Hi TMA, Clearly you and I have strongly opposing politics, so I'm not sure how useful it is to rehash a tired debate. Since you say I work against myself, however, kindly indulge my response. 1. Saddam & Bin Laden: This rhetorical linkage has been made to suggest Saddam's responsibility for 9/11. As you correctly point out, despite whatever the partisan revisionists at National Review say, this conspiracy was thoroughly investigated by the 9/11 Commission (and by many others) and found to be totally without merit. 2. Saddam and WMDs: Your Newsmax article recounts interesting anecdotes but ultimately cannot make a convincing case that Saddam possessed WMDs. Raw material, such as Uranium, or the talk of exiled scientists close to neo-cons, or old weapons facilities; a WMD aresenal of "imminent threat" these do not make. The CIA's Iraq Survey Group report, written by the CIA's top expert on Iraqi weapons, Charles Duelfer, comprehensively accounts for Saddam's WMD program with the benefit of hindsight in over 1,000 pages and concludes that whatever WMD program Saddam had was destroyed in the first Gulf War and that he ended his nuclear program shortly after. More here. Everyone from Bush to Condi Rice to Rumsfeld to Colin Powell's chief of staff have since retracted claims that Saddam had WMDs. (Whether they doctored the intelligence in the first place or genuinely believed what turned out to be false is another question.) I have the facts on my side; you're equally convinced they're on yours. Beyond the obvious problem that this means one of is wrong while believing he is right, it presents a more serious issue. The public, as represented by you, dear TMA, and myself, cannot rationally discuss what may be the most important US war since WW II because there is widespread disagreement over, and unawareness of, established fact. This brings me to my original point. I'm not convinced blogging and the internet have much helped solve this situation of disinformation and misinformation. Indeed, it may have gotten worse as people break away into self-created niches and preach only to like-minded choirs. Consider this study by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes:

A new study based on a series of seven US polls ... reveals that before and after the Iraq war, a majority of Americans have had significant misperceptions and these are highly related to support for the war in Iraq. The polling ... also reveals that the frequency of these misperceptions varies significantly according to individuals’ primary source of news. Those who primarily watch Fox News are significantly more likely to have misperceptions, while those who primarily listen to NPR or watch PBS are significantly less likely. An in-depth analysis ... found 48% incorrectly believed that evidence of links between Iraq and al Qaeda have been found, 22% that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, and 25% that world public opinion favored the US going to war with Iraq. Overall 60% had at least one of these three misperceptions. [...] Variations in misperceptions according to news source cannot simply be explained as a result of differences in the demographics of each audience, because these variations can also be found when comparing the rate of misperceptions within demographic subgroups of each audience. [...] While it would seem that misperceptions are derived from a failure to pay attention to the news, in fact, overall, those who pay greater attention to the news are no less likely to have misperceptions. Among those who primarily watch Fox, those who pay more attention are more likely to have misperceptions. Only those who mostly get their news from print media have fewer misperceptions as they pay more attention. The level of misperceptions varies according to Americans’ political positions. Supporters of President Bush and Republicans are more likely to have misperceptions.

There are many more fascinating reports at their website, such as the finding published April 13th of this year that most Americans (7 in 10) believe Bush still claims Iraq had a major WMD program and that many still believe the assertion to be true (4 in 10 Americans; 6 in 10 Republicans). By the way, if there's still any doubt on this point, Bush himself said on October 7th, 2004: "Iraq did not have the weapons that our intelligence believed were there." (Source: White House press release)