The tanks & aircraft were purchased from other countries.

The planned nuke was home built.
Saddam accquired a formidable array of raw materials and technology & was producing Iraq's own missiles, fuel, chemical weapons, armour piercing shells, long range cannons, heavy hitting bullets plus the infamous Bull Cannon.

Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq war, was one of the more formidable weapons producing countries in the world. Not so much the volumes as the quality and sophistication. There can be little room for missing the point of how powerful Hussien would have been and been seen to be, in the Arab world, had he been able to keep his programs going.

Part of the reality of letting him into Kuwait was that it put the fear of Allah into the Saudis who were shown by US advisors that if Saddam chose, he could just keep going and take Saudi Arabia as well. There was never *any* real evidence Saddam had that in mind but from western perspective who cares about what he might do - lets stop him before he evens contemplates the thought (of course we did).

Cheers Doug

Most of the issue I have with the plan to attack Iraq is partly to do with knocking off Mr Hussien as leader of an independant country, but mostly to do with the crap justifications that we keep peddling to ourselves about why. My case is that let's be honest & stop decieving ourselves about the justification & the reasons, then go ahead & do it anyway. I am concened though, about the harm done to our image as westerners when we are seen as blatantly imperialistic by other nation's peoples who do not share our desire to protect our interests in their lands.