Good Afternoon board. I am totally confused about the justification for the invasion of Iraq. Has the president, thusly the country been mis-led by the intelligence in the UK if so was this done on purpose to justify the invasion? Does Iraq have the right to sue the UK and the US for war crimes because of this revelation? Is there any other reason that was compelling the peoples in the UK and the US to make war other than the reports that Iraq was attempting to make a nucelar weapon? I am so confused! Can I get some more insight on this from anyone who understands what is going on? I am at work so please forgive mis-spelled words or incorrect sentence structures. I just would love to hear what the board has to say! Peace be with you all. Felicia

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2003

Answers

Felecia -

The decision to prosecute Iraq by war was not based on the President's speech before Congress. The decision to go to war was based on Iraqi non-compliance with UN Resolution 1441. There were indeed some intelligence gaps and erroneous data from the CIA, DIA and NSA. However, this should not be misconstrued that President Bush willfully and deliberately misled the American people. Key Congressional personnel were debriefed on the impending invasion. I would have preferred to have seen a neater and tidier intelligence package but intelligence gathering is an awfully difficult activity. The decision to remove Hussein from power was the right choice. QED

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2003

Bro Bill, I believe you are technically right. The rational WAS the Un Resolution 1441 however, the "Average American" would not answer that this was the reason we invaded. The President and everybody in the adminstration hammered away at the WMD and even as Tony Blair said, Saddam has the capabilty to lauch a nuclear weapon in 45 minutes. It was to this kind of threat that resonated with most folks, persuading them to support the action. Everything was presented in the present tense, Saddam has x tons of this and x numbers of various weapons. Now, it is being spun to use different language, "we know he had a program. All of a sudden, it was a program, not the weapons Mr Blair said was ready to launch in 45 minutes. It is a new spin. The 16 words in the State of the Union caused a lot of talk. I don't know the whole story but one former intellegent type said it seems that some in high places knew what they wanted to do and sought intelligence to back it up rather than the other way around. The UN Resolution may have been the stated cause but the public support did flow from the WMD threat. Others may be a bit more jaded. "Afterall, this guy tried to kill my Daddy>" -Pres. Bush God Bless Bro Bob

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2003

Two very different answers!!! This weekend I read more war news from Liberia, North Korea. Thank you both for your answers. My home computer at home is down so I have to wait until my work week begans to check out the board. That is why it took the weekend for my respond. Let me say that I am very concerned. Our whole church prays for the service men and women not only at our church, but all over. It seems that before they are put in danger we would be very clear of the mission. It is good to know that we decided because of the resolution that was in place, but the WMD is what got me concerned. I am very sorry sirs but I just get the need to make war. I know the bible has time when war was made with God's justification. Is there something in place for gentiles like that? I know I am nieve when speaking of justification for war. I just don't want to study war so I am asking. Felicia

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2003