Author Michael Klare says that all of the UN resolutions, inspections, and debates have been a sham--the timetable for attacking Iraq has been solely based on military considerations. An excerpt:
The Pentagon's schedule for war will likely mean that the UN inspection process in Iraq is nearing its conclusion. As planned, the United States appears to moving steadily toward an invasion of that country aimed at removing Saddam Hussein and installing a new, more pliant government. The Bush administration argues that the timing of this move is a response to the imminent exhaustion of the inspection process. In fact, it is the other way around: The inspections were allowed to move forward by Washington only so long as they did not interfere with the pace of U.S. military preparations. Now that U.S. forces are ready to strike, the inspections can be dispensed with entirely.