Are we better off with Saddam gone?
Yes, clearly and obviously.

Did the intelligence agencies lie?
Probably not, given the difficulty of getting valid intel out of a locked
down society like Iraq.

Did Saddam want the world to think he had WMD?
Seems likely, given the man's propensity for self-aggrandisement and
overwhelming lust for power.

If the intel boys discounted evidence to the contrary re Saddam's programs
and their lack of success, isn't that mostly erring on the side of
conservatism?
Probably- I wouldn't want anybody in my intel services wearing rose colored
glasses regarding suitcase nukes.

If Saddam's own people lied through their teeth to that butcher about how
well development of WMD was going, and did it well enough to fool a man that
would kill as casually as discarding a kleenex, how is the CIA supposed to
find out that the programs are a sham?

I'm not happy to be lied to, but on reflection, I don't see what a
responsible National Security Establishment could have done differently.
--
Jim Atkins
Twentynine Palms, CA USA

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
-Groucho Marx