>>QUOTE FROM DICK CHENEY
>>Cheney, "The problem is that the good Lord didn't see fit to put oil and gas >>reserves where there are democratic governments."

This was in reply to a question on how he could justify having done business with Burma. Not sure its a manifesto for rearranging ownership of reserves
in the Gulf region.

The U.S. HAS been *truly* concerned about Iraq's weapons programs for a long time. Even prior to the gulf war there was a scandal in Britain (America's aircraft carrier off the coast of Europe) over a supergun or "Babylon gun".
The scandal occurred precisely because it was supposedly forbidden to supply Iraq with weapons. Point is........concern over Iraq's weapons is not just a recent invention of convenience.

Iraq has sought WMDs and shown a willingness to use them not for defense....
but in a first strike capacity. During the Gulf war, Iraq targeted Israel in
an attempt to cause the conflict to spiral. Iraq has repeatedly flounted Security Council resolutions. Maybe it has something to hide....maybe it doesn't. Much like any person who refuses to be searched prior to boarding
a plane..... a very powerful presumption of guilt arises. Could this be a mistake? Absolutely. But does that make it wise to ignore it?

The reason we have not confronted Pakistan has less to do with their lack of oil and more to do with the fact that Pakistan has long been a strategic ally of China with a common enemy (India). If Iraq were a close ally of China, today's situation would be radically different.

The argument......"if its about WMDs there are a ton of other places we should
be attacking" can be turned around. "If its just about oil......there are a
ton of other places we should be attacking".