Why did America go to war with Iraq?

Question

2 of 3 of my parents are in the millitary. And 1 of them goes to Iraq every year only to wait for next year's DrAfT. I think I have the right to know. Don't you?

Answer 1

There are multiple reasons why the US went to war in Iraq, let me try to detail as many as I can:

1. Saddam Hussein's regime was genocidal, killing up to a million of it's own people. Who can forget the photos of dead Kurds (mothers with their babies for instance) seemingly sleeping, but actually dead for resisting Saddam.

2. The very real possibility of active production of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs); WMDs have been found, although they seem to have been produced pre war. This does not reduce the threat of these weapons, because in the case of mustard gas, it can remain deadly for decades. The very presence of these substances were a violation of muliple UN resolutions, as they were said that all of these must be turned over.

3. Constant ongoing disregard (breaking) of multiple UN resolutions, any of which was supposed to result in the resumption of military force against Iraq. For example, the Jets patrolling the "no-fly" zone were guaranteed safe passage under the UN resolutions, however they were fired upon daily by the Iraqi military.

4. The Oil for food scandal: Saddam was actually bribing his way out of any further UN action by bribing multiple members of it's Security council. This is why there was so much resistance to ANY action to enforce the UN resolutions. Khoffi Annon's own son, Kojo, was entangled in this and the billions in oil dollars funneled from Saddam. The UN was and is completely corrupt. Only by going around the UN could this chain be broken.

5. Saddam using his country for terrorist training. Iraq was being used for terrorist training under the direct supervision of Saddam Hussein. In one situation he sheltered Abu Nidal on the condition he train terrorists for Saddam. Nidal, who was pretty sick physically, and on the run, refused. The official report of Abu Nidal's death was that he "committed suicide" by several bullet shots to the head. hmmm
Saddam's govt was also directly paying suicide bombers in Israel.

I hope this helps you understand what your parent's are fighting for, and what great people they are. If not for people like them, our country would not be protected. They perform one of the hardest, but most heroic duties to ours, the greatest country in the world.

Answer 2

Yes, you have the right to know.

It is kind of complicated. I am going to assume that you are 18
or under and not cognizant of what happened prior to this
particular war.

It actually started before Desert Storm.

The nation of Kuwait loaned Saddam a very large sum of money
so that he could continue to wage war with Iran. That war lasted
eight years, with no real or lasting conclusion.

A few years after the war the Kuwaitis asked Saddam to repay
the loan. His answer was to invade Kuwait. They requested help
from us. We ste up a coalition and moved in to help.

That war lasted only a few months.

The problem arises from the fact that the Iraqi people expected
us to move in and finished the job by removing Saddam.

Unfortunately, that was not part of the mandate from the U.N..
We did nothing. The Iraqi people became disillusioned with us.

When the war on terror began, we went into Afghanistan to
get Bin Laden. There was some bad intelligence about WM-D's
in Saddam's arsenal and we went into Iraq to eliminate the
WM-D's. None have been found. That however does not mean
that there are none there. It only means we haven't found them
yet (Its a big desert).

I have simplified this as much as possible. I may have left out
some small items. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Not quite sure what you mean by one of your parents goes to Iraq every year, only to wait for next years draft... there is no draft and there won't be.

As for why did America go to war with Iraq... There are a lot of factors that led to our military going into Iraq. The main reason, to remove Saddam Hussien from power. Hussien was a dictator. He ruled the country of Iraq with an iron fist, he, his family and (I believe its called) the Baath party. Much the way that Fidel Castro runs Cuba, Saddam Hussien and his compatriots ran Iraq, creating a vast gulf in social standing. There were the few at the top, wealthy, powerful and controlling, with the rest of the Iraqi people near living in squallor. He also, as he has been convicted of recently, committed crimes against the Kurdish people and other regional groups. We are talking holocust type actions, mass graves and firing squads.

At the time it was also believed that Saddam Hussien had a very advanced weapons program, nuclear as well as biological. Everyone tosses around the term WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), that was another factor. For years, the United Nations had been sending inspectors in to make sure that he was not doing this, then suddenly, he kicked them out. Much like a child would do, when he knows that his parents are getting to close to finding things in his room he does not want them to find.

So, what we have is a dictator, trying to build weapons through which he could perpetrate attacks on neighboring countries and the United States interests abroad. I believe that we learned out lesson from World War II, in that we should not let a dictator stand in power. Doing that was what led to World War II.

So, to sum up, why are your parents in Iraq? Right now, we've taken Saddam Hussien out of power, but we can't just turn around and leave. Its like walking into an abusive home, removing the parents and then just leaving the children to fend for themselves. We have to help the Iraq people get back control tof their country.

Answer 4

1. Iraq wouldn't let UN inspectors freely roam to look for weapons of mass destruction.
2. Sanctions were not working. UN officals and countries were smuggling oil for more than food.
3. Saddam was believed to have funded terrorist organizations. Only after the invasion and documents were seized was this proven to be true.
4. Saddam was believed to have WMD. Only after the invasion was 500 WMD shells found according to the U.S. Congress and Saddam had the full blue prints to make an atomic bomb.

Answer 5

Everyone is going to give you a different answer dependent upon their political leanings and what parts they believe about the many different reasons that were given as to why the United States started the war. Basically, the best thing you can do is look over the information yourself and come to your own conclusion because asking a question like this anywhere is just going to start a lot of partisan bickering.

Answer 6

There several reasons. Weapons of mass destruction was one and so far, according to the U.S. Central Command, over 1700 pounds of the stuff has been discovered and eliminated.
Providing terrorists with support (For example: $25,000 paid to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers), sanctuary for wanted terrorists (Abbu Nidal comes to mind), training facilities for terrorist operations at Salman Pak and other sites scattered throughout the nation.
Non compliance with the cease-fire agreement signed at the end of the 1991 action to force Iraq out of Kuwait. Non compliance with19 UN resolutions calling on Iraq to comply with the cease fire agreement.

Answer 7

They told us that it was because of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the evidence for which was flimsy, but trhey believed what they wanted to believe. And they exploited our rage over 9/11 by hinting that Iraq was behind it when they weren't. The REAL reason was to implement the Neocons' grandiose scheme to remake the Middle East. They felt if they planted a Democracy somewhere, it would create a wave of change across the region, thus making it safe for Israel. And it would be so easy. Well, it turned out to be a fiasco. The Necons have been discredited. No one will EVER listen to those screwballs again!

Answer 8

because of the fact Iran is between Iraq and Afghanistan. it rather is purely militia approach. Iran might have a annoying time combating a conflict on 2 fronts. good now we are attempting to nurture a grass-roots insurrection against the Ahmadinijad. permit's wish it works. In a conflict all of us loses even nonetheless one element loses under the different.

Answer 9

Emporer G.W. Bush thought there were WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) in Iraq, Seddam Hussein was an assfuck, and we needed the oil.

Answer 10

They said it was b/c of 911 but i don't think thats right. I think that we went to war on Iraq to get rid of weapons of mass destruction and b/c of oil prices. But really we didn't need this war.