The most serious mistake in U.S. Military doctrine of the past 20 years, was the day idiots started toying with the idea that U.S. response to a WMD attack against America or American Forces overseas, need not be a nuclear response.
Several bright boys in the Air Force began tinkering with the Idea of "we can just hit 'em with a few smart bombs and that will be enough retaliation for say losing an American city" When the President failed to nuke the Iranian Holy City of Qum in the end of Tom Clancy's book The Sum of All Fears, It was the coming of age of this limited retaliation doctrine. In fact Jack Ryan is made out to be a hero for talking the trigger happy president out of nuclear retaliation.
At that moment the guys who would do us the most harm realized that we in the United States were vulnerable, because a group of think tank idiots had just changed U.S. policy. The Results were 9-11 and Saddam threating to use Nerve Agents against U.S. Troops.
We need to send a strong message to Saddam and his generals, so there is absolutely no doubt in their minds, that U.S. policy has shifted back to the old cold war doctrine of " You chem us, We nuke you IMMEDIATELY"