Rather than undermine Saddam Hussein, this bombing will likely inflame the Iraqi and Arab public against the U.S., and strengthen Saddam's political rehabilitation in the region by pitting him as David against the American Goliath. The siege also strengthens Saddam's position at home. In 1991, Iraq was forced into an unprecedented disarmament process and its military might has been greatly reduced. Even Iraq's neighbors, including Kuwait, have said that Iraq no longer poses any threat. An Israeli military analyst has commented that Iraq's biological weapons program was over-hyped.
Sanctions undermine U.S. interests, both in Iraq and throughout the region.
Punitive comprehensive sanctions and continued bombings provide no incentive for Iraq to cooperate in disarmament efforts. That million-man army of 10 years ago is gone. He is sitting on a very much smaller army of perhaps 350,000 that does not have the capacity to invade its neighbors any longer. I'm sure he can hold on to his power. If pre-war trends in child mortality had continued through the 1990s, Iraq would have had 500,000 fewer deaths of children under 5 during the period from 1991 to 1998.