Ever Hear of Oil for Food? Miss the whole UN bribary Scandal? Still in absolute denial I see. Not to mention the whole blind eye thing to the fact that only a clear, unanimous and unequivocal backing of force in the face of continued noncomplience would possibly have sufficed to make Saddam comply based on a 10 year record of cheat and retreat in the face of the threat of force. Something France, Germany and Russia refused to explicitly do even though they voted for for the nebulous severest consequences which really can't imply anything else. That clause was a BS figlea cover for both sides to allow US action without making it clear Saddam's payees supported it. And please don't try to claim France and Russia were to the use of force on moral grounds. They supported GW1 and Saddam was in violation of the peace terms to assure he did not commit the same act again.

Saddam reached the point where he could count on the UN being weak on enforcement after 10 years of testing. The US was faced with the choice of allowing Saddam to cheat or act only on a nebulous UN mandate with other Allies (real ones) that could also see through the self interests of those unwilling to talke a firm and explicit stand.

Iraq has an elected leader who is in at least partial control of their army and there is no order. He has the ability to interfere with US operations and I believe to initiate his own with his own forces. Have you missed the stories about the bad deeds of people in police and army uniforms? It appears these aren't just cases of stolen uniforms or a few bad apples anymore. Your claim about a leader makes absolutely no sense unless you are expecting another strongman to take over in our absence through the backing of Iran or France?.