The UN inspectors are not in agreement with your assesment of the situation, beardedbruce. And I think they were in a much better position than you, the British government, and the Russian government to make that assesment. It was their job. And it has turned out that they were right. If Bush had really had national security as his first priority, he wouldn't have been shopping around for "intelligence" that bolstered his agenda. He would have been listening to the people whose job it was to know what was going on.

"to Baghdad through French affiliates from the first half of 1997 to the summer of 2000"

So isn't it also hypocritical of the French?

The French aren't canditates for the vice presidency of the United States.