Daniel, duing the 1990s Hussein was criticized by the US for using White Phosphorus "chemical weapons" against Kurdish rebels. What now matters is that the current rationalizations will be seen as hypocrisy by millions of already cynical people in the Middle East.
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1
