Dookiestix wrote:Any country that starts a war under false pretenses is probably destined to not play much of a role in future history. Afterall, we just don't have the military might or the troops to take over the world.
It wasn't false pretenses since Hussein had built WMD, had used them, had lied about them, and had concealed them from inspectors. The only thing at issue is how recently, not whether he had.
The intelligence organizations may have functioned in such a way as to produce the answer they already believed was true, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who reported a result he didn't believe to be true, and Bush undoubtedly believed it, as did Clinton, and many, many people. Indeed, had we not repeatedly made invasion sounds, Hussein might well still have the WMD. Any weapon powerful enough to obliterate a city is a real danger in the hands of a homicidal madman, so being concerned about it was pretty reasonable. Indeed, in the same situation in the future, aside from improvements in intelligence, we will do the same thing again, and the situation will certainly arise again many times.