Iraq was sort of bluffing about having chemical weapons after the Gulf War and before the second invasion. It wasn't crazy to think they had an active program.

Iraq was sort of bluffing about having chemical weapons after the Gulf War and before the second invasion. It wasn't crazy to think they had an active program. The Bush administration didn't think they could just make up WMD. They assumed the WMD was there. Their real failure was that they pressured the intelligence community into giving a fast confirmation that WMD existed. It's sort of like when a cop lies on the stand by bolstering his evidence. The cop usually isn't trying to rail road an innocent person but insuring (in his mind) the conviction of a guilty person. That is what Bush's administration thought. Turns out the program was finished after the Gulf War and never restarted. And a real hard intelligence look should have shown that. But dissenters were quieted. The "WMD" that was found was lost, pre Gulf War munitions that were degraded to uselessness. They were for most purposes, useless. It was shitty, old as fuck mustard gas. So yes, really no need to worry.