Why? Largely because we've Bush has puffed his chest long enough, that backing down now would look like "weakness". Full Article here. My favorite point in the article: "Machiavelli raised the core question: Is it better for a prince to be loved or feared? He answered the question simply -- love is a voluntary emotion; it comes and it goes, but it is very difficult to impose. Moreover, it is an emotion with unpredictable consequences. Fear, on the other hand, is involuntary. It can be imposed from the outside, and the behavior of frightened people is far more predictable. This is the classic political problem the United States faces today. Washington cannot possibly guarantee the love of the Islamic world. Therefore, it cannot guarantee that if it does not attack Iraq, Islamic hatred for the country will subside. But it is certain that if it does not attack, fear of the United States will decline. According to this logic, the United States cannot decline war at this point."