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Why Did the US Invade Iraq in 2003?
For no good reason
First, the United States suffered terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Then, in 2003, the US invaded Iraq. But the former was not the reason for the latter.
Saddam Hussein did not plan the Sept. 11 attacks, did not associate with Al Qaeda, and did not have hidden weapons of mass destruction.
Yet a majority of USAmericans have always believed untruths on this matter.
One public opinion poll in January 2003 asked: “How many of the September 11 hijackers were Iraqi citizens?” Fifty percent of respondents guessed — incorrectly — that one or more of the 19 hijackers were Iraqi. The correct answer is “none.”
Why Do People Believe This?
The Bush administration never explicitly stated that Saddam Hussein, then leader of Iraq, had any connections to the Sept. 11 attacks. They were careful not to say so, while allowing the public to believe the contrary. Nowhere in Bush’s hefty two-term presidential memoir Decision Points does he even acknowledge the popular misunderstanding, let alone take responsibility for intentionally or inadvertently perpetuating it.
Saddam did release a statement four days after September 11, gloating that “Americans should feel the pain they have inflicted on other peoples of the world,” but his celebration of the attacks is not evidence that he helped organize them.
The reason provided by the Bush administration for invading Iraq — one that is less well comprehended by the American public — was that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction it had not declared to U.N. weapons inspectors. But after invading Iraq, U.S. government officials (including Bush himself) revised their positions and admitted that the weapons probably never existed.
In hindsight, there was no good reason to invade Iraq.
Saddam Hussein Did Not Plan the Sept. 11 Attacks
It’s not as though the fact of Iraq’s non-involvement wasn’t publicized. Only a month before the poll mentioned above, the U.S. government had released a report: “Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001.” It…
