Reply #55: That's true--they were on the edge of the imposed range limit

[jpgray]

And they were only on the edge if they were theoretically stripped of all guidance equipment, etc.

But the discussion mike_c and I were having wasn't about invading, it was about using the added threat of force to get cooperation from Saddam. Even though the Al-Samoud missile was perhaps incorrectly declared to be in violation of UN resolutions, it was only after the threat of force was thoroughly applied that Saddam abided by that declaration. That doesn't mean Bush's illegal invasion was right or that the IWR was the only viable tool, but it doesn't make sense to me to say that an added threat of force has zero potential value when it has produced results before.