Well removing Saddam altered the power balance vis a vis Iran, I feel he was armed w/chem weapons because an Iranian victory may have seemed imminent at one point, and our animosity over the hostage taking was only a few years removed, but the resulting can of worms it all opened up,Iranian backed militias, Al-Queda remnants, the rise of Isis created a clusterFK of epic proportions,NO DOUBT, in the end it was a gift to Iran. My point remains however that we didn't plant WMD's as many Govs. unwilling to eat humble pie surely would have done, any country w/a halfway decent intelligence agency could have carried out such a hoax.