[Shelayne]

Exactly. If it was OK for him to procure these tubes for rockets, why did he do it covertly? From what I understand--I will have to do more digging--it was OK for Saddam to have a certain kind of tube for rockets, but that is NOT what he was going for. He was covertly obtaining the dual-use tubes. Why?

[Marine_Uncle]

"Why?"
So he could in due time start working on a fully operational uranium gas diffusion extraction system, to enrich uranium ore for commercial reactor use and for making atomic weapons.
But you already know that.