Yes...your answers have helped a lot, on a few important levels.

Am very distracted right now tho, so will have to absorb your info later. My youngest daughter called from Calgary which is always to hear from her. She's worried about this current war too, as is every other person I know. My youngests father is American and he served Stateside, (Vietnam time? Something similar) but not overseas (almost blind in one eye)anyways...her Dad, some half-siblings, and tons of relatives from USA coast to coast are all there. He also tends to fly all over the world on gigs too tho am sure not right now.

Iraq. I think here of a Scorpion, trapped. Backed into a corner and trapped, it will sting itself to death rather than be `caught'... I worry big time about how all this rigid psychology is going to play out physically for everyone, people and world. This Iraq guy just seems too much of a berzerker to tangle openly with. He seems the type you have to come at from out of the blue. Theres no such thing as fight fair or following common rules of conduct with certain mind-sets. If he doesn't have empathy and compassion for his own people, and that his casualties are nothing to him because there are another million to take their place... I doubt that he will be humane with any enemy POWS. God, I really feel for those people right now, and their families. I think that all of those reasons are why so many people are so afraid and so against this war in particular(other than the obvious deaths and destructiveness and innocents being hurt etc)

I wish I could `fix it'.