Santa Claus is Not Real

Salon came out today with a story about CBS killing its initial explication of the "patently false" docs the Bush admin used to claim that Iraq was seeking uranium yellowcake from Niger--i.e. that Iraq was attempting to make nuclear weapons. MyDD has the story in full from Salon (otherwise subscription): Censored CBS Story Leaked.

My question, one I cannot fathom an answer to, is why? Why did they choose this war with this country? I understand the ways the admin attempted to rationalize it, present it to the country as entirely necessary, etc., I just want an answer as to why, and I want more than the "unfinished business" rationalization.

I heard James Fallows (The Atlantic Monthly) on NPR last night talking about the Bushies choosing to seek Middle East peace (uh, by "peace" I mean "control") by taking the road through Baghdad to Jerusalem, which seems the only real explanation I've heard so far. Apparently, Tony Blair spent some effort trying to convince Bush to take the road from Jerusalem to Baghdad, but anyway.

Why?