That isn't a question. Politically that is THE question.
I'm in the camp that believes that "if they knew then what we know now" they would have made different decisions. I'm even working on a story (dare I say a novel) based on that theme (don't worry, it will probably never see the light of day, but if it does I'll for sure let all of you know about it!).
All of humanity is reponsible for all that our forebares have done, in the sense that we must pay for the errors they foisted on us. But we must also judge them by the information they had then, not what we know now.
Most of our ancestors did the best they could with the information (and established "fact" of the day) that they could. We cannot judge them by the rules of today, but only by the rules they lived under. Particularly only by the "facts" they lived with.
In my stories JFK, RFK, Harry Truman and Franklin Roosevelt are the "good guys," no matter how wrong they are in their assumptions about the future. Of course, my "hero" is a character that teaches many of them otherwise... I'll say no more.
Well..now that you have teased us with your story...you HAVE to write it. NO getting out of it now.
What you said about JFK and the others being judged by what they knew THEN, not what we know now..
That is basically what the one's on the left that truly (for some reason) believe Bush lied to them forget...that Bush had ONLY the information that said that Saddam WAS a danger to America.
Not what they insist is NO evidence of WMDS, etc.
But, one of the links that Ali just posted, has the very plausible theory of where the Palis got their WMDS, IF they have them..which WOULD play into what I believe happened to them.