I know for some people the only thinbk less credible than quoting the Guadian is quoting Noam Chomsky, and this is from Chomsky writing in today's Guardian(though in fact it's reprinted from the New York Times). But it seems a pretty good point he is making:

Washington's present justifications to attack Iraq have far less credibility than when President Bush Sr was welcoming Saddam as an ally and a trading partner after he had committed his worst brutalities - as in Halabja, where Iraq attacked Kurds with poison gas in 1988. At the time, the murderer Saddam was more dangerous than he is today.

(And here is a link to Chomsky's article "Drain the swamp and there will be no more mosquitoes")