Why the Bush Administration Invaded Iraq. Making Strategy after 9/11
Abstract
The United States is headed into the sixth year of an exceptionally frustrating war whose consequences so far have been largely injurious to America's long-term national security. Preoccupation with that war understandably has obscured the original decision for launching it. That decision cannot be repealed, and the controversies surrounding it offer little guidance to those grappling with the political and military challenges confronting the United States in Iraq today. Knowing the way into Iraq is not knowing the way out. That said, it is critical that Americans come to understand how the United States came to invade and occupy Iraq, if for no other reason than to inform future discussion of whether, when, and how to employ US military power. Understanding how we got into Iraq may help us avoid future "Iraqs." Americans have been treated to an avalanche of finger-pointing over who is responsible for the war and its consequences. The blame games between Democrats and Republicans, hawks and doves, military leaders and their civilian superiors, and Congress and the executive branch seem headed for extra innings. What Americans deserve, however, is a reasoned, dispassionate debate over why and how the United States found itself in a bloody and protracted war in the middle of a country that posed no significant threat to the United States. They deserve an objective, no-holds-barred examination of the motivations and assumptions behind the George W. Bush administration's decision for war. That decision brought us to where we are in Iraq, and failure to understand it could encourage disastrous future decisions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA508648
Entities
People
- Jeffrey Record
Organizations
- Air University