The title of this Washington

The title of this Washington Post article by David Kay, former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq says it all –“With More At Stake, Less Will Be Verified.” As Kay explains, “the multi-lateral culture isn’t comfortable with the tough measures needed to root out hidden weapons.” We see this clearly in my post earlier today about how Hans Blix doesn’t want to alienate the Iraqis this time. Towards the end of the article, Kay shows why, even if inspections succeed, regime change is necessary. It may be possible to destroy weapons, but one cannot so easily destroy the knowledge and capacity that enables them to be produced. And one can only destroy the political will to use that knowledge and capacity to produce weapons of mass destruction by destroying the political system that leads the state to seek such capabilities.