U.S. News: Michael Barone: But what would Kerry do?(2/16/04): "
Did he manipulate the intelligence? No. U.S. intelligence concluded that Iraq has had WMD since the 1990s, when Bush was governor of Texas. The major foreign intelligence services all agreed. Did Bush lie about it? No. He reported accurately what the agencies said. Did he base his case for war solely on WMD? No. He also argued that military action would oust a regime that supported terrorism and that a free Iraq would make the Middle East less dangerous.

"Nor is it clear that this is an intelligence failure that could have been prevented. Saddam Hussein acted as if he had WMD, violating United Nations resolutions seeking disclosure of his weapons. Kay now theorizes that Saddam's scientists may have deceived him by telling him they were working on WMD when they weren't. If so, how was U.S. intelligence to know that? And would it have been prudent to rely on such reports? The fear of Bush's opponents is that overestimates of an evil regime's capacity will lead to unnecessary wars. But the more characteristic failure of intelligence has been to underestimate evil regimes' progress toward WMD, as in the cases of Iran, North Korea, and Iraq itself in 1991. In the post-September 11 world, underestimates are surely more dangerous than overestimates. "
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Tempest in a Teapot. See Psalm 62:3_4 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.