Iraq was not a threat to America...?

Question

Iraq was a hated foe of Iran (Iran and Iraq fought a war with one another for 8 years, the U.S. sold Iraq arms, sold Iraq chemical agents used in creating bilogical weapons, and supplied Iraq with intelligence on Iranian targets...Hussein thought, at the time, the U.S. was his ally), a stable oil producing nation, and had no weapons of mass destruction, and, no ties to Al Qaeda. Please explain, using clarity and reason, what goal destabilizing Iraq had for the U.S.?

SGT there are many murderous dictators in the world, and we DID support him in the Iran Iraq war, but, this is not a reason a rational nation enters into a war.

Answer 1

You are comparing apples and oranges. When arms were given to Iraq, it was because the Soviets were supplying the Iranians. Don't forget that Iran was an enemy after Carter let the country fall to Iranian zealots during his administration. Iran held 50 US hostages and was our enemy. We supplied Iraq so that Iran would not extend radical Islam beyond Iran. When the US entered the war with Iraq, there were 18 UN resolutions against Iraq and resolution 1441 authorized the use of force against Saddam Hussein. Congress voted for the use of force against Saddam and Democrats including Hillary Clinton also voted for the war. Everyone thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction including his own army generals. America's interest in this war is that oil cannot be controlled and used to blackmail other countries and terrorism cannot be sponsored and funded by countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria and North Korea that would lead to terrorist activities in the US and our interests abroad.

Answer 2

You did a great job sticking up for someone who committed mass murders on his own people and ran one of the most corrupt governments the world has seen. Good for you!

***Edit***
So what is the reasoning to support it?

You have 3 options.

A) Support it and people die.
B) Ignore it, hope it goes away and people die.
C) Go to war, try to fix it and people die.

Or is there something I am missing? Maybe sanctions? Nah, that couldn't be it, Iraq cared less about sanctions then Iran does. Talk things over? Hmmm, been there, done that, didn't work.

So what then?

Answer 3

With Saddam at its helm, Iraq "was" a threat to the whole world! A brief reminder, there have been many countries who have entered this war against Iraq, not the USA alone.

Answer 4

the goal wasn't destabilizing iraq but kicking out saddam houssein and putting in his place a western-like democracy (this completely failed though)

i think the us thus wanted to get a foothold in the middle-east

that bush sr hadn't finished the job properly ten years earlier was an extra motivation to invade this particular country. also saddam made a good face of evil, thus replacing osama bin laden who the us failed to capture

Answer 5

From your tone of questioning, I can see there is no rationalizing any answer that would satisfy you. Therefore I suggest you stay in your own private little utopia and allow real people to deal with the real problems facing the USA.

Answer 6

And Saddam Hussein was a Sunday School Teacher. Isn't this a nice little story????

Answer 7

So let me get this straight, we backed a murderous dictator and that was OK but to come to our senses and take him out after he blatantly ignored seventeen U.N. resolutions and slaughtered men women and children who did not want a dictator, is wrong?

I'm glad I am not a Liberal. Such convoluted thought is insane.

Answer 8

people can get advantage of it. so the US can get the oil if the country is in chaos. and yes, Iraq is not a threat to America coz they don't have anything to do with 9/11 in the first place.

Answer 9

Bush was angry that Sadam Hussein tried to kill his father, so he used any excuse to get into Iraq,so he could get a hold of Saddam Hussein.

Answer 10

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003 | Source

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002 | Source

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998 | Source

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
- President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998 | Source

"We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998 | Source

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998 | Source

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton.
- (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998 | Source

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998 | Source

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999 | Source

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002 | Source

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 | Source

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 | Source

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002 | Source

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002 | Source

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002 | Source

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002 | Source

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002 | Source