UN Resolution 1441 demands the same level of access the inspectors got after Gulf War I, and there's no evidence that they're not getting it. In some ways, the access is better now. I don't recall that during the earlier inspections they were able to personally interview Iraqi scientists, search their homes, and cart off boxes of documents. Nor were both sides under the same intense scrutiny as now, literally under the gun of the US military buildup. Reporters didn't dog the inspectors day and night, following them on wild car chases around Iraq, and filming the inspectors as they enter each Iraqi facility with only token grumbling.

The BAS paper never argued that an Iraqi weapons program is impossible. It refuted the claim that they were "within months" of building a nuclear weapon, and pointed out that it would take years to reach that first milestone. The comparison to Brazil's program is a strong one. Brazil was working comparatively in the open, with no international resistance and no forcible inspections, yet they made little progress over a timespan of decades with more resources at their disposal.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me about four times, and it's obvious I must work for the U.N.

That's cute, Tom. I'll have to remember that one.

But seriously, you seem to be arguing that lack of evidence of a nuclear program is evidence of a nuclear program. That may make sense to a Republican partisan, but not to me or anyone else.

A key issue that's emerged on this thread is the question of why Bush doesn't reveal the evidence he enigmatically claims to have. Attacking Iraq without making a solid case inevitably will damage America's long term interests. It's already enraging our former allies and motivating them to defy us in the UN. It's sure to result in more terrorist attacks on US soil. It's sure to harden hatred of America among hundreds of millions of Muslims who so far are ambivalent. Why? Believe me, Tom, I won't ignore the evidence if Bush finally releases it. He could end the controversy in a heartbeat. Why won't he?

--Robert