Why Iraq

I don’t have a problem with us going to Iraq and taking down a brutal dictator. Some of you probably are right now thinking about clicking off this page, but hear me out for one minute. Let me put a slightly different spin on it because my opinion has nothing to do with all the current nonsense that seems to be dividing this nation.

In 1991 we went to the Middle East to liberate Kuwait. Saddam and his military had taken it by force and we and several other nations righted this wrong. In fact, while Saddam’s UN ambassador was negotiating for his life we marched all the way to Bagdad. The war ended because Saddam agreed to 14 UN resolutions that put very tight restrictions on him. These UN resolutions were backed with force and we were one of the suppliers of that force. {RESOLUTION 687 (1991)}

The world was very surprised at how quick the US and its allies won the war. Russia and all its might had been bogged down in Afghanistan for years; the same was expected in Iraq. Iraq was a far more formidable opponent then Afghanistan. Many of the anti-Saddam revolutionary groups joined in our effort during this war.

Saddam and his UN ambassador had saved their butts and once the conquering forces had left and the UN resolutions were in place. Saddam and his Revolutionary Guard hunted down and brutally killed every person who stood in opposition to him. He not only killed the person but the person’s entire family. He re-established his iron grip and tears the heart out of his people. The seeds of hatred for America were than given fertile soil and fundamental Islam had a rush of converts. The US was seen as the one who let Satan out of the bag and we were pronounced guilty of all that was wrong with the Middle East.

Radical Islam was nothing more than a small group of nuts who spewed hatred and managed to pull off a few crazy attacks every once in a while to claim legitimacy. The world was ignoring this group as they suddenly rose to power. The US was doing its part to support the UN resolutions but as each of them was broken in many ways we did nothing. This constant nothing of talk and no action only continued to fertilize the seeds of hatred and to confirm their pronouncement against us. Radical Islam grew.

The UN sanctions and Saddam’s brutality and greed took its toll on the nation of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands died of diseases and malnutrition because Saddam took money to repair infrastructure and used most of it for military purposes. Carefully planted bribes and cheap oil kept this going until 1997 when the Food-for-Oil Program removed cash from the equation.

While all this was going on, Saddam continued waging partial war against the No-Fly Zones and those who had plotted against him. These hostilities were met with little force. The artillery unit was destroyed but no action was taken against the defiance. UN Resolution after UN Resolution was broken and nothing was done about it. More talk and no action, people were dying and those who had the power to change it did nothing. Radical Islam grew and the hatred for America increased.

In the US the leader had changed. Bill Clinton was now the president and his less military better approach was starting to affect our military influence. Sex scandals and other absurdities took all the lime light. Our Paper Tiger status was firmly being established. Hollywood and the sins of our president were being draped over America and Radical Islam gained strength and justification.

In 1995 President Clinton chose to bomb Bosnia instead of deal with the problem in Bagdad. Some would claim it was to lessen the publicity of his affair, others would claim it was a way to show support to Muslims. The reality of this event has never fully been exposed in the media. The Muslims in Bosnia bombed their own people to create a fake event blamed on the Christians to pull the strings of the US and Clinton bought it hook, line and sinker. The Radical Islamic learned that we can be easily manipulated through false video and the propaganda war started.

In 1998 more talk under Clinton and the US passed a resolution demanding regime change in Iraq. All the while the Radical Muslims perfected the art of terrorism. Saddam would pay thousands of dollars to the families of suicide bombers and support various terror groups. Death and bombings were happening routinely but all we could do was lob a couple of missiles here and there and attempt to talk people to death.

The passive acts of the Clinton Administration re-enforced the position of the Radical Muslim and encouraged bolder and bolder attacks. What if the security and strength of this nation would have gotten as much play time in the oval office as Monica? What if we would have actually enforced the UN resolutions on Iraq before the effect of Saddam and the Sanctions created the effect of genocide?

I believe that 9/11 would have never happened if we would have taken our obligation to Iraq seriously. We waited 12 years. With every passing year we helped build the terrorist organization that seeks our destruction.
Bush has been a horrible commander and chief. He has mishandled this war at almost every phase. We are in the situation we are in for that reason. It doesn’t change the fact that Iraq needed doing. We simply did it too late. Bush’s plan would have worked in 1995 when the people still had strength enough to stand and Radical Islam hadn’t risen to such strength.

I blame Clinton for not doing what needed to be done. I blame Bush for doing what needed to be done wrong.