It was. Problem was that it was tied up so long at the UN all the weapons are burried and stashed in Syria.
Think about it, if the local DA was arguing for weeks in a court for a search warrant on a drug dealer, do you think the dealer will leave them where they are?
Yes, but the world media has been having a field day with the missing Iraq WMD issue. Tony Blair has been badly attacked, and the German, and (of course) the French media have been taking pot shots.
You're right, though, while Hans Blix was fooling around - and long before that - Saddam had time to hide anything.