The reason why I believe Bush didn't just "make it up" is because many mainstream news agencies were also saying the same thing. I don't think their sources were just the President.

Newsweek ran an article in 1999 headlined "Saddam + Bin Laden". In that same year ABC News was reporting that Saddam was thought to be building WMD's. If you turned on NPR you'd hear interviews from ex-CIA officials. Even John Kerry in 2002 said that the "threat was real".

I guess all these people were just making it up. Or we were a country of fools?

I think it's a stretch to say that Bush lied.

We also had a hunch that people were going to fly planes in the World Trade Center buildings 8 years ago. And people are still crucifying members of the government for letting that happen and not acting on that "hunch".

So you see it's not a perfect world and we need to make decisions that are sometimes based on imperfect intelligence.

You incorrectly assume that the inspectors were given open access and that Saddam would be cooperative.

I guess all these other people were lying too:

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.”—Ted Kennedy, September 27, 2002

“There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein’s regime is a serious danger, that he is a tyrant, and that his pursuit of lethal weapons of mass destruction cannot be tolerated. He must be disarmed.”—Ted Kennedy, Sept 27, 2002

“We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.”—From a letter signed by Joe Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara A. Milulski, Tom Daschle, & John Kerry among others on October 9, 1998

“The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow.”—Bill Clinton in 1998

“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security.”—Hillary Clinton, October 10, 2002

“I am absolutely convinced that there are weapons…I saw evidence back in 1998 when we would see the inspectors being barred from gaining entry into a warehouse for three hours with trucks rolling up and then moving those trucks out.”—Clinton’s Secretary of Defense William Cohen in April of 2003

"Iraq does pose a serious threat to the stability of the Persian Gulf and we should organize an international coalition to eliminate his access to weapons of mass destruction. Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.”—Al Gore, 2002

"I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.”—John F. Kerry, Oct 2002

I don't see how all of those others are "qualified". I don't see how Kennedy or Kerry's quotes are qualified. Kerry also said things like "We need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his offenses. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. ...And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. That is why the world, through the United Nations Security Council, has spoken with one voice, demanding that Iraq disclose its weapons programs and disarm. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but it is not new. It has been with us since the end of the Persian Gulf War.”—John Kerry, Jan 23, 2003".

That one sounds pretty certaiin to me, just like many of the others I provided.

But I am digressing because I don't really your distinction of "qualified" versus "unqualified" really matters.

I think the point is that based on the intelligence we were presented many people believed that Saddam posed a threat. They believed he either had WMD's or was thought to be developing them.

All of these people believed that. None of them had information to the contrary that proved without a doubt they were wrong. Therefore nobody is willfully lying by making those statements. And that is what nuts like CVille like to keep repeating - BUSH LIED!! BUSH LIED!!. I think I will get her a bumper sticker for Christmas if she doesn't already have one just to make her happy even though what the sticker says isn't true. Nobody willfully lied to lead us into war. I'm sorry but that is just revisionist theory and an easy escape mechanism for a very unpopular war.