Kay testimony on WMD's not okay... is Bush really not responsible?

It seemed to me that the evidence of WMD's in Iraq was always presented with a wink and a nudge. Even the slim evidence that Powell presented to the UN, in my opinion, was not enough to justify trampling over another country's sovereignty. However, there were plenty of human rights violations that would more than justify military action. Whether or not there were WMDs is a secondary issue to me, but the Bush administration should fess up to blowing the WMD issue out of proportion, even to the point of ignoring the reliability of some of their intelligence.My biggest beef with Bush is his inability to garner support from the UN, or at least a majority of democracies across the world. Bush, or America as a whole for that matter, should not act unilateraly in a world whose politics and economies are tightly interwoven. It seems that Bush's actions against Iraq are an attempt to legitimise his presidency after losing the popular vote and to secure another 4 years in office. It stinks of a desperate president trying to create partisanship in order to win votes. Unfortunately, this seems to be working, but I still have hope for us crazy Americans. Whoever the Democratic nominee ends up being (I was hoping for Gephardt, alas no more) should focus on how Bush has misused his power and how he has given America a bad name overseas. Claiming that invading Iraq was the wrong thing to do on principle alone is a dangerous position to take, afterall Saddam was not going to win any "Man of the Year" awards any time soon. Pointing out that Bush was unable to win the support of other democratic nations (don't worry, I'm not forgetting about our beloved Brits) is probably the best position to take. Hell, he wasn't even able to win support here in the States.What should have happened you asked (since I am proclaiming myself as an expert in international politics ):1. Send in inspectors.2. Send in more inspectors.3. Lift embargoes that were starving the Iraqi people but in now way hindering Saddam's ability to make weapons.4. Send in even more inspectors.5. Pressure the hell out of Saddam to have fair elections, open up every parcel of land to weapons inspectors, and force Saddam into a corner POLITICALLY until he had no option but to retaliate.These steps could have garnered support from the UN, but Bush took the easy way out which has resulted in a decline in American influence across the globe.[This message has been edited by Loudmouth, 01-29-2004]