Let's drop the speculation and look at the facts.
-Saddam was being very vague about whether he had WMDs
-He refused to allow UN inspectors to look around
-He was a monstrous brute, so it would be hard to put it past him
Bush made assumptions that turned out to be false, but could you blame him? And if Iraq was done for oil, then where was the plundered petrol? Where were the exclusive contracts with Halliburton? Where is any hard evidence?
By the way, Hugo Chavez was a disaster for Venezuela. I know, because there's a family who lives down the street from me who are refugees from his rule. He may not have been a dictator in the traditional sense, but he was a massive prick.
-He sponsored terrorism in Colombia.
-He squandered a trillion dollars of oil money on propping up moribund communist and theocratic dictatorships, as well as pointless vanity projects.
-He took almost complete control of the Venezuelan media.
-He used his cronies in the justice system to persecute his political opponents.
-He destroyed the Venezuelan economy.
-Thanks to him, crime in Venezuela is at an all-time high.
-Because of his incompetence and bullying, basic commodities are in short supply.
I could go on, but I won't.
