...the rhetoric from both sides of the issue detracts from civil and informed discussion.

On the left we hear people cry "no blood for oil." That's never been what this conflict is about. That's cheap and easy rhetoric without substance.

On the right we hear people cry "disarm Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction." That too is not what this conflict is about. Any chemical weapons Iraq may have once had has long since turned to unweaponizable sludge.

No. This conflict is about American foreign policy. It is driven by a genuine and sincere belief that American should use its military might to remake the world safe for democracy. That has also been the view of the American right. This is precisely why the French and the Russians object - its about complete and total American dominance on the world stage. Every other claim is simply horseradish.

It remains to be seen whether the hawks in the Bush administration are right or not. Unfortunately, if they are wrong, we won't know the answer for some time and until its much too late. That is precisely why what's needed is a return to civil intelligent debate, not spreading rumors and namecalling.