It is the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, an event that defined my childhood. I will make my case for why I think the Iraq War was justified.
We did not go to Iraq for weapons of mass destruction, we went there to stop terrorism. While the government made the WMD case to the public as that was an easier sell, the real reason we went to Iraq was because post 9/11 the American government wanted to reshape the middle east into something like Europe, so that never again could an attack like 9/11 be orchestrated from there. The plan was to invade Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran and give the people of those countries freedoms and a friendly government such that radical ideologies won't take hold and their land cannot be used as a staging ground for future attacks. Iraq was simply the first domino to fall. Average people don't understand long term intangible policy ideas like that, they need something quick and tangible hence the WMD argument.
There were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Iraq was ordered by the UN Security Council to destroy all its WMDs in the early 90s after their chemical weapons attacks on Kurds. The Iraqis pretended to comply while hiding the WMDs and leading international inspectors on wild goose chases. In 2002, international inspectors had found large quantities of chemical weapons (WMDs) under the drive way of a Iraqi military officer. So it was not inconceivable that Iraq would still be hiding their WMDs and playing games in 2003. In fact, a small amount of WMDs was found, but what had happened was after that incident with the WMDs under the drive way in 2002, Iraq destroyed most of their stock. But how is the international community suppose to know? It's the boy who cried wolf.
Americans wanted blood after 9/11. People forget the sentiment that existed in America after 9/11. If the Bush administration would not have done something big after 9/11, their heads would be on pikes outside the White House. They simply acted as a messenger for the American people.
Don't agree? Share your thoughts with me by emailing me at chester.xmr@gmail.com or add me on discord at chester.pdf.