I disagree. The resolution was offered by the White House to provide political cover by having Congress sign up to the war that Bush intended to prosecute. Though there were some who argued that the resolution was necessary to allow inspections and prevent war – Senator John Warner comes to mind – this was an excursion of an argument and not the central thrust of the resolution at all.
I don’t believe the resolution was responsible for allowing weapons inspectors in. Inspections only resumed after the UN Security Council agreed on a resolution placing the onus on Iraq to comply – that was mid November 2002. Iraq agreed to inspections shortly thereafter. The authorization passed by Congress happened in October, more than a month before, and there’s no coherent reason to explain why it took six weeks for Saddam to see the resolution had passed and then feel threatened enough to allow inspections. Besides which, the book Cobra II takes accounts from interrogations with Saddam and other senior Iraqi leaders who were interned at Camp Cropper in Iraq: the thrust is that Saddam thought Bush might drop a few bombs here and there, but did not believe that an invasion was on the game plan.
Because only a dolt of an elected official wouldn’t have realized that he was actually authorizing war. A number of those voting for the war, I believe, knew that they were making a mistake, but they were concerned about the political consequences of going against a popular president on an issue of national security.