Gulf War

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.

Alleged Causes

The Iraq War has numerous alleged causes. Determining the whether or not they are true causes of the Iraq War is left to the discretion of the reader. See the black headings for general categories of answers:

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Answer 1: Saddam attacked Kuwait in an attempt to take over control of the entire Middle East. He "flexed his muscles" to see if the world would allow him to "expand". The world refused to allow that and Saddam was pushed back and sanctions were placed on him and his military. Saddam was instructed that he could not sell more oil to fund his military and that any oil that he sold was to be used to feed and medically treat the residents of Iraq. His air force was restricted to specific areas and other specific sanctions were imposed, including but not limited to sanctions regarding the production, storage and use of missiles, chemical weapons and nuclear devices. Almost immediately, Saddam started selling oil at a discount to Russia, France and others, making the U.N. sanctions ineffective. Intelligence reports indicated that Saddam was trying to build nuclear devices and that he had chemical weapons. In fact, Saddam claimed that he would use chemical weapons against an invading force if we tried to enforce the U.N. sanctions. Under the circumstance, there was no option but to remove him from power. France, Russia and a few others were, of course, unwilling to go along with the U.N. mandate to remove him from power, because they did not want to lose their supply of cheap oil. There is still strong evidence that Saddam and/or his military leaders moved his weapons out of the country, into Syria before the war began.

Answer 2: Though the common belief for the cause of the Iraq war is the want of oil, it is because of false information delivered to the President and Congress. The CIA had information from an "Undisclosed Source" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Answer 3: We invaded Iraq because the leader at the time was telling the world that he had WMDs (Weapons of mass destruction). He wanted to risk the US bombing the country again but did not expect a full on invasion. If he had had WMDs then he would have used them on our troops when we invaded but did not. After a full investigation and the death of the leader we confirmed that they had no weapons of mass destruction but the war still continued

It it is now known Saddam had no WMDs. UN inspectors had full cooperation with the Iraq military, and were allowed to look wherever they wanted. They reported no evidence of any weapons program could be found, but we refused to let facts dissuade us from our plans.

Oil and Petroleum Control

Answer 1: Because the U.S wants to conquer Iraq's petroleum. President Bush wants all the oil and little riches from Iraq.

Answer 2: Saudi Arabia had been asking the US for a long time to leave their country, but we depend on oil like an alcoholic depends on a drink. This made one particularly radical man named Osama bin Laden angry and he hatched several terrorist attack plans against America, the most devastating being the attack on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. Then he went into hiding in Afghanistan. President Bush was angry about the whole thing and vowed to hunt down bin Laden, so we declared war on Iraq. The current spin on Iraq is that we're there to instill democracy and show other countries that America's way is best whether they like it or not, all while ousting dictators.

Answer 3: Mainly oil and the fear of nuclear weapons and other WMDs.

Answer 4: It was oil... Something about when people of Iraq saw us crossing there terrorty for the oil. We though it was ours, because of the country syria and it was in the border of the two... but they got mad at us and started this hole thing. So the blame should be on both countries and what we picked to do to solve this in anger and madess. Bush picked war for us without thinking twice of trying to rearange this with peace and just not do this again.

So yeah, bush isn't the most intellegent President.

Rebuttal 1: If it was all about oil, US troops would be in the oilfields and patrolling the pipelines, not trying to keep rival factions from blowing each other up

9/11 and Combating Terrorism

Answer 1: There are a multitude of reasons for the Iraq War. First, following the attack on the US in 2001, is the overriding concern to eliminate the terrorist training grounds in that region of the world. The first ones to be eliminated were in Afghanistan. Once the Taliban in Afghanistan were no longer a threat, i.e. no longer actively cultivating and training al Qaeda terrorists, the next most threatening training areas were in Iraq and Iran. Because there was an abundance of further information of the existence of non-conventional weapons in Iraq and the likelihood that they would very soon be in the hands of al Qaeda terrorist, Iraq was the next target. This is the "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD) rationale that is so often cited. Right or wrongly, the US Government has taken the battle to the terrorists in those areas and not on US soil.

Rebuttal 1: The war in Iraq was caused by an unprovoked attack by the United States. Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorist attack of 9/11. To attack Iraq in response to 9/11 is like attacking Mexico in response to Pearl Harbor. On September 11th 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists, mostly from Saudi Arabia, hijacked four planes. They crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in New York (The Twin Towers). Both towers collapsed within two hours of the hits. Then a third plane was flown into the American Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane however never reached its destination. Believed to be heading for the White house, some of the passengers and flight crew fought to regain control of the plane. Realising that the passengers were moments from overcoming them, the terrorists rolled the plane, sending it into an unrecoverable dive. It crashed into a field near Shanksville,

Rebuttal 2: It was believed that Saddam Hussein was complicit in the 9/11 attack. This was later proved wrong by the difficult and arduous process of calling any professor of Middle East Studies and asking them if it was remotely possible for a Secularist Political Leader to align himself with an Islamist Terrorist.

Rebuttal 3: Certain news outlets propagated the lie that Iraq was complicit in 9/11. Virtually no major network engaged in any fact checking, or even questioned the veracity of it. We now know it was completely false. In fact, Osama had offered his help to the Saudi royal family to remove Saddam from Kuwait. Saddam and his boys were evil men, no doubt. The question is, were they bad enough to justify unilateral US action to remove them and secure Iraq's oil?

Actions of Iraq in Years Prior

Answer 1: Another reason is that the leader Saddam Hussein, was using chemical biological weapons on the citizens of Iraq. We stepped in to stop it!

Answer 2: Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and their unwillingness to obey the conditions of their surrender or cease fire that they agreed to afterwards.

Expansion of American Regional Influence

Answer 1: The real reason we are fighting in Iraq is to try and form a republic in the heartland of Islam hoping that it would be a moderating force against radical Islam. The reason so many neighboring countries send insurgents to disrupt this process is from either ignorance or greed. On the ignorance side of things, young Muslim men are being told that they can fight in a holy war to prevent an "American Form of Government" from invading Islam. In truth, I think we in America would feel better if the new Iraqi Government were formed like ours, but we know better than to try, so we are hoping Iraq can form a new form of Republic with a Muslim agenda. Personally I don't understand why Iraq doesn't look to Turkey for assistance in setting up a successful government with a Muslim agenda.

Answer 2: The administration's interest in that particular region of the world.

Removal of Saddam Hussein or Iraqi Benefit

Answer 1: Initially when the US commenced Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, it was a war against the country of Iraq; to remove Saddam from power. Iraq collapsed quickly, as it (its forces) did during Desert Storm (within weeks) in January and February of 1991.

Answer 2: There is NO WAR "against the country of Iraq" since Saddam's removal from office. Currently, although called a war by the press, it is a law enforcement function; in which LAW, ORDER, and STABILITY is being (attempted) restored to the nation. Terrorists, Insurgents, etc. are being hunted by the use of WANTED POSTERS, and other forms of media...to be arrested (or killed), tried in a court of law, and then imprisoned or executed, or set free if acquitted.

Answer 3: Ever since no Weapons of Mass Destruction have been found, America has claimed that its mission in Iraq is two-fold, to create a modern democracy and to stop the persistent genocides that took place in that country. The United States 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.

Rebuttal 1: Saddam ill-treated his people. I find it incongruous how sympathetic we were to the Iraqi people, particularly the Kurds, when we fomented rebellion during the first gulf war then abandoned them in a Bay of Pigs style fiasco. Why did we rescind the no-fly zone allowing Saddam to quell the insurrection we instigated with the chemical weapons we sold him, if we truly had the interests of the Kurds at heart? Why did we permit Turkey to launch raids against Kurdish populations in the mountains of Northern Iraq after the war? And why don't we have any sympathy for other people around the world? Villages in Sudan were being systematically destroyed while we took snapshots from space. We did nothing to intervene there, or elsewhere. But Saddam was sitting on OUR oil. That makes for a huge humanitarian effort.

Conspiracies and Longer Historical Outlooks

Answer 1: The United States claimed that Iraq was involved in the production of weapons of mass destruction. This reasoning was totally discredited to no one's surprise but the United States administration. That leaves us with the obvious answer 1) The US Arms Lobby needs to have a war going on to make a profit. 2) Iraq is a major supplier of oil to Europe and this has forced up the price of European oil. Europe is a competitor of the United States in the world market so the United States will end up in a stronger position competitively speaking. There are probably a thousand other reasons the US invaded but the fact that Saddam Hussein was a cruel dictator had absolutely nothing to do with it if you take into account the number of dictators that the USA has financed and supported over the years.

Answer 2: The driving force to the Iraq War was Dick Cheney and oil friend executives engaged in the oil business who had been attempting to get back into the mid-east oil business for more than 25 years. The primary reason the US and UK had lost this business was a result of them not adequately distributing the Iraq, Iran, and Libya government, their share of the profit. For example, in 1952 Iran decided to nationalize the oil which had been under control of UK oil companies. Shortly afterwards, the UK and US formed a coup to assassinate the leader. Since that time, the people in those countries have formed a hatred of the US and UK. Also recognize that the Bush family came into the oil related business when Prescott Bush was involved with Dresser Industries which later became Dresser-Rand was purchased by Halliburton in order to get Kellogg in 1998. Prescott was on the Dresser Board of Directors. George Bush 1 use to work for Dresser. US and UK Sanctions started sometime in the late 70's. During that time span, France, Germany, and Russia retained a relationship. That's the reason they voted against the invasion into Iraq. It all comes down to Cheney's secret meetings associated their greed for money and oil.

One way to stimulate economic growth is to engage in war. As various trade agreements and business tax incentives permitted US companies to move manufacturing and jobs to foreign countries, the US began a downward economic spiral. Engaging in war was a way to temporarily reverse that trend. We don't know who attended Vice President Dick Cheney's secret energy cabal in 2001, or what the topic concerned, which permits us to engage in free speculation. I believe his Texas oil buddies made preliminary invasion plans to void Iraq's oil contracts with France, Germany, and Russia. The US was unable to control Iraq's oil distribution through UN food for oil sanctions, so we launched a war. The excuse that Iraq was building WMDs and was involved in the 9/11 attacks was information for the Bush administration paid Chalabi and his associates, and was known at the time to be false. 50 years ago today (as I write this), President Eisenhower warned us against the military/industrial complex. We have not paid sufficient heed to his warning, in that the Iraq war was the first war fought by the US without congressional spending oversight. More money flowed into the hands of private contractors than in any previous US conflict. Fraud and corruption ran rampant, with billions of dollars of US public funds still unaccounted for. We used our military personnel, who earn around $25,000 per year, to train private contractors earning $150,000 per year to do their jobs. There are numerous other examples of waste and abuse. The war was a gravy train for many US companies, and the administration did its level best to hide the true costs off the books

No one really knows the truth of this war and by the polls of the U.S. citizens there are more than half that don't trust the President. Bush entered the war on the pretense of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" but thus far has not shown any proof this ever existed.

Comedy

Answer 1: Bush stole Saddam's lunch money

General Abridged Answer

There were many long term, short term, and trigger causes that plunged the US into the Iraq war. The US had a long-standing conflict with Saddam Hussein over his turnabout from ally to enemy, and his invasion and destruction in Kuwait.

The attacks of 9/11 were a tragedy that made most Americans hate the anti-US factions in the Middle East. Saddam's dictatorial way of governing was looked down upon by the realist and idealist US government. WMDs were posed as the main reason for bringing down the Hussein regime but they didn't exist. A first-tier terrorist is someone directly involved in 9/11 or who harbored those involved with it. There was no strong evidence that Saddam was either one of those, but public opinion in the US viewed him as one.

The Iraqis purposely spilled millions of gallons of oil from Kuwait into the gulf as they were to be attacked.

It was an act of defiance and was also hoped to slow down the advance of American troops.