I think you're starting to get it Dale, and I'm glad the mainstream press if picking up on it as well.    I disagree, though, with your assertion that the itelligence George was using was obtained through the normal routes of investigation, interrogation, and blackmail.  A few of his most trusted advisors (is. his brain) put together a group within the pentagon to sift through information and weed out only those things that propped up their arguments for war.  Google "pentagon AND cabel".  That was/is their nickname.  These guys were spoon feeding George what he wanted to hear.  And although I think George may rank as the dimmest President, he had to know what he was talking about was pure crap.

It still doesn't explain, though, why George would stand in front of the nation during his SotU and use as an argument for war assertions that were known to be false.  Namely, the so-called uranium deals between Iraq and Niger.  Or why Powell would use a plagerized document from 1990 as his basis for arguing for war before the UN.  It looks to me like an orchestrated dance of misinformation and outright deceit to turn public opinion towards the war.  Remember the polls before this charade that showed most Americans were in favor of letting the UN inspectors do their job and not in favor of invading Iraq without a smoking gun.  Well, no smoking showed up, so they made one up.  Mushroom clouds, satellite photos of a biological warfare factory, dealings with other nations for uranium, Al Qeda meetings in Baghdad.  All lies.  And not only that....we HAD to act now.  And then polls moved in their direction and off to war we went.  It was a plan only a neocon could love.

Two more points.  I am bothered by those who say - I don't care if he lied about the reasons for war as long as Saddam is gone.  These are the same people who cared so much about Presidential integrity that it was a personal affront to them if the President lied about receiving oral sex in the oval office.  Let me see - oral sex or pre-emptive strikes against a non-threatening country.  Hmmmmm.....I don't know - those seem like the same thing to me.....

Also - I do want to applaud George on his current ventures into the Isreali/Palestinian peace plan.  The cynical side of me wonders, though, how much of this is a smoke screen to divert attention from the massive fuck up of a war plan.  I can hear O'Hannity now - hey the Pres may have duped us into war but did you see Sharon shake hands with that Arab guy...

Dan