US/UK Buildup for War on Iraq

Iraq Crisis

In 2003, the US and UK invaded Iraq under false pretenses (that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction ready for deployment within minutes and posed a great threat to the world, etc.), without the backing of the international community and even with large domestic opposition to war in both those countries.

Since the bombing campaign ended and Saddam Hussein was overthrown, the expected quick democracy, peace, and gratitude to the US quickly became a nightmare and disaster as major religious and ethnic factions started fighting each other and the US/UK occupation forces. The civilian death toll has been immense, with 2006 seeing almost 100 deaths a day.

This section looks into issues during the sanctions following the first Gulf War when the US forced Saddam Hussein to get out of Kuwait, which he invaded, as well as the propaganda build-up to the 2003 invasion and issues since.

Read “Iraq Crisis” to learn more.

Middle East

Read “Middle East” to learn more.

Iraq: The White House memo

A White House memo reveals details of a meeting between George Bush and Tony Blair confirming what many critics charged—that the US and UK had decided to go to war against Iraq regardless of if they got a second UN resolution, or not, and even considered using illegal deception if they needed to.

Read “Iraq: The White House memo” to learn more.

Building the Case for a New War on Iraq

The Bush and Blair governments had been attempting to build a case for a new war on Iraq. In the wake of September 11, 2001 and the new war on terror, the two administrations tried to highlight the threat that Iraq posed to the world. Much of the world was skeptical, and there was a lot of propaganda from many sides. This page explores some of those issues leading up to the war.

Read “Building the Case for a New War on Iraq” to learn more.