re: #658 marjoriemoon

So why then didn’t just Bush do that instead of trying to put WMDs in his pocket.

Because WMD’s were an issue that would hold the public’s attention far more readily, and Bush (like the CIA and MI6) was sure Saddam was hiding them. The real purpose for the final run of inspections was to provide political cover for Tony Blair, who in turn supplied British troops we needed both militarily and politically (so we would not be seen as “going it alone”). WMD’s were a pretext; if Saddam had been decisively cleared of them, George W. would have found another one. The real reason for the war was to remove a hostile and ambitious tyrant who’d been a drain on our money and political capital for far too long.