Looking back on the 2003 Iraq war

[Nevermore]

Since defenders of Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine keep bringing up stuff like the 2003 US invasion of Iraq as their default whataboutism, I say it's about time to have a serious discussion if only to show that hey, we can acknowledge when the US has screwed up.

Full disclosure: As a German, I was opposed to the Iraq war back in the day. On the one hand, Saddam was a dictator and the situation in Iraq before the US invasion was very different than the situation in Ukraine before the Russian invasion, so it's not as if I'd have preferred for Saddam to remain in power. On the other hand, that didn't give the US the right to violate international law and invade, especially not under false pretenses, and it's not as if Iraq had since become a shining example of a functional democracy.

Should those responsible be prosecuted? Obviously, Colin Powell has already passed away.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Should those responsible be prosecuted?

Yes. I will die on this hill.

 

[Pocket]

Absolutely. If you weren't there (or weren't paying attention at the time) you have to understand that, to Americans who opposed the war, Bush was Literally Hitler in the same way Trump was Literally Hitler. It was a sentiment shared by leftists, mainline Democrats, and those who would eventually become the alt-right. People were convinced Bush would actually install himself as dictator, and that he'd paid off Diebold to program their voting machines to tip the 2004 election in his favor. (Sound familiar?) Barenaked Ladies released a protest song rattling off a list of dire predictions culminating in "And all this will go undetected", so strong was the sense that no one was taking our concerns seriously. Someone I respect very much as a writer and political thinker actually quit watching South Park over the episode that made fun of the "9/11 Truth" conspiracy theorists. There was a documentary made specifically as a warning that assassinating him would make things even worse, because apparently that was a thing people needed to hear.

And while it'd be easy to frame all of the above as overblown hysteria brought on by a generation growing up with nothing worth getting riled up about, I'd instead say that if that many people hate you that much, you probably deserve it.

 

[Covert Agent Rodimal]

We should have never invaded Iraq in 2003. Period. If we wanted those punish responsible for 911, we'd have done what was right and went after Saudi Arabia, oil monarchy be damned. No invasion, use special forces. Quick, mostly clean, take out known conspirators, done. Then clean up Binladin without invading Afghanistan.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

The war on terror was about as productive as the war on drugs, but far costlier in human lives.

 

[Ungnome]

I'm not so sure of that. The war on drugs took place over a MUCH longer timeframe and calculating how many deaths it lead to is tricky.

 

[Nevermore]

A freudian slip, or does George W. Bush actually agree?

'I mean Ukraine': George W Bush says Iraq invasion unjustified in speech gaffe – video

Former US president confuses Iraq for Ukraine during speech

www.theguardian.com