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After we defeated Saddam's army, the US was also unable to account for all of Saddam's WMD. To suggest that the President was dishonest because of the failure of both sides to account for the weapons is to lose the plot. It is a diversion from the inarguable facts, but it has had serious political consequences in support for the war effort.
Can we say "Nigerian yellowcake"?:wry: I am not and was not suggesting that he was dishonest. What I did say was that some of the claims he used for going to war have been proven (later) to be false. This has absolutely noting to do with accounting for weapons, it has to do with the establishment of a causus bellum. Furthermore, what I was pointing to was the impossibility of ever knowing, with 95%+ accuracy, what he actually believed at the time. He may well ave believed the yellowcake report, he may have thought it possible but not proven, he might have had other unpublished intel and knowingly used the yellowcake as a front even knowing it was false. My point was that we do not know what his motivations and beliefs were for using it
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What should be clear is that if we were not able to account for these weapons with unfettered access, then it would have been impossible for the UN or Iraq to have accounted for the missing weapons given his limited "cooperation."
Absolutely true, although I would note that you did not have "unfettered access" to the situation when the claims were made. The weapons might have been smuggled out of the country (there were some rumours about that - I've no idea if its true) - it's also possible the weapons may have been dismantled and the parts shipped all over. When the US got in a position to look for them, they were looking at a changed situation from when Saddam was in power.