9/11: War in Iraq

The terror attack in USA on September 11, 2001, changed the world forever. People in America and large parts of Europe started viewing all Muslims as terrorists. Consequently people from the Middle East were assaulted and mosques were attacked and even burned down in the Western countries.
As a result, Muslims’ hatred towards especially USA grew in many regions of the world. Radical Muslim terror groups used this anger and created huge armies of ‘sleeping cells’.
However, some people claim that the incident was planned and executed secretly by the Americans themselves. They say that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) masterminded this gruesome attack so that USA could invade Iraq and get their hands on the country’s vast oil supplies. This has never been proven and so I won’t discuss it further. Bear in mind, though, that USA consumes great amounts of oil.
Further more; US President Bush had personal interests to gain in a major conflict. Apart from a ‘world government’ desire, which seem to haunt all American presidents, Bush’s friends in the US weapon industry hauled up millions of dollars in Bush’s president election campaign – which was one of the most expensive ever. Also, there was a harsh feud between the powerful Bush family and Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein.
I will talk about whether or not the attack on Iraq was justified. But first a recap of what officially happened on 9/11.
September 11th 2001: A date the world will remember forever.
Islamic terrorists on a suicide mission hijacked two passenger planes and crash them into the World Trade Center, New York. The twin buildings completely collapse. Another hijacked plane crashed into the heart of America’s defense system, the Pentagon (Headquarters of the United States Department of Defense), in Washington DC. Yet an additional hijacked passenger plane was supposedly headed for the Presidential hideout Camp David, escorted by two US jet fighters. However, the plane never reached its target and crashed somewhere in Pennsylvania.
The final death count from 9/11 is 2752.
The rumor goes that the 4th plane was shot down by the following jets. Another rumor says the passengers ‘mutinied’ and crashed the plane. Yet another rumor blames fuel.
What really happened lies in the stars, so to say, and I guess we’ll never know exactly what happened. But if the plane indeed was shot down, was the action justified? Well, who can really judge? It’s certainly not the ‘American way’ to kill Americans. But considering the chaotic that day, it’s safe to assume that Government wouldn’t allow yet another disaster. So, it’s sensible to imagine that if the plane was actually shutdown, then the lives of the people onboard were considered sacrificed, if it meant saving a greater number of lives in a potential big scale crash-attack.
Before 9/11 USA was a relatively safe place to visit, work and to live in. People went to work without thinking about terror. Tourists could safely visit tourist attractions, monuments and buildings like the WTC (once the largest building(s) in the world). Children played peacefully together without worrying that things next to them could explode, etc.
But 9/11 changed all of that. Suddenly regular non-military people realized that they – and their immediate friends and family – were potential victims of terror. Everybody, from the lowest paid employee at McDonalds to the wealthy business elite in Wall Street, understood that terror was all around.
The attack on the World Trade Center was unthinkable and unimaginable, and left the Americans deeply impaired. It was not only a major hit to America’s pride but also so the largest attack on US soil ever.
After 9/11 the whole of USA wanted somebody to blame. Americans demanded retaliation and Bush quickly stated that the US was in war against terrorism.
Bush and his administration immediately focused Osama Bin Ladin’s al-Qaeda, as well as Saddam Hussein. Why Saddam Hussein? Well, Americans are fond of oil and Iraq’s oil supply is one of the largest in the world.
So, America first set its sight on one of the poorest countries in the world: Afghanistan. Most people felt the attack was justified and there wasn’t too much opposition when Bush ordered US troops to invade the country. After all, the notorious Talibans rulers were known terrorist shelters. However, even though USA dropped plenty of state-of-the-art bombs over the war scarred country, Osama Bin Ladin was never found.
Bush then headed for Iraq and Dictator Saddam Hussein. When the Hussein family refused to voluntarily leave Iraq, the US army attacked.
In contrast to the Afghanistan invasion, people all over the globe opposed the war. Because of the large international resistance, USA had to form a coalition with other countries to justify the attack. The coalition was made up of several small and military weak nations, such as Morocco, and more powerful allies, such as Spain and the United Kingdom. But Spain backed out when terror reached its homeland and bombs exploded in a train station in Madrid. Left were the small powerless nations (which offers moral support only), and the United Kingdom. Even though terrorist recently attacked London the UK did not back out of the war.
But what were USA’s real intensions with the Iraq war? Were they honest and trustworthy? Did Bush really want to make the world a better place? Or did they go there with intention to steal oil? Or was it just the ‘World Police’ in action?
We’ll never know of course, as we can't read Bush’s mind. But in his defense, Saddam Hussein was a bad, bad man. Also, oil is running out – it’s a known fact. So, it’s not surprising if America, which is probably the largest consumer of oil in the world, had other thoughts than Iraqis freedom in mind when they invaded the oil-rich Iraq.
Critics say the Iraq conflict was (and still is) all about money, power, and oil. It’s hard to disagree. USA had really no righteous reason to attack and they knew it. So, to make the war appear reasonable they came up with claims that later proved to be pure fabrication. Three of the major reasons they felt an attack was justified: Saddam Hussein was a threat to the US national security; Iraq had access to nuclear and/or biological weapons; and Saddam Hussein was a cruel dictator and terrorist shelter. In addition, Bush assumed that Iraqis would welcome USA.
USA made a u-turn about Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Only 7 months before 9/11 CIA Director George Tenet, said that Iraq was not a threat to America. But then, all of the sudden – after 9/11 – minds were changed and Hussein and his sons were “terrorist shelters,” and al-Qaeda associates, even though Iraq’s dictator has never directly or indirectly been connected with Osama Bin Ladin’s terror network.
Iraq has never attacked USA. Actually, the only one time the two nations clashed was in the Kuwait war in 1990, when Bush’s father was the US state head. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait resulted in that Bush George W SR sent military forces to aid the invaded country. However, many people say USA went there for the oil. Kuwait had oil – lots of oil. The conflict, “Operation Desert Storm”, was eventually won by the US and Saddam Hussein was kicked back to Iraq. Consequently, USA could buy cheap oil. After Kuwait, Iraq’s army was practically wiped out and every move Saddam Hussein made was closely monitored by the United Nations (UN).
Before the latest clash, USA claimed that Iraq had several factories producing biological weapons aimed for terror attacks. After the war these factories have been revealed producing eggs and chickens! The US also stated that Iraq produced nuclear weapons in factories. These factories were allegeable to have been “on-wheels” so that they could operate unspotted. None of these so called factories have been found. No nuclear or biological weapons have been found in Iraq.
Yes, Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator which held his country with an iron glove. And yes, the world is probably better off without him. But is it Bush‘s job to get rid of him? Where will it end, will USA invade every country whose leader is someone they don’t like?
So, why did USA attack Iraq when it’s clear that they had no valid grounds? Well, we can probably thank some powerful men in the military and weapon industry who sponsored Bush’s presidential election campaign. These men contributed with a lot of money and maybe Bush felt he had to repay his debts, so to say. Anyway, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq meant that these individuals laughed all the way to the bank. As Bush’s war against terrorism took off, they received massive amounts of dollars through sales of military equipment, weapons, tanks, etc.
Another reason was probably that the US army expected an easy battle in Iraq with little resistance. What they got was something very different, Iraq these days are in total chaos. USA said they entered Iraq because the people wanted them to, I suggest President Bush ask people in Iraq how they feel about that. In reality, USA troops have occupied Iraq and nobody wants them there. But USA can’t leave; if they do things will probably be even worse.
Yet another reason: Personal differences. As we all know, Bush SR has been in feud with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ever since the war in Kuwait. This is where it gets personal, in 2002 Bush JR said about Saddam Hussein: “After all, this is the guy who tired to kill my dad”. Whether he was talking about the Kuwait war or an alleged plot to assassinate the former president by Iraqi intelligence is unknown. Whatever reason, I guess it’s fair to say Bush has created his own hell in Iraq in which some people call “the new Vietnam”. But maybe he says it the best himself: “I’m a war president”.
Let’s look what the Bush administration claimed regarding Iraq and the actual facts as we now have them: Saddam Hussein wasn’t a threat to USA, the CIA supports this claim; Iraq didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction. No nuclear or chemical weapons or factories have been found; and Hussein was a dictator, of course, but he wasn’t a terrorist shelter.
So finally, to the moral twist. Even if Bush’s and USA’s intentions were indeed honest, and they simply wanted to make the world a better place, they totally missed the mark. However, if they went to Iraq with the intention to steal oil, was it really worth the cost?
USA and Bush have become incredible hated throughout the world because of the Iraq war. More US soldiers have died in Iraq after the war than during it. Also, the world has seen several terrorist attacks after the invasion on Iraq, the bombs in a Madrid train station, and the recent London bombings.
In conclusion, I guess it’s fair to say that 9/11 changed the world forever. It’s sad, but 9/11 opened the door for America to go out there and do whatever they want to without anybody stopping them. The “World Police” in action, so to say. My only question is where will it end? Will USA ultimately create World War III?
Saddam Hussein was indeed an infamous dictator with a tight control of his people, but had never attacked USA. In the Kuwait war, USA attacked Iraq. Despite this Bush was convinced Saddam was a real threat to the US, and more importantly; he was an al-Qaeda associate. Although this was never proven and neither were the claims that Iraq had access to nuclear and bio-weapons. After the war, which has become Bush’s very own Vietnam, US companies control Iraq’s oil supply (surprise, surprise). It is somewhat funny that while some American companies are ‘rebuilding Iraq’, others are stealing their oil.
The only thing that President Bush and his people have accomplished in Iraq is making the world an even more dangerous place and USA is now far more unsafe than ever before. USA had no right to attack Iraq. All they wanted was the oil, and oil they got. And the Iraqi’s got an unwanted war. Regrettably have the actions of Bush and USA created a massive hate towards America, a hate that is so some extent deserved and justified.