That's just a bizarre thing to say. How many deaths would it take before retaliation is warranted? How many people do you get to kill before you move from "cost of doing business" to "nuiance that needs to be dealt with"?

Sounds like you're awfully cavalier about lives as well.

"When did you stop beating your wife?"

Considering that Saddam engaged in the exact same behavior for almost 13 years without war resulting I'm guessing that someone else must have changed the equation.

If I tell you to let me in your house or I'll shoot you, your death isn't a suicide.

I'm trying to stop, but she just makes me keep doing it.

I've committed a violent crime. A home invasion robbery. The police extracted me and slapped my hand and put me on probation. I repeatedly violate my probation. A tipster tells them I have a bomb and hostages in my house. I won't let them in to check it out so they break down the door.

Who is responsible?

Lots of conflicting intelligence. His choice? Force Saddam to verify. Saddam would not verify in spite of his previous commitment to do so.

As far as something in the equation changing, I agree. The change was a new doctrine of preemption based on the 9/11 attacks. Preemption over what a sovereign state can do? How dare we, you say. Except Iraq wasn't truly sovereign at the time. They were under the conditions of a cease fire.

You joke, but your equation is a loaded question. It presupposes wrong doing while failing to establish it. It was worded purposefully such that the only direct responses were "Yes, come and dismantle the weapons we've been making" or "No, I won't let you see the weapons we've been making." The third option of "I never started beating my wife" was eliminated.

No need to due to the conditions of the cease fire. Proof was the responsibiliy of Saddam, no one else.

The police. If it turns out they barged in and shot the guy only to find that he had no hostages and no bombs and hadn't really done anything more than be rude to police when they demanded entry and that the tipsters was his ex-wife who never really liked him.

Except the conditions of his probation include submitting to searches. I didn't say they shot him, only that they broke down the door. OK - I'll add that he went and hid in a closet.