A person, acting independently, can bring about a significant alteration in the course of history. It happens more often than is generally realised. The person may not be at all unusual, but then, of course, the person may also be completely insane.

Saddam Hussein is at the head of a large country, a country with a sizeable population and with significant oil and gas reserves. He is a military man, given to military action. He has used his position, and the power it gives him, in such manner as to bring threats of war from the United States.

Much effort has been expended to fully characterise him as a threat to the civilised world, and much of this effort has been wasted, simply because Saddam has caused no one harm recently, at least outside Iraq, so far as it is possible to determine. However, he has been known to be rash, and he might be stampeded into an irresponsible reaction.

He is characterised as a demon, one that must be removed from power as soon as possible, otherwise he may cause incalculable harm through use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

The characterisation sounds hopelessly hollow, simply because no one has produced any tangible or credible evidence that he still possesses such weapons, intends to manufacture or purchase them, or intends to deliver them to another country.

What is credible, is the fact that Iraq was provided such weapons by the Western powers, principally the United States, during the war with Iran. He also used Scud missiles against Israel, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the Gulf War. It is not clear if he used chemicals or biological weapons at that time, and the lack of concrete evidence that he did so, bleeds credibility from the charges being directed against him.