] March 14 -- U.S. officials fear that once President
] Bush signals the U.S. is headed to war, Saddam Hussein
] will strike pre-emptively, administration sources told
] ABCNEWS.

I think this is highly likely. The bullet points on this page are the key thing to be interested in. Here are my "gut feelings" in regard to them..

] Specific new evidence indicates that Iraqi activity in the
] Western desert shows the strong likelihood Scud missiles are
] hidden there. These missiles could easily reach Israel
] carrying chemical or biological warheads which could draw
] Israel into any war.

The entire region's response to the war will change drasticly the second Israel is involved. That will likely be the point where things become truly out of control.

] Detailed new intelligence from the southern Iraqi oil fields
] shows that many of the 700 wells have now been wired with
] explosives. These explosives appear to be connected to a
] central command post, so Saddam could easily set the
] wells ablaze.

One way or another, oil prices will go crazy before all is over. Setting the oil fields ablaze is something we are prepared for. We got experience putting them out in Kuwait, and we were not prepared for it to happen at the time. This time we are. I don't think its going to be too signifigant to anything other then the environment, which will be the biggest loser if Saddam sets another one of his blazes. The costs will be very high if we do not have control of these fields within a very short period after this happens.

] Near the border with Kuwait, where 135,000 U.S. troops are
] now stationed, recent surveillance indicates Iraqi artillery
] batteries have been moved dangerously close. The artillery
] is capable of firing shells filled with poison gas.

Those artillery are going to make their first few shells count.. They will be the only shells they get off before they are taken out with incredible speed and accuracy. If there is one thing we are good at, its bombing things. Saddam knows this well. He also knows that if we go in at all, it will be his last days as the ruler of Iraq. Its likely those first few shells will be poison gas.. The Administration couldn't be happier. The second Saddam uses any WMD, Bush gets his "justification" for all this.. Although that will likely have a very limited effect on global impressions of this war. By the time the first shot of anger fires, everyone will have their minds made up already about where they stand.

Bush is going to go through with this one way or the other.. I'm confident of that. I don't think anyone has any power to stop it at this point. The war machine is in motion. Lets just hope this dosen't start WW3 or put us in a worse position then we are right now. The administration wants to shrink the gap. Lets hope they are not being cocky, and that they can actually pull it off. All we can do is hope. Like it or not, we don't have control over this situation. All acts of protest have been completely ineffective, but thats another story...

ABCNEWS.com : Saddam Could Launch First Strike