All Saddam had to do to avoid miltary action, was convince the UN weapon inspectors that his regime was fully cooperating with the inspectors which according to the cease fire agreement had to verify that Iraq had no Weapons of Mass destruction programs. The inspectors job was not to find WMD, rather their job was to act as an objective party to examine the evidence presented by the regime. After over a decade of time the UN inspectors could not verify that Iraq had complied with the cease fire agreement nor could they have any confidence that even with a large miltary force poised on the border that Saddam was willing to fully cooperate.

The US had an interest in overthrowing the Iraq regime, because Iraq was unwilling to comply with it's obligations. Iraq's WMD were a regional threat and were a direct threat to America if Iraq had worked through international terror groups which could have the means of delivering them.

The idea that America started the war with Iraq is simply stupid. Iraq began this war by invading Kuwait. Iraq failed to end this war by deliberately refusing to comply with it's cease fire agreement.