>Clearly I live in a different reality from you.
>
>I am sure that most people remember very well the frustration of US defence department officials because Blix repeatedly provided cautious reports to the Security Council about the hunt for banned chemical and biological weapons in Iraq, noting that no evidence had been found that Iraq had resumed their production.

If I remember correctly, the U.S. administration was frustrated with Blix for leaving things out of his oral presentation to the U.N. that were covered in his internal "cluster document". One of the things I found most laughable about the cluster document, which indicated Iraq had banned weapons, was that people looked at that and said, "See, Blix is finding things! The inspections are working!". Of course, they missed the entire point.

>The above "reality" is the one that most people will find familiar rather than your version that has Blix supporting the idea that Iraq had WMD.

My "reality" is the one Blix gave to the U.N. Those quotes weren't made-up. The came directly from Blix, and the source I cited was the United Nations. Yes, that's my reality.

>As for Neville Chamberlain; not sure of your point, at the time I believe the USA had a policy of isolationism that continued until Pearl Harbor was attacked? I see no similarity with the Iraq situation.

The situation is similar because you and others, like Chamberlain, prefer to believe what someone says rather than looking at their actions. Had you been in Kuwait in July of 1990, you would have been saying, "Don't worry. Saddam said he wasn't going to attack us."

>Re the UN: I quite agree, had matters had been left to the UN all along, they would be criticised and villified for "doing nothing" and not finding the WMD. But you find a way to blame them anyway, with the French for good measure.

I blame the U.N. for being an ineffective organization, who doesn't seem to grasp the fact that declarations mean nothing to dictators. Saddam didn't agree to allow the inspectors back in becuase the U.N. demanded it. And I criticize the French for pretending to be noble, while actually just being greedy. I expect the greed from most governments, including the U.S. Dressing up greed as nobility is what turns my stomach.