Right up until last night, I actually felt sorry for the Iraqi army. I described this feeling in the post below, and, so far as the conscripts and the civilians are concerned, I still feel that way.

But now have zero compassion for their officers, and for the men who willingly serve them. Part of this is my frustration that they did not take the chance to quit while they could, and to spare their country and their countrymen a lot of unnecessary violence and destruction. Even then, I could sort of understand... these folks are holding an enemy army at bay in their own country, and sometimes good sense gets put aside when you are called to defend your own home. I could still forgive them their misguided courage, for surely there was courage there when they stood up to us against such overwhelming odds.

But now I've just fucking had it with these people.

They had several of our people prisoner during the first Gulf War - about 70, as I recall - and many were terribly abused. They are showing every sign of continuing their tradition.

My patience has evaporated, not from anger, but from sheer frustration at their stupidity. These people act as if they will not be answering to our military tribunals within the month. They act as if they don't care what happens to them, or to their country, or to the people who are under their care. What are they going to do next, spill poison out on the streets and dance around in it?

It's like dealing with a pack of violent, retarded children. They can be counted on to always do the wrong thing, to bet on the wrong horse and piss away every decent chance. If nobody ever went broke underestimating the good taste of the American public, surely there is a fortune to be made in betting against the decency and basic animal intelligence of the Iraqi leadership.

So they have a handful of our prisoners, and they will probably mistreat them, and they will probably single out that lone, shoeless female for particular abuse. Another handful of our marines are dead, some probably executed after capture. Fine. We expected some losses, and frankly, our losses to their point have been astonishingly light.

That doesn't change the fact that most powerful military force on earth is now poised to crush them, and that nothing this side of hell is going to stop it.

Within days their remaining tanks will be smoking hulks, and within two weeks these now-confident captors will be bound and kneeling on the ground, grinning like our best friends and begging not to be held accountable for what they have done.

I expect we will hang at least some of them. I have every confidence that we are not going to fuck around with these people, not now, and not with this president.

And I will be pleased to see it done. Very pleased indeed.

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Check out this key line from Bush's speech last night:

Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing.

He did not say "Their failure to comply" or "If they do not avail themselves of this last opportunity", or even "Once time has run out". He said "Their refusal to do so".

These phrases are always carefully chosen. This sounds to me like we have reserved the right to strike at any time, once Saddam and his sons have refused to leave Iraq.

Of course, they have already refused, repeatedly, and in a very public manner, most recently at the UN itself.

I have predicted the start of this war at least a half dozen times, and I have been wrong on every occasion, but what the hell, pixels are cheap and if y'all want a refund you can talk to my secretary.

I expect this war to begin within hours.

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Drudge is reporting that Iraqi soldiers, upon hearing the sound of British forces zeroing their guns, have already crossed the Kuwaiti border and tried to surrender. The British, perplexed, had no choice but to send them back.

My first thought was that perhaps they had some French military advisors among them; my second was that the Iraqis made exactly the right decision. I hope all of them do the same thing.

The Iraqi military is in an unusual position, perhaps unique in modern history. They can surrender instantly, and see their country liberated, their own lives improved, and the futures of their children made brighter than ever before. Or, they can fight, face certain death, and leave only scars upon their own land as the reward for their efforts.

Military history is replete with examples of men who knew that surrender meant death, slavery, tyranny, and that battle was their only hope for themselves and for their families. I can't recall a single time when this equation has been so perfectly reversed as it is now.

Perhaps this is the new, humane face of modern warfare, or perhaps it is just a fortunate historical accident. Whatever the reason, when the fighting starts I'll be rooting for the Iraqis, too, cheering them on to surrender quickly, safely, and to live to see happier times.

The US has printed a number of leaflets which they have dropped by the thousands to Saddams troops - you can see a nice gallery of them here. I thought I'd like to add my own contribution, on the off-chance that some Iraqi officer somewhere is reading my blog and is inclined to listen to what I have to say:

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