Memory Check: Why Did We Go to War in Iraq?

While watching the first presidential debate last week I watched Barack Obama hammer John McCain for supporting President George W. Bush sending our troops to war in Iraq. Senator McCain uncomfortably avoided a direct answer to the question. This reawakened a festering frustration I have been harboring since John Kerry first used this tactic during his run for the presidency in 2004, and it reemerges each time someone brings it up to attack the Bush administration. Apparently, we, the American people, can't remember what happened and what we were feeling five years ago. So, below, I have compiled a history of this decision for your review.

At the conclusion of Desert Storm, many wanted to complete the job and take out Saddam Hussein. Countless people that I spoke with were disappointed that we did not. We could easily have done so. But our stated mission was to free Kuwait. George Bush (Senior) had put together a remarkable international coalition of both Arab and Western countries based on that limited mission. To continue to Baghdad would have destroyed the delicate alliance with our Arab allies and would have created distrust around the world toward the US for years to come. So, the President made the decision to leave Iraq and Saddam Hussein intact.

After 9/11, the George W. Bush administration received intelligence reports that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and that he was likely to turn them over to terrorist organizations for use throughout the world, including the United States. Our intelligence agencies contacted sources around the world to confirm this finding. ALL the intelligence agencies (British, Israeli, French, Russian and more) confirmed this finding.

President Bush, now, had a decision to make. What should he do about this potential threat? Should he wait until he had some kind of proof? If he waited too long there might be another terrorist attack on US soil. The next one could come in the form of a chemical, biological or, even, a nuclear attack. We knew Saddam had chemical and biological weapons that he had used against the Iranians and on his own people. And he had nuclear material from his failed nuclear weapons program (you may remember the Israelis bombed his reactor). A "dirty bomb" with nuclear material, therefore, was also a potential threat. The President exercised great restraint. He exhausted every possible non-military option. He went to the United Nations. Resolutions were passed that were ignored by Iraq. Inspectors were sent that were not allowed to inspect facilities.

In the end, President Bush felt he had no option but to go into Iraq, preemptively, to ensure the security and safety of the United States. He took his case to Congress and the American people. Congress gave an unprecedented overwhelming approval (Democrats and Republicans alike) for the action. The American people overwhelmingly supported this decision as well. In fact, I think it safe to say virtually everyone was behind this decision until the 2004 presidential election when John Kerry began rewriting history in an effort to undermine a very popular George W. Bush who had a whole nation and most of the civilized world behind him in his efforts on the War on Terror.

So, we went into Iraq. We deposed the most tyrannical dictator since Adolf Hitler. We did not find any weapons of mass destruction. Maybe there were none. Personally, I am not so sure. We know Saddam did, in fact, have massive stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. Remember, he used them on his own people and against the Iranians. Where did they go? And what about the nuclear material he had been using in his nuclear weapons program? Where did it go? I believe those items may be in Syria and/or buried somewhere in the hundreds of square miles of desert.

Regardless of whether or not we ever find WMDs in Iraq, we cannot judge our decision to go to war in Iraq based on information we did not have in 2003! At that time intelligence sources throughout the world reported that Saddam Hussein did have WMDs. We had to act. For the Democrats and Barack Obama to criticize President Bush and Senator McCain is ludicrous and hypocritical! Conveniently, the Democrats continue to forget that they, too, overwhelmingly approved our decision to go to war in Iraq.

Personally, I have had it with politicians that rewrite history and manipulate the American people for partisan political gain. I truly hope the next time Barack Obama brings up this subject (and he will) that John McCain gives him and the American people a history lesson they sorely need.