on the subject of the aluminum tubes, I believe that the former Iraqi nuclear scientist covered this well in his article in the WSJ today...
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110003053
Iraq's attempt to import aluminum tubes of higher tensile strength than is needed in conventional weapons has been brushed aside by the IAEA's Mohammed El-Baradei. He claims there is no proof that these tubes were intended for modification and use in centrifuges to make enriched uranium. Yet he fails to report that Iraq has the machining equipment to thin these tubes down to the required thickness (less than one millimeter) for an efficient centrifuge rotor. What's more, they don't find it suspect that Iraq did not deliver all the computer controlled machining equipment that it imported from the British-based, Iraqi-owned Matrix-Churchill that manufacture these units.
If Powell was wrong, then the defector may have been responsible for this misinterpretation...?
By the way, FF, I want to commend you for the mature way you have handled this disagreement with most on this forum.
I personally feel that we will be using Iraq as a base for doing in Afghanistan and other hiding places for AQ exactly what you are suggesting...