I knew that DOE said the aluminum tubes were not for nuclear weapons, and I also knew the Air Force said the "unmanned aerial vehicles" were not useful for what they claimed. They were more like toys, I even remember seeing a picture of them. This information came off the web, from newspapers, magazines and blogs.

It is beyond belief that the president or his aides did not also know these things.

Lissa

You think they didn't?

While we're on the subject though, I liked the big crisis about that conventional missile the Iraqis had (the designation escapes me and I'm too lazy right now to look it up). With a good tailwind and no course changes, it had a range roughly four miles past what was allowed under UN resolutions. It still couldn't hit San Francisco if it was launched from Sacramento, but it was apparently a grave threat to all of Western Civilization.

The hype and artificially induced panic that preceeded OIF truly deserves an honored place in the history of propaganda.