Iraq War
The Iraq War refers to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the so-named Coalition of the Willing, a multinational task force led by the United States of America with strong support coming from Britain in the face of heated demonstrations against the war in London that saw almost two million people march in protest. The war has had the net result of the removal of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the formation of a democratically elected parliament and ratified constitution, but with huge civilian losses since then that have been estimated to number around 655,000 deaths.
Origins
Prominent Neoconservatives had been looking at the possibility of invading Iraq as far back as January 26th 1998 when a host of American Neoconservatives from the Project for a New American Century[1] wrote a letter to the then incumbent President Bill Clinton, endorsing an invasion of Iraq. [2].
The Project for a New American Century believed an invasion of Iraq to be necessary in September 2000, long before their supposed complicity in the 9-11 Attack; While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.[3]
In January 2001, Time Magazine reported that since President Bush took office he had been grumbling about finishing the job his father started. [4]
On February 16, 2001 a number of US and UK warplanes attacked Baghdad, nearly two years before the declaration of war. [5].
Immediately following the September 11 attacks President Bush introduced the Bush Doctrine to the world; Make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.[6]
Work in Progress
References
- ↑ Including people such as Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and John Bolton
- ↑ http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm Letter from the Project for a New American Century to President Bill Clinton
- ↑ http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf A report from the Project for a New American Century in relation to rebuilding America and invading Iraq
- ↑ http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,235395,00.html Time Magazine reports
- ↑ http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/02/16/iraq.airstrike/ CNN reports
- ↑ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/iraq/etc/cron.html PBS news reporting