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Iraq War 2003 Essay

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1. The first Gulf War of 1991 had a direct influence on the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. The United Nations had mandated that Iraq get rid of their biological weapons and move out of Kuwait. It was largely believed by the first Bush and Clinton administrations that the numerous economic and military agreements would help the people of Iraq stage a coup or overthrow of Saddam Hussein. However, in late 2002 – early 2003, Iraq was found to still be in possession of weapons of mass destruction, that they were previously mandated to dispose of for good. The United Nations along with the United States, found that there was enough evidence that would make Iraq a threat and decided an invasion of the country was necessary to wipe out the WMDs and topple …show more content…

There were many disagreements between the State and Defense Departments heading into the Iraq invasion. First, there were disagreements over the endgame strategy, specifically over whether or not to set up some sort of organized government following the end of the war. The Department of Defense wanted to create an opportunity for Iraqis to set up some sort of regime that they can build off of. In contrast, the State Department argued that no matter who was to take the lead for this regime would instill corruption and just become another dictator. There was also much disagreement about how quickly and whether or not Iraq could adopt and implement a democracy. The Department of Defense stood by their original plan and saw that there was no reason Iraq couldn’t implement a democracy post-war. The State Department, along with the CIA, continued to argue that whoever came into power after Saddam Hussein was removed would twist the policies and somehow turn it into anti-American values. Overall, the constant disagreements between these two departments made planning for the war difficult. The two departments couldn’t seem to agree on anything, ranging from the number of troops and U.S. forces to send overseas to the exit strategy for the war, once the mission was complete. Because of this, many view the invasion of Iraq a failure, and a prime example of what happens due to poor

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