Day 83 - The War in Iraq
Lately (especially today) I've been talking politics with a lot of people around here, including some who are studying politics. One of the hottest topics, of course, is still the war in Iraq. I don't need to tell anyone that it's very unpopular here. But I would like to write a little bit about WHY we went to war in Iraq, because most people still don't seem to get it.The war in Iraq was not about 9/11. It was not about the "war on terror". It was not about weapons of mass destruction. We went to war in Iraq because of what happened on August 2, 1990. Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, invaded the sovereign nation of Kuwait.
After they were forced back out of Kuwait, we let the government remain in power because it agreed to a list of terms, including full cooperation with weapons inspectors. After several years of peaceful negotiations, Hussein's government still did not abide by the terms they agreed to. Thus, as a last resort, we had to enforce the rules by force.
But I'm not talking about 2003. I'm talking about 1998. Does anyone remember Operation Desert Fox? Do you remember Bill Clinton and Tony Blair talking about how force was necessary back then because Iraq refused to cooperate with weapons inspectors?
After bombing Iraq in 1998, we let Husssain remain in power, but he still did not cooperate. After several more years of negotiations and peaceful means of persuasion, including 14 U.N. resolutions against Iraq, he still did not cooperate. His refusal to cooperate nullified the ceasefire agreement that halted the war back in the early 90's. Thus, his government was removed from power in 2003.
That's why we finished the original war in Iraq. But nobody seems to understand that, and I think much of that is the fault of G.W. Bush. He didn't explain it that way. Instead, he rode his wave of popularity as the anti-terrorism president and tried to make it look like a war against terrorism and WMD. And now, that's what most of the world (probably including most Americans) think it was about.
3 Comments:
I remember the bombing in 1998. I was completely terrified. That was when I was super paranoid about the end of the world and nuclear bombs everywhere. Right before the main operation, I had a dream where I was running around and everything was green (like night vision.) Then I saw a big explosion. A few days later, I came home from school to see this on the news. I really freaked out. I had to call Justin to have him calm me down and I went to my best friend's house to try and get my mind off of it. I don't know much of what the reasoning of the bombing was though. I just remember thinking that it was the end of all things.
This needs to be in the opinion section of a few major newspapers. It might cause some to think more objectively. I believe you are exactly right about the U.S. entering Iraq for more reasons than the possibility of future acts of terrorism.
Wow, that is Amazing, Matt. Thanks for putting that out there. We should talk about this more sometime. You've never broached this subject in my presence before, and I have a feeling that should be remedied.
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