Actually, yeah, it is propaganda, just like the report that Iraq was threatening Germany with smallpox.
So, who told them there were three cargo ships sailing around, acting funny?
Anyone get the names or registrations of those ships?
Is anybody besides the guys with the spy satellites and black helicopters able to confirm this story?
And does anybody honestly believe the US is so worried about "environmental damage" that they'll skip a perfect opportunity to invade iraq? Come on, a few navy seals, it's at least a 50-50 chance. Either you capture the ship, and show off the WMD, or you cause them to create a natural catastrophe, at which point the seals disappear, and you get to accuse them of actually using WMD.
The only way you can lose is if you capture three ships and find no such thing.
Whether Iraq actually has smallpox WMD or three death ships on the ocean is irrelevant.