The diplomacy and the UN and the inspectors were all a sham.
And now we know from Paul O'Neill this was planned from January 2001 (per tonight's 60 minutes).
From Time Magazine:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/buylink/0,11397,1101030331-435968,00.html?CJOID=Mar. 31, 2003
First Stop, Iraq
How did the U.S. end up taking on Saddam?
The inside story of how Iraq jumped to the top of Bush's agenda -
and why the outcome there may foreshadow a different world order
By Michael Elliott And James Carney
<BR>
"F*** Saddam. we're taking him out." Those were the words of President
George W. Bush, who had poked his head into the office of National Security Adviser Condoleezza
Rice. It was March 2002, and Rice was meeting with three US Senators, discussing how to deal with
Iraq through the United Nations, or perhaps in a coalition with America's Middle East allies.
Bush wasn't interested. He waved his hand dismissively, recalls a participant, and neatly summed up
his Iraq policy in that short phrase. The Senators laughed uncomfortably; Rice flashed a knowing
smile."