That demurer is one possible interpretation of the story. Another possible argument: Washington did not give a shit about Iraqi weapons program then, so why should we believe it does now? This undermines the credibility of the claim that Washington is motivated by security concerns rather than some other ulterior motives. And that can be a convincing argument, especially when we add a list of those possible ulterior motives. My favorites include:
a) wag the dog to divert attention from the economic fiasco, Enron & Co scandal, and no achievement of any domestic issue which may work against the Repugs in November
b) payback to the Brits for sending their mercenaries to Afghanistan - for some unknown to me reason the Brits seem to be the prime mover of military actions in the Persian Gulf; any ideas why?
c) personal vendetta for the botched attempt to assassinate Shrub Sr. - perhaps not the primary motive but adding to the zeal, after all regicide - even if botched - cannot go unpunished
any other suggestions?
wojtek