The inspections in the mid 1990s found that Saddam was less than a year from having nuclear weapons when the Gulf War broke out. Had we listened to the "let sanctions work" crowd, we would've been facing the same problem with Saddam then that we're having with North Korea now.

There is a good amount of evidence that Saddam's weapons programs are still running. With mobile facilities and security leaks, the chances of them being caught by inspectors is almost nill. That's why he has refused to let U-2 and Predator reconnaissance planes in the country. His proposal yesterday was couched in something he knew full well that the US and UK wouldn't accept - the end of the no-fly zones. Basically, he made us an offer he knew we would refuse, and he did it in an effort to fool the gullible, like France and Germany.

Here's a link to the Federation of American Scientists (by no means a conservative group) Iraq Special Weapons Guide. Read the history of WMD programs in Iraq.

You don't have to take my word for it, read what Khidhir Hamza, former head of the Iraqi nuclear program, wrote today. There's also this which claims Germany had a major hand in the Iraqi weapons programs.