Did sept 11 cause/provoke the war in iraq?
Bush may have wanted to go into Iraq before 9/11 but he was not the only one. For 11 years sense the end of the first gulf war Iraq had continuously been uncooperative with the UN inspectors (required by the treaty ending the first war), acquiring missiles that were banned by the same treaty, and shooting at jets enforcing the No Fly Zone (required by the treaty as well). Many in conservative circles thought all of these violations is a slap in the face to US diplomacy. Iraq was telling us that they do not have to live up to their end of this agreement because we would not do anything about it, and at the time he was right. The American people did not have the political will to restart the war. After 9/11 the American people were more aware of the threats around them and now had issues with Iraq’s flagrant violations of this treaty. The war was hyped by the threat that was posed but it all comes back to saving political face, we stopped fighting them because they signed a treaty, they
While many falsely associate Iraq with the attacks of 11 September 2001, it is nevertheless very likely that, without the 9/11 attacks, America might very well have delt with Iraq differently. I have found many people (even well-educated ones) who seem unable to differentiate between blaming Iraq for 9/11, and reevaluating the threat posed by Iraq, after experiencing such a disastrous strike within America’s boarders. To liken it to a hypothetical personal experience: if someone told you he was in a terrible automobile accident and ever since tries to spend as much time with his family as possible, it would be idiotic to conclude that his family was to blame for the accident. What he’s telling you is that he has reassessed his priorities in life, following his accident. That more closely resembles America’s position with Iraq. America suddenly found itself not simply within the reach of a small band of disassociated agents, but tragically vulnerable to the actions of even a small numbe
