Encyclopedia > American government position on invasion of Iraq
The administration's position
Much of the position is summed up in the main article on the U.S. plan to invade Iraq. The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...
A summary of the United States government's case for military intervention in Iraq can be seen in the presentation that Secretary of State Colin Powell made to the UN Security Council on February 5, 2003. See The UN Security Council and the Iraq war for complete details. Colin Luther Powell, KCB, (born April 5, 1937) was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving from January 20, 2001 to January 23, 2005 under President George W. Bush. ...
The United Nations (UN) is an international organization that describes itself as a global association of governments facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ...
A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ...
2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for February, 2003. ...
In March 2003 the US government announced that diplomacy has failed and that it would proceed with a coalition of the willing to rid Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction. The 2003 Iraq war officially started a few days later. ...
The US has also repeatedly claimed that they will shortly provide ample evidence of Iraqi deception, stating that it more than justifies an invasion. UN weapons inspectors and several countries have criticized the US's decision to hold on to evidence as long as it has. In late January, the US government announced that Colin Powell would meet with the UN to show them the newly unclassified evidence that US intelligence has collected. Powell's speech on February 5 showed that Iraq had made numerous efforts to obstruct the work of inspectors, and to develop and hide weapons of mass destruction. His speech also cited the quantities of chemical and biological weapons, and missiles, Iraq was known to possess in 1998 through UN inspections, most of which has not been accounted for and is simply missing. Powell's evidence included recorded phone coversations and satellite photos. However, much of Powell's evidence was largely circumstantial. February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
On April 2, 2004, Colin Powell "voiced new doubt yesterday on the administration's assertions of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, saying the description in his U.N. presentation of mobile biological weapons laboratories appears to have been based on faulty sources". (Washington Post, April 3, 2004 [1]). 2 April is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ...
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April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ...
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There have also been charges by the Bush administration that Iraq has ties to Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. However, some analysts believe that such an accusation "stretches the analysis of U.S. intelligence agencies to, and perhaps beyond, the limit." [2] Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda al-Qaeda (Arabic: , el-QÄ‘idah or al-QÄ‘idah; the foundation or the base) is the name given to an international Islamic fundamentalist campaign comprised of independent and collaborative cells that all profess the same cause of reducing outside influence upon Islamic...
Other dignitaries Although some of them have changed their opinion in the last two years, in 1998, many key Democrats including President Bill Clinton, Tom Daschle and Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt were supporting the idea of destroying Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs, using force if necessary. In February of 1998, former President Clinton remarked " There is no more clear example of this threat than Saddam Hussein's Iraq. His regime threatens the safety of his people, the stability of his region and the security of all the rest of us." He goes on to say "Some day, some way, I guarantee you, he'll use the arsenal." and concludes "Let there be no doubt, we are prepared to act." [3] 1998 (MCMXCVIII in Roman) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...
Thomas Andrew Daschle (born December 9, 1947), known as Tom Daschle, was a U.S. Senator from South Dakota and the Senate Majority Leader. ...
Richard Andrew Gephardt (born January 31, 1941) is a prominent American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005. ...
1998 (MCMXCVIII in Roman) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
The Senate considered Senate Concurrent Resolution 71 [4], which urged President Clinton to "take all necessary and appropriate actions to respond to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
On October 31, 1998 US President Bill Clinton signed into law the Iraq Liberation Act which was passed by the US Congress by large bipartisan margins declaring: "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime." [5] For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ...
William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
Wikinews has news related to this article: Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein in a Suit Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, (Arabic ), born April 28, 1937 , was President of Iraq from 1979 until his removal and capture following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ...
In early December of 1998, the British and US governments launched airstrikes against Iraq, codenamed Operation Desert Fox. The US government urged UNSCOM executive chairman Richard Butler to withdraw, and "[a] few hours before the attack began, 125 UN personnel were hurriedly evacuated from Baghdad to Bahrain, including inspectors from the UN Special Commission on Iraq and the International Atomic Energy Agency." [6] 1998 (MCMXCVIII in Roman) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...
A Tomahawk cruise missile (TLAM) is fired from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer during the fourth wave of attacks on Iraq. ...
Richard Butler (born May 13, 1942) served as an Australian diplomat, United Nations weapons inspector, and Governor of Tasmania. ...
US Senator Joseph Lieberman said the U.S. military action against Iraq is justified, calling the inventory of arms the Iraqi government submitted on Saturday "a 12,000-page, 100-pound lie." [7]
Six House members, including Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich; Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio; Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.; Jim McDermott, D-Wash.; Jose Serrano, D-N.Y.; and Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas., members of the military and parents of servicemen asked a judge for an injunction barring the invasion of Iraq. The injunction hearing was held on February 20.
"The president is not a king," John Bonifaz, the Boston lawyer who filed the lawsuit, "He does not have the power to wage war against another country absent a declaration of war from Congress."
Previous suits, of similar merits, have run afoul of numerous obstacles. The Vietnam suit ran into problems because Congress was granting tacit support to the war - including the draft, appropriations, etc.; courts ruled that the 30 to 50 military "advisors" didn't amount to a sufficient enough force for them to render a decision in the El Salvador campaign; The suit versus Clinton fizzled because U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman said Congress had sent "distinctly mixed messages".
In November 1990 Judge Greene refused to grant an injunction preventing the second Iraqi war - because Congress had not taken a position regarding the war, and so a ruling would be premature. However but did concur with the plaintiffs that Congress had the sole ability to declare war, so within several days Bush, Sr sought support from Congress for his war.
Early on, several senior Republican leaders, including some within the Bush Administration, expressed reservations about an invasion of Iraq. The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ...
- Henry Kissinger (Secretary of State 1973-77) wrote in an August 12 editorial to The Washington Post that there is an imperative to preemptive action, but also warned of destabilizing the Middle East and of potential negative long-term consequences.
- James A. Baker III (Secretary of State 1989-92), in an August 25 editorial to The New York Times, argued that the United States should first push for renewed weapons inspections, and if war is ultimately necessary, the U.S. should not "go it alone".
- Lawrence Eagleburger (Secretary of State 1992-93) said on August 18 on Fox News Sunday that invasion was unjustified "unless the President can demonstrate to all of us that Saddam has his finger on a nuclear, biological or chemical trigger and he's about to use it".
- Brent Scowcroft (National Security Advisor 1975-77, 89-93) argued in an August 15 editorial to the Wall Street Journal that an invasion would be costly and a distraction from more pressing issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war on terrorism.
- Colin Powell (Secretary of State 2001-05) is not publicly disagreeing with Bush, but appears to be arguing behind the scenes that the U.S. must have a long-term plan for how to rebuild Iraq if and when Saddam is overthrown.
- Norman Schwarzkopf (Former General, The Gulf War) said on January 28 in an article in the Washington Post that U.S. should wait for the results of United Nations inspectors and expressed concerns about the human and financial costs of occupying Iraq. Following President Bush's State of the Union address on January 28, he told MSNBC that, in light of the new information mentioned by the President, he fully supported the use of military action to remove Saddam from power, and added that it needed to be done soon.
An investigative report published by Knight-Ridder in early October of 2002 showed that US intelligence analysts had serious misgivings about invading Iraq. The report showed that intelligence officials largely found no evidence to support the Bush administration's position that Saddam Hussein posed an immediate threat, but they were being squelched, while at the same time the intelligence community was being placed under intense pressure to find justification for Bush's position. [8] This analysis seemed to be confirmed by the publication in The Times on May 1, 2005 of a leaked memo from Matthew Rycroft to British Ambassador to the United States David Manning, summarizing a July 23, 2002 meeting with Blair and other government officials "to discuss Iraq"[9]. The memo caused a political scandal in Britain and analysts identify it as a factor in Blair's reduced margin of victory in the elections which followed, but did not cause as much impact in the United States. Henry Kissinger circa 1970s. ...
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A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...
James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930), American politician and diplomat, was Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagans first administration, United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1985 to 1988 in the second Reagan administration, and Secretary of State in the administration of President George H. W...
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Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger (born August 1, 1930), is an American statesman and diplomat who served under Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. ...
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Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft KBE (born March 19, 1925 in Ogden, Utah), USAF (Ret. ...
The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ...
This article needs to be updated to deal with the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. ...
Colin Luther Powell, KCB, (born April 5, 1937) was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving from January 20, 2001 to January 23, 2005 under President George W. Bush. ...
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf (born August 22, 1934) is an United States Army general who, while he served as Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Central Command, was commander of the Coalition Forces in the Gulf War of 1991. ...
Combatants U.S.-led coalition Iraq Commanders General Norman Schwarzkopf, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell Saddam Hussein Strength 660,000 600,000+ Casualties 345 dead, 1,000 wounded 100,000 dead, 300,000 wounded, 35,000 civilian {{{notes}}} The 1991 Gulf War was a conflict between...
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January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
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The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom. ...
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Matthew Rycroft is a British foreign policy aide whose name became familiar as the author of a secret memo to British Ambassador to the United States David Manning, summarizing a July 23, 2002 meeting with Blair and other government officials to discuss Iraq[1]. The memo was leaked to The...
The British Ambassador is in charge of Britains diplomatic mission to the USA. His official title is, Her Majestys Ambassador to the United States of America. ...
Sir David Geoffrey Manning, KCMG (born 5 December 1949) is the British Ambassador to the United States. ...
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See also A declaration of war by the United States is the statement of purpose traditionally requested by the President of the United States and granted by Congress to engage military force against another nation. ...
The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...
The American popular opinion on war of Iraq has varied over time. ...
This article describes the positions of world governments prior to the actual initiation of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and not their current positions as they may have changed since then. ...
The Rendon Group, a Washington, DC based public relations firm with close ties to the US government, and which has had a prominent role in promoting the Iraqi National Congress, was alleged by some journalists to be planning to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a careful public relations...
Anti war protests in France Many commentators have opined that popular opposition to war on Iraq exceeded the movement against the Vietnam War in scale, even before the war was declared. ...
This article is about protests concerning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ...
In March 2003 the US government announced that diplomacy has failed and that it would proceed with a coalition of the willing to rid Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction. The 2003 Iraq war officially started a few days later. ...
Wikisource has original text related to this article: Downing Street memo The Downing Street memo (occasionally DSM), sometimes described by critics of the Iraq War as the smoking gun memo, contains an overview of a secret 23 July 2002 meeting among United Kingdom Labour government, defence and intelligence figures, discussing...
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