Warheads In Iraq

Two short years after the terror attacks of 9/11 on March 20, 2003 the US declared war against a corrupt Iraq. George Bush believed that the Iraqis had Weapons of Mass destruction (WMD). The world has known of Iraq having chemical weapons, in 1988 the government ordered a chemical weapon attack against the Kurdish Iraqis, whether they had a nuclear bomb was still a question. The potential threat of Nuclear warheads in Iraq could be a threat to any opposing country to Iraq including: US, Israel, and any other ally of the US and more. Saddam Hussein had claimed that he was nearing a completion of a working warhead and aimed the statement at Iraq and the US, even though none were found after the invasion, America could take no chances. As tensions
rose between Iraq and the US, Iran also had anger boiling and eventually began a war in 1980.

For centuries Iran and Iraq have had a hating relationship. The war ranged from 1980-1988 with both countries taking over 400 billion dollars in damage in

both oil wells and cities.
Iraq began the war by using "indiscriminate ballistic-missile attacks, extensive use of chemical weapons and attacks on third-country oil tankers in the Persian Gulf." -History.com. At this point Iraq had used the ban chemical weapons and began to push into the Iranian land. By 1988 cities along the border were in rubble and over 1,000,000 soldiers had died collectively. It was after the war that Saddam Hussein began to claim the nearing of a Nuclear Warhead. Some Americans thought he was bluffing while others grew worried of MAD coming back from the Cold War. As a result of the mismanaged and neglected cities and countries in the Middle East, terror groups began to form so that order could be in the land, but they only caused terror and fear in the citizens. Flashforward to 2001 and the terrorism has grown in the outskirts of the capital city and everywhere else In Iraq. Saddam Hussein had made little to no effort to remove the threat from the country. Saddam was more focused on suppressing the Kurdish uprising, which had been and ongoing fight since the eighties. The UN had implemented sanctions against the Iraqi government for using deadly force on the nation's own citizens. The UN had been keeping a close eye on Iraq, but now more than ever, Saddam had announced the Lethal Arms Program which was to develop nuclear and biological WMD. Later in 2002
George

Bush stated the vulnerability of a Iraq nuclear strike and the collaboration between Iraq and the Taliban.

In 2002 the Taliban had taken over nearly all of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
As the old adage goes "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." When Bush said that the two were working together, he was not completely wrong. They were both working to undermine the Iranian government and to weaken it. They were both doing that for themselves, but they both didn’t like Iran. "Iran has historically been an enemy of the Taliban. In early August 1998, after attacking the city of Mazar, Taliban forces killed several thousand civilians and 10 Iranian diplomats and intelligence officers in the Iranian consulate. Alleged radio intercepts indicate Mullah Omar personally approved the killings." (Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Ahmed Rashid) this proves that they two did not get along very well and could have lead to what Bush misunderstood as working together. Even though the Taliban did not conduct the terror attacks on 9/11, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were working together in many parts of Afghanistan so that one new government could take over. The US was afraid of the mysterious conflicts and threats in the Middle
East.

Collaborating with the terrorists and Nuclear weapons were the largest concerns, the largest concerns were allies of Iraq or Iraqi influence spreading across the Middle east. Syria who was also a ba'ath party run government was in power and the US saw this as a threat to modern diplomacy. George Bush said in one of his speeches that Iraq has given their chemical weapons and other WMD to the Syrians. April 7, 2017 the US fired 59 Tomahawk cruise misses upon chemical weapon plants in the Shayrat airbase as a response to the government using weapons against their own citizens. This is the same thing that Saddam Hussein did to his people in the 1980's. This could be the weapons that Bush was referring to or from the chemical attacks earlier in the decade. America has always stood for freedom and peace ever since the beginning of the great nation, and when another country violates that peace or God given freedoms, America will step in to do what is right.

Ronald Reagan was a powerful speaker whom perfectly states the ideology of America. "As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it, now or ever. " (Ronald Reagan First inaugural address Reagan ). Regan perfectly describes how George Bush felt after the terror attacks of 9/11 and especially when Saddam

Hussein terrorized his own people. The American principal is to stand up for those who are being suppressed of their freedoms. The Iraqi conflicts were anything but peaceful and justified. America felt the need to restore peace in the corrupted countries. Peace and freedom are the highest aspiration and it shows through the birth of America. The Colonials were being infringed on the rights they thought everyone should have, their guns were taken away, unfair taxing... Americans think that through peace everyone should have those rights. The people of Iraq were being led by a person who has been closely compared to Hitler, but Saddam was a bit crazier. America stepped in for the people of Iraq to be free, hoping that more Middle Eastern countries would soon follow in their lead.