Why is the United States involved in the War in Iraq?

Answer 1

We went to war with Iraq again because the government suspected Saddam Hussein of aiding terrorists and having an arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Nuclear, Biological[smallpox], and Chemical[nerve gas])

Answer 2

AnswerThe Iraqi government, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, openly defied the United Nations repeatedly and threatened the security of the United States through Saddam's clear intentions of dominating the Middle East region and thereby providing favorable conditions for such terror groups as Al Qaeda.

Answer 2

While the above paragraph may sound like a plausible explanation, it clearly does not address the many complicated reasons that the US went to war. Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter was making the case to anyone who would listen that Iraq posed no threat because they had no weapons of mass destruction as was repeatedly alledged by a now known to be false source known as "curveball".

Every attempt by the administration to prove that there were WMD were ultimately proven to be in error. The United States administration willfully disregarded any evidence to the contrary of it's belief that Saddam Hussein had been unsuccessfully contained for many years and was a grave threat. After envoy Joe Wilson went on an overseas mission to investigate a story about Iraq attempting to acquire yellow cake uranium and found the story to be false and the sources of it to be suspect, a "leak" from the White House revealed the identity of Mr. Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, to be a CIA operative on the N.O.C. list. The act of revealing a CIA operative's identity was seen to be so near treasonous that President Bush appointed a special Prosecutor to investigate. The investigation pointed to the Vice President's office, but through the obstruction of justice of Vice Presidential Aide, Lewis, "Scooter" Libby, the investigation could go no further. Libby was convicted of the obstruction charge but, later had his sentence stayed by President Bush. He was not given a pardon.

As time goes on and as sources have come forward and as books by people involved in the decision making or in the room when decisions were being made, it is not hard to come to the conclusion that the United States was led into a war based on a lie that the administration wanted to believe and worked tirelessly, to the point of discrediting it's detractors, to make sure that the truth wasn't known until it didn't matter and the war had begun and there was no turning back.. Just prior to the beginning of the war in Iraq, Haliburton, the company formerly headed by then Vice-President Richard Cheney was under investigation for potential SEC violations and defrauding the government, was awarded billions of dollars in no-bid contracts to support the logistics of the Armed Forces in Iraq.

Answer 3

It was an old war that we had been engaged in, but settle in a ceasefire. They violated UN resolutions (most importantly 689), and were in defiance of them. WMDs are one reason for attacking them, but they had also built prohibited missiles and other weapons that were found. As for WMDs, in 1988 they used chemical weapons (poison gas, a WMD) against the Kurds. They had used them before, so it was plausible, and they were deeply in violation of human rights.

Answer 4

The US attacked Iraq in 2003 based on either misformation or disinformation, and the stated reasons have changed over time.

The Initial Justification : Weapons of Mass Destruction

The primary reason given by the administration of George W. Bush was that Saddam Hussein, the leader of Iraq, was engaged in the production or acquisition of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). These are nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons (examples are the anthrax letter attacks in the US and the Sarin gas attacks in Tokyo--neither of which had any connection to Iraq). It was suggested that Hussein might provide these weapons to terrorists to attack the US. He had already used chemical weapons sold to him by the US against Iran, and also against Iraqi Kurds. Before the war UN inspectors announced they had found no evidence of WMDs, despite unfettered access. After the war was under way, additional investigation concluded Saddam did not have WMDs.

The war continued, however, because the occupation forces of the US were attacked by Iraqi guerrillas, many ironically supported by Iran, Iraq's enemy in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). The US supported a new democratic government within Iraq, which was opposed by various Islamic groups that traditionally held power in the country. Other factions sought to aggrandize their share of the power to be had in the new political system.

It was suggested early on the conflict was predominantly an attempt by the US to control the flow of oil from Iraq, one of the largest petroleum producers in the Middle East.

Secondary Justification: Fostering a Democracy in Iraq

Initially when the US commenced Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, it was a war against the regime in Iraq; to remove Saddam from power, as the US had failed to do in 1991. The goal of the 1991 operation was to drive Saddam from Kuwait, at which the US and its allies succeeded. When no WMDs were found, the US asserted that its mission in Iraq was two-fold: to create a modern democracy and to stop the persistent genocides that took place in that country. The US enfranchised the Shiite Majority, provided for Kurdish autonomy in the North, and assembled a Constitution for the entire Iraqi population. This is in stark contrast to Saddam Hussein who used chemical weapons on his own population and was responsible for committing genocide against the Shiite Arabs, Marsh Arabs, Kurds, Jews, Azeri, Assyrians, Yazidi, Bahai'i, and Chaldeans among others.

Answer 3

The United States of America has multiple reasons for entering Iraq. First the Gulf War beforehand had not been dealt with properly. There was no change in government and therefore no occupation and terroist militants were still running around the nation. With the possibility of chemical or biological weapons getting into the hands of such terrorists and with the still recent 9/11 attack in their minds, the United States Congress allowed a full military strike commanded by Genreral Tommy Franks on March 20, 2003. Yet many believe that the need for oil was also was in the minds of the congressmen and women, however that may never be determined. The United Kingdom and Spain also were major supporters of the Iraqi Invasion. Germany, France and Russia were its main opposers, saying that the international risk was too great. Overall, The U.S. invaded Iraq because intelligence given by the C.I.A. (which was, after the invasion, proven incorrect) stated that the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein had the capability to strike the U.S. eastern seaboard with chemical and biological weapons.

Answer 4

because of the fact that if the Middle East is in a war then the world's oil and gas supply is cut. so in order to keep the flow of oil going, we decided to end it. but it's not working

They wanted to oust Hussein and start a new government, but when he was ousted there were too many Hussein loyalists and so their new government plan did not work. They are still trying to set up a government that will work and what not.

pubished: 8/9/11

Answer 5

because they were jealous

Answer 6

oil