Saddam Hussein was obsessed with his status in the Arab world, dreaming of weapons of mass destruction to pump up his prestige. And even as the United States fixated on him, he was fixated on his neighboring enemy, Iran.

That is the picture that emerges from interrogations of the former Iraqi leader since his capture last December, according to the final report of the chief U.S. arms inspector, which gives a first glimpse into what the United States has gleaned about Saddam's hopes, dreams and insecurities.

The report suggests that Saddam tried to improve relations with the United States in the 1990s, yet basked in his standing as the only leader to stand up to the world's superpower

Iran Fixation

Pay no attention to his obvious obsession with WMD if you choose but those who have incessantly insisted that this war was all about oil should note that Saddam was dying to make up with the USA and he would likely have entertained any oil deal that we proposed.

Whether one believes the war is being fought in the interests of US security or not, the oil theory is pure bs. We could have cozied up to Saddam in the same way that we have with various dictators in the past and we could have had the oil without the war and the accompanying expense and aggravation.

If you don't like the war, blame poor intelligence, blame poor planning but it is apparent to me that the motivation was based on higher ideals than oil profits.

I believe that in the end, leading up to the war, Saddam was conspiring with al Qeada and any other terrorist group he could contact but it might have been different if we had chosen a more machavellian strategy.

Believing as I do that radical Islamism is the primary threat we face in this century, I'm not sure what I would have done but from a moral perspective our choices probably stand up well against those of our European allies.