A Case Study US Invasion of Iraq 2003

By the way……… What is the Patriot Act, other than the longest contrived acronym of all time? You should know about this…. Especially when you read Fahrenheit 451…. Are you really free?

Backdrop The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 20 March to 1 May 2003 and signaled the start of the Iraq War, which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States (prior to 19 March, the mission in Iraq was called Operation Enduring Freedom, a carryover from the War in Afghanistan). The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba'athist government ofSaddam Hussein.

Was Iraq Always Evil?

Why? According to U.S. President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, the coalition mission was "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.“ Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations, and the rise of the freedom agenda

Casus Belli George Bush, speaking in October 2002, said that "The stated policy of the United States is regime change. ... However, if Hussein were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations, the conditions that I have described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal the regime has changed". Citing reports from certain intelligence sources, Bush stated on 6 March 2003 that he believed that Hussein was not complying with UN Resolution 1441 “Failure to Disarm”….

Opinions In a January 2003 CBS poll, 64% of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq; however, 63% wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war, and 62% believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war. The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long- standing U.S. allies, including the governments of France, Germany, and New Zealand

Did it Have to Happen? In December 2002, a representative of the head of Iraqi Intelligence, the General Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, contacted former Central Intelligence Agency Counterterrorism Department head Vincent Cannistraro stating that Hussein "knew there was a campaign to link him to 11 September and prove he had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)." Cannistraro further added that "the Iraqis were prepared to satisfy these concerns. I reported the conversation to senior levels of the state department and I was told to stand aside and they would handle it." Cannistraro stated that the offers made were all "killed" by the George W. Bush administration because they allowed Hussein to remain in power, an outcome viewed as unacceptable. It has been suggested that Saddam Hussein was prepared to go into exile if allowed to keep $1 billion USD

The Ultimate 'What If': A World Where America Never Invaded Iraq What would America’s strategic options look like today? What would the world look like? 

What Then is the “Bush Doctrine”? 1. Willingness to act unilaterally (how does that make our allies, or worse, our adversaries feel?) What advantages does this have? 2. Preemptive war/action. What is this? Is it right? Is it effective?

Wag the Dog?