What's really ironic is that there is one scenario that explains just how
a)Hussein acted like he had WMDs
b)Bush really did think he had them
and
c)why they didn't get used, and why we found anything. It's pretty funny. :)

The joke's on the Zeeble Boppers: Bush doesn't exist either.

Casey:

Saddam didn't have em and his evil minions were afraid to tell him they fucked up?

In the end it doesn't matter. After winning a war, the reasons for fighting it are always rebuilt. During WWII, there was absolutely NO mention of Hitler's treatment of the Jews in America's homefront propaganda; partly because we didn't know the full extent of the horror until we occupied Germany afterward. But now, I dare you to find ANY discussion of WWII that doesn't assume the Jews were our primary reason for fighting Germany.

Similarly, our public pre-war justifications for fighting Saddam did NOT include protecting Israel from Arafat, though it's clear that strategists like Wolfowitz had this in mind. And the dramatic change in Palestinian position proves him right.

If Saddam had WMD, why didn't he use them?

Looks like the initial stages of CYA. Remember smallpox vaccines and duct tape? This administration simply drips with competence and credibility, don't they?

This meme honestly baffles me. Consider:

Saddam (and Osama) are human beings. They are capable of moving under their own power. They are relatively small, weighing probably no more than 250 pounds fully clothed -- Osama is tall, but skinny.

The WMDs are several tons of material. They are not capable of moving under their own power. They weigh, well, several tons.

Without getting into the question of whether or not they should have been found by now, how can you compare the difficulty of finding Saddam to the difficulty of finding WMD? Is this just meant to be a funny commentary?

Actually, Ara, that's close; a fella over at NRO went into more detail that made it sound quite plausible.

Basically they've been taking the money for the past 12 years, socking it away (or for their own gold-plated love nests), and telling El Jefe everything's going according to plan. Which it was, sort of. Their plan. :)

When you consider the B'aathists were trained by the Soviets, the past experts at maskarovka, I think it's possible that the B'aath efforts to fool Saddam ended up fooling us as well. This also perfectly explains why there wasn't one single bloody WMD attack on Allied forces. You'd think there would be at least one "true believer" willing to risk war-crimes trials or military retaliation just to stick it to the hated Amis...

biscuit: you really don't know what you're talking about, do you?

Why didn't Hussein use the WMDs? Well, Ara and I were just discussing one possibility above.

Another is that Hussein didn't have them, but knew it. What kept him going relates to the Eastern concept of "face"; admit you don't have all these goodies and you're just another thug. Goodbye international credibility. He couldn't let go of the illusion of power, even if this left him safely in control of Iraq.

One more is a combination of smart operations and some good luck. I don't know if you know, but psyops has been whittling away at the Iraq army leadership for over a year.

For example: somehow the US got the cell phone and fax numbers of Iraqi flag officers. These people started getting faxes and phone calls, ah, "reminding" them what happens to war criminals and what happened to Iraq the last time the fought the US.

Also, the psyops folks used the time we wasted playing with the UN to make darn sure the Iraqis knew, in painful detail, what was coming. This is an ancient and honorable military tactic, which used to include beating the drums all night before an attack to keep the enemy awake and nervous. They'd be in worse shape in the morning. Why do you think the MOAB got so much publicity? Don't you know that tape was being broadcast in the Mid-East the same day? The implication being "we whipped you last time, and now we have bigger bombs too!!"

Hell, the Iraqis aren't stupid.. They know they got beat 12 years ago. They also know that for the past 12 years they haven't managed to shoot down a single Allied aircraft. And now they're coming back...

This anticipation, not unlike hearing those monsterous footfalls in Jurassic Park, was worse than the actual monster.

Anyway, by the time the war started, the Iraqis were uncertain enough, and their communications mucked up enough, that they just didn't have the time to set anything off.

Take your pick...

Casey: I don't find your third scenario very likely. Possible, yes, but consider: if control of the weapons was lost to elements to the Iraqi army unwilling to fire them, why didn't they turn them over to the US when their units were captured? How could they have been taken to Syria, or Iran?

The only answer which comes to mind is that they were sold by the Iraqi army, or that they never existed.

In the former case, there's still a problem of competency among the US administration: why was this allowed to happen? Given that the major reason for war was to prevent terrorist attacks with chemical and biological weapons, how could they be lost? Should the war have gone ahead given this risk, or could more subtle methods have been used?

As to the first and second scenarios, in which US intelligence was misled, by Saddam or with him: this is somewhat more plausible. Saddam might have decided that since he couldn't convince the US that he didn't have any, he might as well try to deter the US with faked programs. Of course, the administration should have considered this possibility. No matter how you cut it, the responsibility cannot be shifted.

So take your pick. Either they lied, or they screwed up. The second is more forgivable, but the first is definitely preferable in terms of consequences.

Skarl:

Oh MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS?

How could they have sold them/hid them/ gotten them to Syria? 6 months of pusyfooting in the U.N.!

The ONLY way the Adminstration could be blamed for screwing up was going there in the first place.

Everyone in the ENTIRE WORLD with the exception of maybe Sean Penn and his ilk KNEW that Saddam had WMD's. My GOD EVEN HILLARY CLINTON VOTED FOR and SUPPORTED WAR because of what she knew from her time in the White House...

C'Mon people!

Dear ockham,

You wrote "But now, I dare you to find ANY discussion of WWII that doesn't assume the Jews were our primary reason for fighting Germany."

Ummm....
H. Stuart Hughes, Europe: a Contemporary History
S.E. Morison, The Two-Ocean War (an abbreviation of the offical Naval history of WW2)
Winston Churchills (his memoirs)
Dunnigan & Nofi, Dirty Little Secrets of WWII
Arthur Sulzberger Sr. American Heritage History of WWII

All of these are quite explicit in explaining that most Americans were hesitant about joining the war until Pearl was attacked on December 7.

And these are just the ones I have in the apartment. Maybe you should read some more real history books? Heh.