"Governments lie."--I.F. Stone
Far as I can tell, these guys want to invade Iraq & take control of the oil there once and for all. Seems to me that Papa Bush stopped short of toppling Hussein for a variety of reasons--primarily I think he wasn't sure what kind of government would follow Saddam in Iraq and wasn't willing or audacious enough to occupy and rebuild the country. I also suspect, given the way he worked with the U.N, that Bush I actually gave something resembling a fuck about the rest of the world, where it's clear that Bush II grudgingly accepts them at best.
Claims that there's a link between Al Qua'ida seem specious and unsupported. There's really no evidence that's been presented and Bin Laden is on record as saying that Hussein is a disgrace to Islam. (though not as bad as us, evidently) He's tried to make some common cause with the people of Iraq, but has never embraced its government. The only legitimate argument for action is that Hussein is in defiance of UN resolutions. He appears to be, to some extent, but most of the world doesn't think that the violations are egregious to the point where a slaughter such as our government is proposing would be justifiable. Iraq, after all, hasn't attacked anyone since losing Gulf War I. So, apart from the large oil reserves, the "Gulf War II: This Time It's Personal" also angle deserves consideration as another possible Bush motive.
As they did with the Afghanistan war, plans for which had been drawn up prior to the attacks on 9/11, and also like John Ashcroft's repeated attacks on the Constitution in order to neutralize dissent, the illegitimate Bush government* is combining hubris & opportunism in again trying to manipulate our national tragedy in order to achieve their prior goals. What am I trying to say here? Check out the open letter to Bill Clinton, signed by Wolfowitz, Pearle and other Bush advisors and prominent conservatives in 1998, advocating the overthrow of the Hussein government. They added the Al Qua'ida business to their story much as a salesman or another type of pathological liar (army recruiter? guy trying to pick up a woman at the bar?) embellishes his pitch in light of developing evidence ("Oh, you like ___? So do I!") These guys just seem to be throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks.
*I will continue to believe this until I meet the chairperson of the thousands-strong Florida "Jews for Pat Buchanan" organization.