Reply #5: I think trying to win an argument like this is an exercise in futility.

[Make7]

They will most likely cling to WMD as the primary motive no matter what. The fact that the Senate report says that the CIA's intellegence before the war was faulty only strengthens their case. They'll insist that the decision based on the intelligence was the correct one - it was just that the CIA did not do their job properly. They will forever remain convinced in their belief that Bush made the right choice, given the information he had at the time.

But if you think you can sow the seeds of doubt, here are a couple quotes:

"...we have a self-interest in making sure that those energy reserves in the Persian Gulf don't fall under the control of a country that is adverse to the United States. As I told you, I worked for four administrations under three presidents. And in every one of those, our policy was that we would go to war to protect the energy reserves in the Persian Gulf. That is a major and very significant national security interest that we have." - former Secretary of State James Baker, Frontline interview October 2001

"We need stable regimes in this part of the world who will be partners and friends of ours, because the fact of the matter is we do rely on imported oil to fuel our economy and to fuel our nation. And, in Iraq, we had an unstable regime, a dictatorial regime that was ready to be pushed aside. President Bush was bold enough to push it aside because of their dallying in weapons of mass destruction and human rights abuses and terrorism. And now what we ought to do is put in place a stable, democratic nation that will provide oil to the world market. That's not sending our troops overseas for oil. That's sending our troops overseas to put in place a democratic nation rested on a foundation of openness and human rights that will be a friend and partner of the United States." - Secretary of State Colin Powell, Westwood One Radio Network interview May 2004

If you're looking for a smoking gun, you may be searching in vain.

Good luck,
Make7