by Jacob Walker

Created on: August 31, 2009   Last Updated: September 01, 2009

Leading up the 2003 invasion of Iraq, President Bush meticulously painted the perfect picture to force, what he referred to as the obvious solution. Even before Bush took office in 2001, one of his campaign promises was that he did not want to engage in the policy of nation building. On the contrary, once taking office, he instructed his aides to look into a way to overthrow the Iraqi regimen. This set a dangerous and narrow path to invasion. A secret memo written in February 2001, entitled 'Plan for post-Saddam Iraq', put into motion the objectives for entering and securing the country. Following the event of September 11th, 2001, Bush began to accelerate preparations once the American public was clearly hungry for action. We invaded Afghanistan with the understanding that we were going after the Taliban. Once this war began to see early success, President Bush set demands for the UN to step up inspections of Iraq. In late 2002, following UN pressure, Iraq agreed to new rounds of inspections. It appeared to the UN that Iraq was cooperating with inspectors and no weapons of mass destruction were yet found.

Under the direction of the George Tenet, the CIA briefed President Bush in September 2002 that Saddam Hussein did not in fact have weapons of mass destruction. This information never made it to Congress. During October 2002, Congress began closed door sessions on the subject, one of which discussed the belief that Iraq could deliver and deploy biological and chemical weapons to the eastern seaboard via unmanned vehicles. During late 2002 and into 2003, President Bush, with the support of Great Britain, proposed a resolution that set a deadline for Iraq to comply with previous resolutions. This resolution carried poor support from the UN Security Council and was later withdrawn. In March of 2003, the Bush Administration declared that diplomacy had failed and actions must be taken. With strong international opposition, the US, along with key allies, invaded Iraq on March 20th, 2003. The invasion was swift and Saddam Hussein was taken out of power without serious opposition. The Iraqi military carried little weight after the first Persian Gulf War. The government fell quickly, to the credit of the might of the United States military.

The reasons for war were presented in such a fashion that left little question of its intelligence. The facts were frightening and the authorization to go to war by Congress was made with fear. The American public felt just as pressure to support the operation, thanks to the overwhelming approval ratings President Bush enjoyed following the 9/11 attacks. Those who supported his ideals for going to war now feel foolish for subscribing in his intentions. The ones who opposed it from the start have little to gain, as it is too late. I was a strong supporter for war, because the facts that were presented seemed clear as day. I wrote a paper in college outlining the dangers of keeping someone like Saddam Hussein in power. I feel silly for not listening to my own self-doubt. President Bush, however, feels as though he were right. This was his father's war, and he was going to see to its end. He painted a grand picture of victory and reassurance that his actions were going to be right. He failed to realize was that history paints its own picture, one of shame and recklessness.

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