Yrs: "What else was in that endless stream of trucks heading for Syria as the war began?
Saddam's money??"
Yes and those trucks were mostly Russian, carrying goods
from France, Russia, and Germany, AND they did not want the world to know thay had traded ARMS for OIL, as well as WMD research items! The egg on their faces would have resulted in UN sanctions against them.
That is why Saddam Hussein did NOT want UN weapons inspectors in certain sites. Because of the slow build up to the war, and the ultimatum process, the Iraqi's Russians, French and Germans managed to get most of it out. What was not removed was destroyed befor US forces could secure it.
Remember that dozens of unused late generation French Surface to Air missles greeted US Marines when they took Bagdad Airport. That was only the tip of the iceberg, and they were supposed to have been used to slow down the US to allow for more time to get out WMD research materials and equipment. The French Russian and Germans didn't need more time, and the anti aircraft missles were left unfired, and the Iraqui army was smart enough NOT to use them.
Our President knows all this, and the reason he can't tell us is that he needs to maintain relations with France, Russia, Germany and the United Nations, or else he would be facing our former allies with demands to explain why they had perpetrated " Acts of War" against the UN and the United States of America. Also remember that France, Russia , and Germany did everything they could to slow the USA down in moving to a war footing in Iraq. It worked.