Elk,

No, terrorism is a threat to our safety. Our safety and comfort has been compromised, not our freedom. We're just as free as we were before 9/11. We are just more aware of the hatred that some people feel for us. It was already there, we were just ignorant of it. Now we know.

There is little evidence or logic that I can see that Hussein is interested in terrorism. The terrorists are groups like the PLO, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda, groups with passionate grievances, and no siginificant military might to use to fight against their targets. They also are few in number, and hidden, so that when they strike, they cannot easily be targeted in return.

As I said above, this doesn't describe either Iraq or, for that matter, North Korea (which I think is a bigger danger to us than Iraq, frankly).

Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, similar to Hezollah, are using terror attacks to make it politically expensive for their targets to continue policies that the terrorists dislike. In the case of Al Qaeda, they want us to quit supporting the current Saudi government, which they view, correctly, as oppressive and corrupt. They also want us to exert pressure on Israel to settle the palestinian issue in a way that favors palestinians.

Hussein on the other hand, doesn't care about these issues, except as propaganda points to win support for his side. He has visions of an empire than stretches from Turkey to the Persian gulf. He cares about power, influence, prestige, and his personal safety. In sharp contrast to the terrorists, he is not willing to die for any cause, and is not religiously motivated.

Because he's not interested in dying for his cause, it makes no sense for him to bomb Disneyland, because he is targetable, and knows it.

That is, it makes no sense for him to launch an attack on us, unless, and until we are taking him down, and he has nothing to lose.

I agree that he should go. But let's not kid ourselves and think it's a simple walk in the park.

The biggest threat to our freedom right now is a misguided effort to relax the constitutional protections that we enjoy in the pursuit of safety. We are facing a choice - continue to maintain the protections maintained in the bill of rights, at the risk that it makes finding a terrorist harder, or repealing the bill of rights in exchange for a perception of greater safety.

If we let that happen, in my opinion, the terrorists will have won.