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Originally Posted by CaramonLS
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Based on what I've read - none of the Iraq intel should have been pushed up the line, and it was criminal to do so. So the question remains is why was this obvious bad intel pushed up the chain of command to the highest levels? My personal opinion is that Bush Jr wanted a rationale to invade Iraq, so they found a bunch of sketchy intel to support it. I also think that Bush and most of congress believed Saddam probably had WMDs - but nothing concrete to prove it.
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I heard a very interesting interview yesterday. The man speaking was a reporter, he had daily contact with Saddam for almost 2 years, while Saddam was in American hands after his capture, prior to his being turned over to Iraqi control. It sounded like he talked with Saddam for several hours every day while he was in American captivity.
He asked Saddam specifically about WMD and Saddam told him this. Most WMD had been inactivated or destroyed as per the mandate of the United Nations inspections. However, he kept enough of a semblance of WMD so that the Irani would not invade. And this reporter claims that Saddam said that he had plans to completely rebuild WMD, nuclear and chemical and biological.
On the final day of his contact with Saddam, he asked him if he had any regrets. Saddam told him no. He was 67 years old, he had lived far longer than many Iraqi men his age, he had become leader of his country, he believed he had initiated many programs in his country to improve Iraq. As a final farewell gesture, he kissed the reporter in Iraqi style, 3 times on the cheek, left, right, left. And told him he would see him again.
And the reporter never saw him again once Saddam was turned over to Iraqi police. The reporter did say however, that in the end, on his final day of execution, Saddam refused to put on the black hood and wanted his killers to look him straight in the eye upon execution.