"THOSE are the ones who caused the war, by encouraging Saddam to think that he could get away with further non-compliance ( As determined by the UN reports) with the cease-fire terms. "

No.

Bush had decided to go to war no matter what. This war is completely the child of Bush and his supporters. Remember his plan to paint US planes in UN colors and fly them into Iraqi air space in an attempt to get him to fire on them? Why did he contemplate this? Because the UN emphatically did not want this war.