Now, whether it was effective is another matter entirely. Whether it could have been effective is a wholly third issue.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
So you exemplify my point.
Had to attack somebody. Didn't matter who. The Fates are kind.
Further, what they really wanted all along was to attack Saddam Hussein (no, this isn't hindsight, we know that from leaked memos - sufficiently unflattering memos to be pretty sure that the leak wasn't orchestrated), so it seems rather unlikely to me that they'd invent Been Forgotten out of thin air if they were just looking for a scapegoat. Especially since it would risk upsetting their lucrative deals with Been Forgotten's Saudi friends and family.
Now, I'm not doubting the Bush regime's mendacity, but blaming Been Forgotten wasn't in their selfish interest in the first place.