Why Did Bush Choose to invade Iraq First?
I guess is hard to understand it because some of us still thinking that there are other countries who were and are more dangerous than Iraq at that point of time when the US invade them. I am talking about countries who are extremely dangerous in every aspect you can think of and a threat to the US and the world...yet Mr. Bush seem not worried about them.
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Just because he took on Iraq first does not mean that he is not aware of problems in them. Despite the assumptions of omniscience among the mainstream media, they do NOT know all of the intelligence reports that are available to heads of state. Leading congressional leaders, including John Kerry, Tom Daschle, and Harry Reid knew a lot of the same intelligence, and voted yes on the resolution allowing the invasion.
Now, look at the results again. Libya has folded on its WMD research, and is opening up to inspections. Iran is seeing a rise in demands for more democratic reforms by their citizens. Syria is withdrawing from Lebanon.
So, what were those more dangerous countries? N. Korea? Yet everyone keeps urging the US to stay out of there. China? What could we do there that we aren't? France? Yep. The most dangerous country in the world :P
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So, what were those more dangerous countries? N. Korea? Yet everyone keeps urging the US to stay out of there. China? |
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I believe that the US DOES take those countries very seriously. The fact that we still have troops stationed on the border of N. Korea, and some are getting killed and injured all the time should show that we recognize the danger there.
And, no, there are probably no plans to invade N. Korea. After all, it is a very different situation there. And, yes, the concern about what China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries would do probably DOES come into it. There is also the constant urging of China for us to leave N. Korea alone, as China is supposedly pressing N. Korea to make the changes.
The point is, that there are different approaches needed for different countries. In some, diplomacy is working. In some, the UN is effective (although those cases are very rare). In some cases, the threat of violence, or the example of violence is necessary. When national security for 250,000,000 people is involved, then sometimes the violence becomes not only necessary, but immediately needful.
There are no indications that N. Korea is supplying weapons to terrorists. There were indications that Iraq was supplying such weapons. It is a well established fact that Iraq was supplying money, safe haven, and training to terrorists. Add the fact that terrorists have attacked the US, on US soil, and there becomes some amount of urgency to strike a blow directly at a source of supply to those terrorists.
And, once again, it has worked. The terrorists are apparently in trouble. Their sources of funding appear to have dried up (hence all the recent kidnappings for money). Their sources of weapons appear to be getting a little scarce.
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I think there are a few reasons why the US invaded Iraq and not the other countries. I also hope it remains they invaded Iraq and not the other countries and doesn't become they invaded Iraq first. Actually, they invade Afghanistan first, then Iraq.
Anyway, we had pretty well committed to going into Iraq by the time the Korean issue came to the forefront. I don't think the administration wanted to muddy things by addressing Korea until they were finished with Iraq, which they had already started even though the invasion hadn't happened yet.
In addition, they could use the reasoning that Iraq had violated several UN resolutions and agreements to which they entered at the end of the first conflict. They can't assert that with Korea. As much as we don't want other countries to have Nuclear weapons, I don't think we can just invade any country that begins to develop them.
Finally, the terrorist reason or excuse could be levered more easily against Iraq than it would against Korea. I don't consider Korea a direct threat to the US. They are more of a threat to S. Korea, but I don't consider that my personal concern. This is likely to be true of a lot of US citizens. However, I do consider many in the mideast to be a direct threat. This is where those who orchestrated the 911 attack orginated.
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I think it is unfair to say Bush was and is not worried about these other countries simply because of the media coverage of the war in Iraq. Like Nighthawk hinted at, there is a US presence in other countries that are of interest to the US, but of course, the media is very key in what the general public's perception of US international policy is. Just because the war in Iraq is on the front page of every major news site every day doesn't mean the current US administration is not focused elsewhere as well.
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As much as we don't want other countries to have Nuclear weapons, I don't think we can just invade any country that begins to develop them |
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I think it is unfair to say Bush was and is not worried about these other countries simply because of the media coverage of the war in Iraq |
International Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 1089 100%
I was deeply troubled at the onset of the military operations in Iraq. I felt from the very start that our President non elect, had taken some unwise steps in mounting the lop-sided Coalition against the Iraqi military, led by their posturing Islamic dictator, Saddam Hussein. If a person within the United States is diligent enough to keep abreast of the news and expend some conscious thought on deciphering what was happening, I feel they would easily come to the same conclusion that I made. The war with Iraq was simply a shellgame to distract from the very real and still undeniable fact that our military intelligence and tactical resources had not been enough to root out the true perpetrator of the tragedies of Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism that were visited upon American soil by.......... Osama Bin Laden.
Some Undeniable Points.
[A] to this day, the militarys of not only the United States but of Pakistan, India, Britain, Germany, Australia, and with even some faint aide from China and the former USSR; have failed to capture or even make a definitive release of information of being close to capturing Osama Bin Laden.
[B] The war against Iraq was condemned by the United Nations for a lack of evidence of any true violations of the nuclear weapons development protocols and sanctions placed by the UN against Iraq in the years 1991, 1995, and 1999, and 2000. The Iraqi infrastructure was already weakened after the US led Gulf War initiative in 1991, a military action that was set into place by George Bush Sr. Due to the arrogance and the pomposity of Saddam Hussein, the UN had to set into place an 'Oil for Food' program.
[1] Iraqi oil revenue was deposited in a UN escrow account.
[2] The Iraq Sanction Committee, comprised of all 15 members of the United Nations Security Council (People that were NOT Iraqi), reviewed almost all of Iraq's proposed purchases -- with foodstuffs and certain medical, health and agricultural materials exempt from review. This was solely to keep Iraq from obtaining militarily useful items for rearmament.
[3] Any member of the committee could approve, hold or block a proposed contract. In reviewing proposed purchases, members referred to established international control lists of items related to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, ballistic missile programs and conventional weapons.
[4] In 1999 Iraq did regain the right to spend its money in whichever way it chose. Unfortunately, the Iraqi people still had a Dictator that enjoyed spouting Anti-US sentiments and sabre rattling (or should that be scimitar rattling in this case?) about wishing that the Evil Infidel Americans would be wiped from the face of the earth. The arrogant Hussein even had enough gall to publicly praise the Al-Quaeda terrorists that attacked America in 2001. However, Iraq did NOT have a nuclear grade weapon fuel manufacture capacity, even though Saddam Hussein might have desperately wanted that addition to his arsenal. To the eyes of George W. Bush, the wicked Saddam was simply an easy target to shift focus upon.
[C] Our President lied to the American people, and to the Congress of the United States, and to the Coalition nations when he signed an Executive Order for the United States to go to war with a foreign power based upon the 'facts' which he said without a doubt showed that Iraq was violating UN sanctions and making and storing nuclear weapon materials or biological weapons. Those 'facts' have since been proven to be falsehoods. Only our Congress has the true right as representatives of the entire nation, to sign a Declaration of War against another Nation. The last time we legally went to War was in WW2.
While it may be beneficial to the cause of democracy to the world at large, the War in Iraq has been misguided and miss-timed from the start.
If the administration wants to use the excuse of clearing up terrorism, then why don't we see fleets of US Naval Ships chugging up to the coast of Ireland, whose IRA has been bombing for decades? I don't see a lot of ultimatums being aimed at the Israeli or Palestinian governments either for their terrorist activities. Possibly because they only hate each other, so we don't consider that ..."terrorism" if they don't bomb Americans.