Petty,
We shall, then, continue to agree to disagree.
My issue with "letting the inspectors do their job" is that they can't. It's not the inspectors' job to seek out weapons of mass destruction. Here's how it was set up by the UN. Iraq was to declare ALL WEAPONS of mass destruction. HEAVY EMPHASIS on ALL. The Inspectors were then to verify that these WMD had been destroyed, or confiscate and destroy any WMD still in existence. The inspectors KNOW that there are some 600 thousand tons of chemical and biological agents not accounted for. How do they know this? They know it from records seized pre 1998 as compared to the Iraq declaration of recent weeks.
Iraq has not accounted for where these chem/bio agents are. No records exist that they were destroyed, nor is a location of their destruction given, nor is a location where these agents can be found given. It's not the UN's job to go find this stuff, Saddam was supposed to tell them where it's at. He hasn't, this is a breach of the agreement.
Further, the Warheads found, though made before 1988 were well maintained. They were found in a bunker not built until 1995, so, these weren't just left lying around and forgotten about.
I was mistaken in my earlier claim that they were found on the farm of a scientist, I confused two news stories.
However, the final analysis from my point of view is this. Inspections haven't worked for 12 years. The Iraqis have a LOT of outstanding weapons and agents unaccounted for. Per the latest UN resolution Iraq is suppossed to tell the inspectors where all their WMD are at. They have failed to do so, therefore, the inspections program has already failed. Saddam had 8 years to watch how the inspectors did their job and figure out loop holes. He had four years in which to build underground bunkers to hide these WMD and the newer ones he's developed. Due to the slow pace of the UN he had MONTHS in which to make sure everything was hidden. The UN has sent just over 100 inspectors to search a country the size of California for WMD. It's an impossible task unless Iraq cooperates by telling the inspectors where the weapons are, or showing that they were destroyed.
Saddam was shown to be a liar from day one of the Inspections that began right after the Gulf War. It's obvious he can't be trusted. The UN has proven in the 50 some years of it's existence to be ineffectual and generally speaking, anti-American. Yep, sounds like a recipe for peace to me.
Yeru writing as my step son (sorry Simon, this darned 20 post limit is killing me this week, I gab too much.)