Conspiracy Theory Alert: I don't usually go in for conspiracy theories, but I've come up with one I'd like to share. As is expected for any proper conspiracy theory, my only evidence is plausibility and there's no way to disprove it. That said, I'd like to offer two pieces of plausibility evidence:

1. The US and Britain negotiated secretly for at least 8 months with Libya before striking a deal with Gaddafi to get rid of his WMD programs.
2. David Kay has said that he believes that some material related to Iraq's weapon programs was transported to Syria prior to the war. (Thanks to Instapundit.)

So what's the theory? Let's say Gaddafi wasn't the only one made nervous by the sudden collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, followed by the capture of a thoroughly humiliated Hussein. Assad, after all, is much closer to the action, and is more closely associated with Hussein. It is then plausible that Assad would be interested in pursuing the same sort of deal offered to Gaddafi, may in fact be in negotiations now. This presents the possibility that Bush may know a bit more about Iraq's WMDs than Kay, which may explain his reluctance to back down from earlier statements.

This is by no means proof, or even evidence. I'm just pointing out a possibility.

New Post: More on happenings in Syria above.