[Tycho]

I think Saddam wanted to actually create the suspicion that he had WMDs, to scare off potential invaders (and he was probably right).

[kobeya]

I believe he is on record for saying this, after he was captured. He was probably right, given that both Iran and Israel wanted to wipe him off the map. Iraq uber Saddam was a pariah state. But he underestimated the willingness of the US and UK to actually go to war.