Regardless of whether you think we should have arrived at the brink of war, it seems to me that this pre-war thing didn't shake out the way I was taught in the old cowboy movies and TV.

Remember the scene from the 60's: the bad guy and his cronies are holding a group of good guys and maybe a good girl or two at six-gun point in the front room of a log cabin in which they were previously at a table being forced to sign over the deed to the ranch.

Then a little diversion happens and a good guy grabs the gun. Everybody stands still like in a choir practice. The guy holding the wobbly gun barely looks serious, like he wouldn't or doesn't know how to shoot it, but the very fact that HE HAS THE GUN, the bad guys know it's over; they give up and the sheriff takes them to jail.

Now I know these were silly times in terms of drama, but even if you fast forward to realistic movies and TV and even on the street today, you see ad different scene. When our hero has the 357 pointed in the drug dealer's ear or conversely the crook pulls an oozie on the cop. When faced with what even clueless people would deem is overwhelming force, it should be over. The hero doesn't take out his finger nail clippers (that he has cleverly slipped by the weapons inspectors at the airport) and try to combat the 357 magnum, NO he gives up.

I mean, we expected Sadam and his gang to come out with their hands up, like the rustlers. They know the 'force' is not with them. I guess it is due to that old culture difference that he didn't understand it when we said, "Drop it! We got you covered. Come out with yer hands up, pardner!"