I qualified the article in my title: "apparently".
Let us put back-to-back the failed NYT articles you have posted that turned out to not be so.
Compared to what I have posted, your list will turn out quite long.
And, it should be pointed out, the article I have posted, whether you approve the source or not, has not been disproven yet.
You will ultimately find that betting on Saddam will have been a waste of your time.
Desperate? Not even.
The steady critics of the policy have been on the losing side of history on this since the beginning. That the road is tough is only surprising to the critics. Thank God the pov you seem to embrace so strongly was not given the press space during WWII it has now grabbed.
Historical illiteracy really is a pressing public policy issue.
Ed