The king was naked and knew it.

We already knew his hand was weak, so we naturally bumped his raise. He called. The fact that he called is where the debate lies.

Why did he call?

He readily gambled with the U.S., expecting us to back off at the last minute. There was no way, knowing he had no defense, that he would have expected otherwise. He was positive of the outcome. His WMD capabilities did not enter into the equation at all. He could have been armed to the teeth, he was still a small nation up against the totality of Western Forces. He could have launched 12 nukes. We would have squashed him like a bug.

He knew what he didn't have, but that was a well guarded secret. The belief for Hussein & Co. was that we could never stoop to his level and move in on him. We were expected not to attack.

Surprise,
Dan