Oh, yes, it was quite obvious.
When Saddam decided he was going to publicly sympathize with the Taliban post-9/11, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When Saddam decided to up the payout to suicide bomber's families that attacked Israel post 9/11, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When Saddam decided to play shell games with the UNSC resolutions, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When European and Russian contractors were found selling dual use and prohibited items, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When Europe decided to the throw a colossal hissy fit over the end of food for oil, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When Europe was no longer calling for action of the humanitarian crisis being caused by food for oil, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When Europe then wanted to claim that the dual use items were broken, defective, etc., that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When American liberals seized on the opportunity to finally be mad at Bush again for losing what they felt was a stolen election, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When everyone in the world and especially at the UN who previously didn't trust Saddam, started to say he's not so bad, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When Osama Bin Laden was ranting a raving about American air bases in holy land (Saudi Arabia), the same bases being used to police no fly zones in Iraq, and people were trying to downplay the Ba'athist's intelligence agency's comfort with consorting with the pre-cursor to Al Qaeda - Egyptian Islamic Jihad, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
When a post-war inspection team took 18 months to scour a defeated Iraq, which I like to call "Iraq and Saddam at their most cooperative", only then were they able to confirm that their were no weapons and that Saddam only had breakout capacity for bio/chemical weapons, that should have been a tip off that something wasn't right.
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Seriously. Responsible adults had to take the information they had at the time, and make a decision. I continue to agree that keeping the Ba'athist around, trusting bitter partisan enemies of the US administration, trusting UNSC nations that were financially hurt by the end of the food for oil program, and keeping a tentative situation of sanctions and containment, we're exactly top priority.
It may be true that the second war fomented terrorism. However, it is absolutely true that the Ba'athist containment/sanction process as agreed upon by the UN fomented terrorism at the expense of US security.
