Even after 20 years, the wounds of Iraq war did not heal, did America attack by lying?

Iraq war has completed two decades. March 20 is the same date when US President Bush started the war about 20 years ago on the basis of suspicion of having biological weapons in Iraq. This was the period when, along with orders, cruise missiles of the US Navy attacked several places in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The city of Baghdad was resounding with the sound of bombs and airstrikes and with this the long reign of Saddam Hussein was coming to an end. In just 21 days, America had captured all the big cities of Iraq, but Saddam Hussein was away from America’s grip. On December 13, 2003, America succeeded in capturing Saddam Hussein.

So, why was Iraq invaded?

The Iraq invasion has its roots in 1990 when Saddam, a longtime ally of the Americans, invaded Kuwait under suspicion that the country was using drilling to steal oil from Iraqi territories. The US government quickly intervened in the war because it feared that a successful invasion of Kuwait could prompt Iraq to further consolidate its power over other countries in West Asia, making it the world’s largest oil power. . Saddam suffered a crushing defeat, but managed to continue ruling Iraq and was no longer an ally of the Western world. Iraq was subjected to a series of sanctions in the following years for violence against both the minority Kurdish and majority Shia populations, at the time the ruling dispensation was Sunni. The country was also accused of developing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons by the United Nations, which imposed its sanctions on Iraq after the investigation. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, President Bush’s administration announced a “comprehensive plan to find and deter terrorists around the world”. The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq was part of America’s “Global War on Terror”. While the US invaded Afghanistan to punish the Taliban and hunt down al-Qaeda’s leadership, including Osama bin Laden, Iraq was accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorism. On March 17, 2003, President Bush issued an ultimatum, stating that if Saddam did not leave Iraq within 48 hours, the US would take military action against him. Two days later, bombs were dropped on the country. The ground offensive began on 20 March.

What happened after the invasion of Iraq began?

After five weeks of war, President Bush gave his ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech on May 1, 2003. In which he said the US and other allies are “predominant” and that “our coalition is now engaged in securing and rebuilding that country.” It was alleged that Saddam Hussein was trying to make Iraq a nuclear power. Then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, “We don’t want to turn a smoking gun into a mushroom cloud. The Bush Administration Was Wrong About Saddam’s WMD Capabilities. The provisional government, known as the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), carried out the ‘de-Ba’athification’ of Iraq’s state institutions. Removed all those working there who had ties to Saddam’s Ba’ath Party. As a result, thousands of state employees lost their jobs. Membership of the Ba’ath Party was mandatory for most state jobs under Saddam’s regime. In addition, the decision brought normal government business to a standstill. Then, the CPA announced the disbandment of the country’s military, which experts considered one of the biggest mistakes, leading to the formation of numerous militias and armed groups. Many of these groups became part of al-Qaeda and eventually banded together to form IS.

How did the Iraq invasion change the world?

The invasion had far reaching consequences not only for Iraq but also for the world. Most significantly, it created the conditions in which the terrorist Islamic State was born, which declared its “caliphate” in 2014 and sparked a brutal and prolonged sectarian civil war in the country. The conflict also reduced US influence in West Asia. Prior to the invasion, Iraq and Afghanistan served as a buffer that reduced Iranian influence in West Asia. Iran took a stand in the post-invasion chaos in Iraq and the changed balance of regional power to escalate its military operations outside its borders, including supplying troops to the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and arming and financing Used. The invasion ushered in the era of drone strikes as a strategy. Over the past few years, drones have killed thousands of innocent civilians across a vast region of the Middle East. Twenty years after the war, people in many countries are still suffering its consequences. A recent report titled ‘Costs of War’ published by Brown University states, “An estimated 300,000 people have died from direct war violence in Iraq.