Water Vapor As Major Global Warming Agent?

One thing leads to another in trying to solve this mystery of global warming. We'd better figure this out before we rush headlong into the darkness, throwing billions of dollars down the tube trying to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Big Al, are you listening?
Peter

Dr. Reid A. Bryson says here
"3. The most important gas with a "greenhouse" effect is carbon dioxide. Wrong. Water vapor is at least 100 times as effective as carbon dioxide, so small variations in water vapor are more important than large changes in carbon dioxide."

Now I've just come across this article by National Geographic. The article is interesting but for me, it only adds confusion to the major issue, is man causing massive global warming/climate change and can we really do anything about it? Because I wonder, I guess I'm a skeptic. I'm certainly not an evil "denier".
Peter

Global Warming Supercharged by Water Vapor?
Arianne Appel for National Geographic News
November 10, 2005
"The latest villain on global warming's most-wanted list is all wet—and a little surprising. Water vapor, experts say, is the culprit behind Europe's rapidly rising temperatures." (The article says much more.)

So what is going on here? All this emphasis on the evil-sounding carbon dioxide looks like a lot of hype, or worse A BIG LIE. Does the claimed certainty that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction" come to mind? Oops, we kind of made a mistake there. Are we making a similar error with carbon dioxide emissions? Our political leaders would not deceive us, would they?
Peter