Personally I think the Iraq situation should be dealt with now! Being Canadian, and reading the Canadian papers, I don't believe our government has backed the German and French position at all. But then... that's a political discussion.
As far as its affect on cruising. No doubt some people will be leary of cruising while there's a war going on, or threat of war.
I believe that should the US and it's allies go to war, it will be a VERY short war. Let's not forget this is Iraq, not a world power, and they are less well equipped now than they were prior to Desert Storm.
The United States on the other hand has spent this time improving their weaponry, making it more sophisticated than it already was.
The down side of war.... people die. And that's the part that's tough to take! But I know if people are giving up their lives to fight for my freedom, I'm going to try and do my best to excercise it.
Regards,
Kuki