“Despite the intelligence community’s dim view of Hussein as a serious and immediate threat to the U.S., a small group of hardcore neoconservatives in [January 26] 1998 lobbied the Clinton administration to support regime change in Iraq–by force if necessary. The group…sent Clinton a letter urging his administration to implement ‘a strategy for removing Saddam’s regime from power.’ But Clinton viewed the longstanding policy of containing Saddam Hussein ‘in a box’ a success. Thus, while voicing support for the general principle of regime change in Iraq, he preferred letting the Iraqi people take the initiative and never considered war with Iraq an option.”
– James Bamford, A Pretext for War, Page 382