )! It is hard to negotiate, but easy to give an order to bomb a third world nation.

Once again, my ascertion is that Clinton chose Iraq to act on, because it was the best choice of enemies. He chose to act now, to reduce media coverage of and to delay the vote for, the House impeachment articles.

- Bongo ( Major wagging...no waiting. )