Using 9-11 to Invade Iraq Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 948 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

Page 1 of 3

911 as Justification to Invade Iraq

The war in Iraq may or may not have been justified for humanitarian or ideological reasons, depending on one's perspective. American leaders who favored war with Iraq used the frightened public mood, after 9/11, to maneuver opinion toward favoring the war, supposedly for America's safety. According to "Clarke's Take on Terror"

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, President Bush ordered his then top anti-terrorism adviser to look for a link between Iraq and the attacks, despite being told there didn't seem to be one . . . The

charge comes from the adviser, Richard Clarke . . . Clarke says that as early as the day after the attacks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was pushing for retaliatory strikes on Iraq,

even though al Qaeda was based in Afghanistan . . . Clarke suggests the idea took him so aback, he initally [sic] thought Rumsfeld was joking.

Another American stated in hindsight, "If the government can use 9/11 as a justification to invade Iraq, then what prevents them [sic] from using 9/11 to shut up anyone who doesn't agree with government policy? They think the U.S. public will believe their scare tactics . . . To a frightening degree they have been right" ("9/11-Big Deal"). Rationales for war with Iraq were manufactured, as we now know, out of little more than thin air and a fervent wish by the Executive Branch to wage war, on Iraq in particular.

Stuck Writing Your "Using 9-11 to Invade Iraq" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Using 9-11 to Invade Iraq Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

These "compelling" reasons were then swallowed by the Legislative Branch. The national mood then was that if one did not favor war, one was "unpatriotic." Using 9/11 to convince America to wage war against Iraq was a misguided tactic, for three main reasons: (1) Iraq presented no military threat; (2) U.N. inspectors had been unable to find weapons of mass destruction there; and (3) U.N sanctions against Iraq were not given enough time to work. Based on those reasons, I believe the 9/11 terrorist attacks used to justify the war were inadequate and inappropriate.

First, Iraq presented no threat to the United States. When then-Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations General Assembly earlier that year, asserting reliable evidence Iraq had WMD enough Americans became frightened of another foreign attack, this time by Iraq. However, the American public would likely not have bought that argument had we not recently been attacked. President George W. Bush also mentioned, in his State of the Union Address, what even his close advisors knew was false: Saddam had tried to buy uranium from Africa. Next, sinister links between Iraq and Osama bin Laden was made to seem real, although no evidence of that existed, either. James Bamford suggests: ". . . The Bush administration's immediate response to 9/11 was to call for an attack on Iraq, and.....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Using 9-11 To Invade Iraq" (2005, May 04) Retrieved July 3, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/using-9-11-invade-iraq-63764

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Using 9-11 To Invade Iraq" 04 May 2005. Web.3 July. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/using-9-11-invade-iraq-63764>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Using 9-11 To Invade Iraq", 04 May 2005, Accessed.3 July. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/using-9-11-invade-iraq-63764
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example