WAR ON IRAQ

Why Bush Went to War

DECISION 3

BUSHES SIDE OF THE STORY (DECISION POINTS)

External Source

(Patrick Doherty/ TomPaine.com)

-The presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction

-Iraqi collaboration with Al-Qaeda

-The possibility of giving Weapons of Mass Destruction to Al Qaeda

-Bringing democracy to Iraq

-Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the United Nations needed to end

-Failure to send more troops to Iraq in 2007 could have resulted in a situation similar to the Vietnam War

-Oil

Iraq, possessed the second-largest conventional oil reserves but lacking the capacity to exploit them. With Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, the only Bush wanted to seize and privatize Iraqi oil.

-Israel

The president owed his election in large part to Christian conservatives & Christian Zionists, led by Tom DeLay in the House, wanted to see the State of Israel control all the biblical lands.

-Expedite Military Transformation

Bush wanted to remake America's armed forces so that they could dominate in the post-Cold War security environment & economy was dependent on inconveniently distributed sources of foreign oil therefore 21st century dominance would require new bases, new doctrine and new weapons and Iraq just happened to be Iraq was sitting at the crossroads of all three components.