Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!
BBC News US and UK leaders floated many reasons for the war on Iraq before it began, from Saddam Hussein's oppression of the Iraqi people to his refusal to release prisoners of war he was said to be holding. But Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction - in defiance of United Nations resolutions - was among the most frequently mentioned.
Now one of the leading proponents of the war, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, has said that while there were many reasons to go to war, the Bush administration chose to focus on weapons of mass destruction because it was the one issue behind which all factions could unite.
