Two issues come to mind there. The first is that some of the intel those agencies were acting on wasn't baseless. (See Operafion Avarice.) The other is that H

Two issues come to mind there. The first is that some of the intel those agencies were acting on wasn't baseless. (See Operafion Avarice.) The other is that Hussein's deliberate strategy was to make the world believe he was in possession of WMDs. (Specifically Iran.) True or not, it worked. So whether it was suicide by cop using a real weapon or a realistic looking fake, it was ultimately still suicide by cop on a global scale. And the more we learn as things become declassified, the more it's looking like his position wasn't entirely a bluff. (Leaving aside the extraordinary incompetence displayed by SECDEF Rumsfeld, the WH, and numerous other senior officials.)