Clinton seemed to think that "[the military's] purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world." http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middl...ton_12-16.html Clinton and Bush and the rest of the world believed that Saddam was a threat because of "the threat Iraq’s non-compliance with Council resolutions and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles poses to international peace and security" http://www.un.int/usa/sres-iraq.htm
Even John Kerry said "Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." http://web.archive.org/web/200402042...2003_0123.html