I miss Al Gore

I've been getting anti-war petitions on an almost daily basis. Most are from MoveOn.org. The petitions are asking us to support "tough inspections, not war". I'm a little hesitant to sign. My dilemma is this: Saddam Hussein did not allow weapons inspectors back into Iraq until the US started sabre rattling. If tough inspections are not possible without the threat of war, then one can not preclude the possibility of war, otherwise the fear that compels Saddam to comply disappears. After all, what's he afraid of - more economic sanctions? I don't think so. The way Saddam has implemented sanctions, the only people to "feel the pain", so to speak, are the innocent civilians. Saddam's administration is not a bit weaker because of them. So if economic sanctions don't work, and military threats (with the implied possibility of military action) are not allowed then how do we rein in rogue nations? We cannot trust them to have good intentions, obviously. I'm in favour of military action, if the only alternative is inaction. Unfortuately, I believe that George Bush is going to bungle the job. ~sigh~ I miss Al Gore.