Unless you are Iranian or Israeli, there were no reasons why we needed war.
Since I'm American, it was our biggest blunder since Nam.
As a reasonable person, I can understand the argument. However, Saddam, long-term, was a destabilizing force in the region, and needed to go. After he invaded Kuwait and we removed him, he had continued to be a significant problem -- ejecting weapons inspectors, firing at our aircraft, and during the Clinton presidency, he essentially led the US around by the nose. These were all violations of the cease fire agreement, and the Gulf War should have restarted instantly when these violations occurred. So, he had to go one way or the other.
Secondly, and importantly, was Bush's Freedom Agenda, a foreign policy which was proved to have worked after Bush left office and we saw freedom movements take hold in Iran, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, and other places. Had these been competently handled by Bush's successor, the positive influence of the Iraq War would have been evident by now.
The incompetent mishandling of the Iranian Uprisings was just astounding; at that point, if there was any doubt we had made a terrible mistake electing Obama, it was crystal clear. And it just got worse from there as one of these nations after another came under popular pressure. It was a tragically lost opportunity that the Iraq War provided and Barack Obama squandered. |
