Sarin Nerve Agent (WMD) Found In Iraq

[Almighty Colin]

I think Bush made the decision to go to war against Iraq very shortly after 9-11. First Afghanistan, then Iraq. He then chose his justification but it looks like he probably bet wrong. I agree with Wig ut not sure if in the same way. The people who were most hawkish on Iraq - and there many in this administration - saw in the intelligence what they wanted to see. Many of us (me, for example) used Saddam's past actions as indicative of his future ones. The rational Saddam theory. Ummm, ok. Should have known better. That's what makes "intelligence" intelligence and not fact.

Either way, the administration made a lot of political mistakes. Rumsfeld's labelling France and Germany "Old Europe" was a real error. A really bad one. Then again, there were many administration members of other countries who made similar statements about other countries - such as Chirac calling eastern european countries "childish" for agreeing with the US position. Wasn't there a Canadian official who said something bad about the US that created an uproar? I can't remember it.

The US will have to live up to a higher standard than it is has. The leader of France making such statements is not going to create as much long-term negative will toward it as the US will. Neither will a Canadian or Spanish official. This is just a a political reality. The product of balance of power politics.

Some of the angst was unavoidable once the decision was made. The US had to go to the UN for Blair, for example. Well, none of this is new. The US tried to stop the Suez canal war in the UN and Britain and France vetoed it and went to war anyway. I'm sure there were a few the USSR started too.

I'm still glad Saddam's gone. Was it worth it? Tell you in about ten years.