Why did the U.S. go to war in Iraq?
President Bush launched the war on Iraq after he, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Powell, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and National Security Advisor Rice insisted that Iraq possessed biological and chemical weapons, was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program, harbored al Qaeda operatives and was complicit in 9/11. All of these accusations, including virtually everything in Secretary Powell’s UN speech, were not “facts” and were not based on “solid sources” or solid intelligence.” The president and other officials claimed later that any inaccuracy resulted from bad intelligence. But there is much evidence that they knew that their case against Iraq was at best very shaky and quite possibly incorrect. President Bush and administration officials publicized information that supported their claims and kept secret that which did not. The National Security Strategy of 2002 declares that the U.S. “will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary, [and] preemptively.” The president “ha
