How did the non-existent WMDs become the casus belli?
We now know that in all likelihood Iraq destroyed most weapons of mass destruction in the summer of 1991. Some, which had been declared were destroyed under UNSCOM supervision. Yet, Iraq behaved as if it might still have prohibited weapons. Why? There might have been several reasons. For one thing, Saddam would often hear that sanctions would not be lifted unless he, himself, disappeared. This could not have given him much incentive to cooperate. He could just as well be obstructive. Secondly, Iraq knew that UNSCOM teams often comprised experts seconded from national intelligence organizations and reporting not to the UN but to these organizations. It cannot have stimulated the will to cooperation. Thirdly, just as you may scare people from your house by hanging a sign reading beware of dog without having a dog Saddam Hussein might have wanted to scare Iran and others in the region and to stand tall and dangerous in the Arab world Regardless what might have been the most important reas
