What did the bush administration hope to get out of the war. Many of his supporters believe that despite the false claims regarding weapons of mass destruction, bush was passionate about bringing democracy to the nation. My fellow citizens, events in iraq have now reached the final days of decision. Our past efforts to secure baghdad failed for two principal reasons. The bush administration has justified its war against iraq on three grounds. The iraq war americas second war with iraq, the first being the conflict that followed iraqs invasion of kuwait continued to be a rancorous and controversial topic years after the us ceded control of the country to the iraqi civilian government. One of the rationales that the bush administration employed periodically during the runup to the iraq war is that deposing saddam hussein and installing a democratic government in iraq would promote democracy in other middle eastern countries. Iraqi president saddam hussein is a serious threat, bush. President bush would have gone to war with or without intelligence, and once again we are confronted by. Oil price war and virus a double whammy for texas city. Following is a transcript of president bush s speech last night on iraq, as recorded by the new york times. George hw bush should be remembered for the iraq war his son started, revealing the pitfalls of political dynasties.
Bush gives new reason for iraq war the boston globe. The main premise for the war was that saddam had weapons of mass. Iraq is not in open conflict with its neighbors, but terrorism and limited insurgency continue. Much contention surrounds bushs reasons for declaring war on iraq. Bushs war watch s2008 e8 frontline pbs official site. It may be discomfiting to americans to say nothing of millions of iraqis that the bush administration spent their blood and treasure for a war inspired by the ledeen doctrine.
After no wmds were found, the left claimed bush lied. My investigation into the causes of the war finds that it had little to do with fear of wmds or other purported goals, such as a desire to spread democracy or satisfy the oil or israel lobbies. The right and wrong questions about the iraq war the atlantic. Rather, the bush administration invaded iraq for its demonstration effect. George hw bush should be remembered for the iraq war his. No, it wasnt because of wmds, democracy or iraqi oil. Yes, the iraq war was a war for oil, and it was a war with winners. There were three reasons why the bush administration went to war. How the bush administration sold the iraq war msnbc. To hear supporters of george bush now, the only reason he invaded iraq was to introduce democracy to that country, and the reasons we are still there are to combat the terrorists who entered iraq after we invaded and to save face.
And, indeed, bush did justify the war as a quest for iraqi weapons of. So i think he felt confident, but had reason to feel confident about that. There is a myth about the war that i have been meaning to set straight for years. How the iraq war destabilized the entire middle east. By the standards set in bush s strategy, the iraq war was at best a tenuous, qualified success. Saddam husseins alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, his links to socalled terrorists, and liberating. The deeply mixed results of the iraq war world report. The war that began march 19, 2003, was justified to the country by alarming claims that iraqi leader saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction and connections to alqaida terroristsalmost. Bush has announced that war against iraq has begun. The primary reason for invading iraq, according to those attending nsc briefings in. Watch fulllength episodes of pbs documentary series frontline for free. Bushs war the inside story of the war that will define a presidency a war that no one expected, and no one planned for. However, the iraq war instead brought the country hundreds of thousands of casualties and severely damaged infrastructure. At a congressional hearing examining the march to war in iraq, republican.
Bush and uk prime minister tony blair, the coalition aimed to disarm iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end saddam husseins support for terrorism, and to. The public justifications for the invasion were nothing but pretexts, and. America invaded iraq because the bush administration wanted a war. Bush was the son of president bush senior who had invaded iraq in the first gulf war, and perhaps a quasi patrimonial desire to finish what his father had started was one of many factors which combined to motivate him act jassat, 2002. The positions various commentators and politicians took prior to.
Bush left office with an approval rating hovering in the low 30s, and his grandest project was the gigantic catastrophe of the iraq war, which were still dealing with and. Did the us really start a war one that cost trillions of dollars, killed hundreds of thousands of iraqis, destabilised the region. Bushs decision to invade iraq on march 20, 2003, was not. President bush answered growing antiwar protests yesterday with a fresh reason for us troops to continue fighting in iraq. President bush and his advisors built much of their case for war on the idea that iraq, under dictator saddam hussein, possessed or was in the process of. We got things wrong in iraq, but the cause is eternally right george bush describes in his book decision points how iraq invasion was. Bush launched a campaign to justify to americans the need to mount a war against iraq. The overtures intrigued the bush administration but were ultimately rebuffed.
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