Case For
In his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush asserted that Hussein aided al Qaida; Vice President Cheney elaborated that Hussein had provided
"training to al-Qaeda members in the areas of poisons, gases, making conventional bombs."
In addition, the President said that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that there was a real and present danger that he could launch a strike on the US or provide terrorists with WMD. In a speech in October 2002 in Cincinnati, he said that Hussein "... could bring sudden terror and suffering to America... a significant danger to America... Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists. Alliance with terrorists could allow the Iraqi regime to attack America without leaving any fingerprints.... we're concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using unmanned aerial vehicles for missions targeting the United States... America must not ignore the threat gathering against us."
In January 2003, the President said, "With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in that region... The dictator who is assembling the world's most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages... The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. America will not accept a serious and mounting threat to our country, and our friends and our allies. The United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February the 5th to consider the facts of Iraq's ongoing defiance of the world."
This epitomizes the "Bush Doctrine" of pre-emptive war.
When it became obvious that the UN would not endorses the US military proposal, the US tabled the war referendum.
In addition, the President said that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that there was a real and present danger that he could launch a strike on the US or provide terrorists with WMD. In a speech in October 2002 in Cincinnati, he said that Hussein "... could bring sudden terror and suffering to America... a significant danger to America... Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists. Alliance with terrorists could allow the Iraqi regime to attack America without leaving any fingerprints.... we're concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using unmanned aerial vehicles for missions targeting the United States... America must not ignore the threat gathering against us."
In January 2003, the President said, "With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in that region... The dictator who is assembling the world's most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages... The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. America will not accept a serious and mounting threat to our country, and our friends and our allies. The United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February the 5th to consider the facts of Iraq's ongoing defiance of the world."
This epitomizes the "Bush Doctrine" of pre-emptive war.
When it became obvious that the UN would not endorses the US military proposal, the US tabled the war referendum.
Case Against
The 9-11 Commission report made it clear that there was no collaboration between Hussein and al Qaida.
No weapons of mass destruction have been found in the 18 months that the US has been inside Iraq. There are no nuclear or biological weapons. All appear to have been destroyed during the Gulf War (Desert Storm).
Instead, the status of weapons more closely matches that of Administration claims in 2001:
No weapons of mass destruction have been found in the 18 months that the US has been inside Iraq. There are no nuclear or biological weapons. All appear to have been destroyed during the Gulf War (Desert Storm).
Instead, the status of weapons more closely matches that of Administration claims in 2001:
- "He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors. So in effect, our policies have strengthened the security of the neighbors of Iraq..." - Colin Powell, 24 February 2001
- "The sanctions, as they are called, have succeeded over the last 10 years, not in deterring him from moving in that direction, but from actually being able to move in that direction... And even though we have no doubt in our mind that the Iraqi regime is pursuing programs to develop weapons of mass destruction -- chemical, biological and nuclear -- I think the best intelligence estimates suggest that they have not been terribly successful." - Colin Powell, 15 May 2001
- "We are able to keep arms from him [Hussein]. His military forces have not been rebuilt." - Condoleezza Rice, 29 July 2001
Where it Stands
The Administration now justifies the war based on Hussein's human rights record.
Public opinion polls suggest that most Americans no longer believe this war was a good idea; this is a major change from March 2003 when an overwhelming majority supported the war. However, dislike of the war has not translated to a dislike of the President; the contest between President Bush and Senator Kerry remains neck-and-neck.
Sources: BBC - 15 Mar 2003 ; CNN - 1 May 2003 ; Gulf War Facts ; The Gulf War: A Line in the Sand ; Iraq Backgrounder: State Department ; Iraqi Resolution: Critical Dates ; The Memory Hole ; Operation Desert Storm - Military Presence Allied Forces ; Paying the Price: The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War ; White House Transcript .
Public opinion polls suggest that most Americans no longer believe this war was a good idea; this is a major change from March 2003 when an overwhelming majority supported the war. However, dislike of the war has not translated to a dislike of the President; the contest between President Bush and Senator Kerry remains neck-and-neck.
Sources: BBC - 15 Mar 2003 ; CNN - 1 May 2003 ; Gulf War Facts ; The Gulf War: A Line in the Sand ; Iraq Backgrounder: State Department ; Iraqi Resolution: Critical Dates ; The Memory Hole ; Operation Desert Storm - Military Presence Allied Forces ; Paying the Price: The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War ; White House Transcript .
