SADDAM NEVER REALLY EXISTED, writes Bill Hobbs. After all, we can’t find him or his remains. And the kvetching remnants of the antiwar movement are claiming that the fact that we haven’t found WMDs yet proves that they never existed. So. . . .

More seriously, Hobbs goes on to note:

We know Saddam had the WMDs 12 years ago. Heck, we’ve got video of the stuff. And we know he didn’t destroy his WMDs because neither he nor the UN inspectors ever provided evidence that his WMDs were fully eliminated and his WMD programs fully shut-down. Even Hans Blix says Iraq can’t account for tons of the stuff. So we know it was there, and know it hasn’t been destroyed. The only we don’t know is where, exactly, it is right now.

I predict a new meme: if it was there, and we can’t find it now, it’ll be presented as proof that we should have left it in Saddam’s responsible hands, instead of invading. Hobbs, however, thinks the blame goes the other way.

UPDATE: Hey, I just noticed that Dr. Weevil made this argument first. Great minds think alike — but all I can say is, advantage: Weevil. Which sounds kind of weird when you say it out loud.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Here’s an even earlier instance.