[ncmncm]

It was obvious to anybody who cared, before the invasion, that there were no WMDs. Hans Blix inspected every place suspected, and reported not only nothing, but not even a trace of anything, in the daily newspapers.

I suspect Maddox was misled, like Powell, by relying only on classified material that amounted to summaries produced with deliberate bias.

It is a fundamental problem: there is a thousand times as much classified material as you can afford to read. Who can justify reading outside it, where the writer might not have access to the whole story? But because there is so much, you are obliged to rely on summaries, and the sound judgment and the scruples of those in charge of what goes into them.

[lowdose]

I think part of doubt has been caused by the blind spot we had on the Soviets. Gorbachov was the first to admit there were large biochemical facilities in the USSR with the ability to manufacture advanced weapons. This miscalculation by Western governments has not been advertised while having a significant effect on their confidence to judge adversaries.

[toyg]

Nobody was misled. Everybody knew, but their careers depended on going along with the fiction. Maddox says as much, between the lines. “Never during work hours”. During work hours you shut it, look for excuses, change subject...

It’s the banality of evil, cynically exploited by ruthless operators at the top.