[CamB]

Sadaam would not talk, and he F'd us at ever turn. So our new approach is to spank him down to show other nations it is in their best interest to deal diplomatically.

Yeah, but I find this completely unacceptable reasoning - as does much of the US (and certainly most of the world) population.

Thus, if this is what Bush is/was thinking, it wasn't what he "sold" to the US public to get support for the war (then and now). It is not acceptable for him to mislead his country on the rationale for war.

You think he really believes Iraq attacked us?

No, but he's got so used to saying "the enemy attacked us" that it has become a sort of mantra - like the "mixed messages" one.