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More of an independent now. The WMD justification that was used was bogus and the outcome was not good. But the WMD justification was unnecessary anyway. Desert Storm ended with a cease fire, not a peace treaty. Iraq repeatedly violated the terms of that cease fire for years. So military action could be justified on that basis alone, particularly to protect the Kurds and take out anti-aircraft sites that were firing on our planes daily.
But were they a threat to the world and deserving of hundreds of thousands of deaths, regime change, and having to occupy the country? Certainly not.
If they were firing on our planes “daily,” certainly a few of our planes would’ve been hit and we would’ve lost a few pilots at least. We’re good, but not THAT good!
I think that was all hyperbole after the fact once we realized that we screwed up. If attacking Iraq for that purpose was justified in 2003, then it was justified every single year after Desert Storm. Why didn’t we attack in 1995, or 1999? Simply put, it makes no sense. There was no pressing reason to attack Iraq at any time...especially not in 2003. We had far more important fish to fry. And I don’t believe the story that they’d been firing on our planes in the No Fly Zone. It doesn’t hold up to serious scrutiny.
Him and his family being gone is the silver lining of all of it.
I don't think it's the silver lining you think it is. Saddam in a sense was like the cop of the ME and buffered Iranian influence. This is why the first Bush administration didn't invade Iraq. His rule may not have been good for Shiites in his country but it certainly was within the interests US in the grand scheme of things.
As far WMD goes keep in mind Iraq had nuclear program that was within a year or two of completion and the CIA completely missed it. They didn't know about it until after the conclusion of the first gulf war. Saddam used these weapons in the past even on his own people, he was also acting like he had them. I believe he was playing a very dangerous game and just trying to be a giant PITA knowing the US wouldn't invade. He was not expecting an event like 9/11 to completely change the politics.
In hindsight Iraq was a giant mistake but hindsight is always 20/20.
I have a question for conservatives here. I know you consider yourselves free thinkers, and believe that liberals are not. You see yourselves as objective viewers of fact, putting information above emotion. But I read this statistic today: 61% of Republicans believe starting the Iraq War was the right decision. That's compared to 27% of Democrats.
This is after finding out that the intelligence about WMD was wrong, after Trump campaigned against the Iraq War, and after GWB, Colin Powell, and John McCain have said that it was a mistake.
How is it that self identified Republicans are so utterly susceptible to propaganda that 17 years after "Freedom Fries" and "With us or against us" and "Mission Accomplished" almost 2/3 of you still believe the war was the right thing to do?
Why do "free thinkers" support a war just because politicians wave a flag and use the buzzword "freedom", and continue to support the war 15 years later?
I have a question for conservatives here. I know you consider yourselves free thinkers, and believe that liberals are not. You see yourselves as objective viewers of fact, putting information above emotion. But I read this statistic today: 61% of Republicans believe starting the Iraq War was the right decision. That's compared to 27% of Democrats.
This is after finding out that the intelligence about WMD was wrong, after Trump campaigned against the Iraq War, and after GWB, Colin Powell, and John McCain have said that it was a mistake.
How is it that self identified Republicans are so utterly susceptible to propaganda that 17 years after "Freedom Fries" and "With us or against us" and "Mission Accomplished" almost 2/3 of you still believe the war was the right thing to do?
Why do "free thinkers" support a war just because politicians wave a flag and use the buzzword "freedom", and continue to support the war 15 years later?
I am in the 39%..always have been. I was against the Iraq war to begin with. Make no mistake I was a warmonger but I knew Iraq was the wrong country (Saudi Arabia was the correct country). I was rather fond of Saddam Hussein because he was a secularist and I highly value secularism...it is much more meaningful to me than the neocons "sphere of influence" garbage.
I have a question for conservatives here. I know you consider yourselves free thinkers, and believe that liberals are not. You see yourselves as objective viewers of fact, putting information above emotion. But I read this statistic today: 61% of Republicans believe starting the Iraq War was the right decision. That's compared to 27% of Democrats.
This is after finding out that the intelligence about WMD was wrong, after Trump campaigned against the Iraq War, and after GWB, Colin Powell, and John McCain have said that it was a mistake.
How is it that self identified Republicans are so utterly susceptible to propaganda that 17 years after "Freedom Fries" and "With us or against us" and "Mission Accomplished" almost 2/3 of you still believe the war was the right thing to do?
Why do "free thinkers" support a war just because politicians wave a flag and use the buzzword "freedom", and continue to support the war 15 years later?
Why do 95%+ of liberals believe the laughable claim that Donald Trump is a Russian agent?
Because they are idiots to believe their lying Minders and have no ability to think for themselves.
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