That said, there was still a HUGE intelligence failure. If he had them, we should be able to find them, or the remnants of them. If he didn't, we should have also known that.
This was a HUGE intelligence failure.
On the contrary, it's been quite an intel success, for the objective among us:
-We would not have taken Baghdad in three weeks had our intel failed.
-We would not have nearly killed Hussein twice had our intel failed.
-We would not have captured Hussein had our intel failed.
-We would not have killed Hussein's sons had our intel failed.
-We would not have captured/killed nearly all in the infamous deck of cards had our intel failed.
-We would not have known who all these WMD scientists were, nor where their equipment and facilities were located had our intel failed.
See, when you lay things out, these general "failure" statements really do appear rather ridiculous.
The only thing we can accurately say is that any presumed WMD storage sites proved empty upon being searched. That does not mean the intel failed. It could simply mean the perishable intel was not acted upon in a timely manner.
And keep in mind, you have no idea what true intelligence (i.e., not publicly released) is still out there. Nor do I.