O'Neill: Bush planned Iraq invasion before 9/11

Now we get confirmation from a former G.W. Bush cabinet secretary that the administration was planning an Iraqi invasion before 9/11. How the plot thickens. Why can't Bush just tell the truth? If he would just tell it, maybe I could support our actions in Iraq.

What I find most interesting in this whole situation is that Tony Blair still gives this invasion his 100% backing and has put his career on the line because of it. If we were only privy to the intelligence that they are. Even President Clinton has said several times that he believed Saddam had WMD.

My personal feeling is this. Saddam did have a weapons program but due to U.N. sanctions and U.S. and British air strikes etc., it was more or less rendered useless. I think Saddam's plan however was to eventually get the U.N. off his back forever by continuing impediment of inspectors and then to continue with his program. As much as I hate to say it, I think Bush was correct that this dictator had and wanted weapons of mass destruction. And yes, he had already proved in the Iraq-Iran war (see this link: Suspious shells found in Iraq) and with the Kurds that he would use them. If any WMD was in Iraq, it's hidden now or in other countries.

Did Hussein's regime have real links to terrorists? I'm not sure. The terrorist training camp in Iraq is said to have been controlled by a local warlord not Saddam. However we know that Hussein put out a hit on George Bush Sr. If that doesn't make him a terrorist himself, I'm not sure what does.

In the end, only time will tell and history may or may not show us if this preemptive strike was worth the price. However, I can't help but wonder if our troops have already found Iraqi airforce planes buried under the sand--what else might be under it?