The Pros And Cons Of Operation Iraqi War

On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush addressed the nation to explain Operation Iraqi Freedom: "My fellow citizens. At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger…" (Full 1). What was the “grave danger” our President was talking about? The grave danger was the country’s ability to use WMD’s, chemical/biological weapons and its ties to Al Qaeda. This was later proved to be untrue as the war came to an end. How was nation misled into war so easily? This paper will dissect the dealings of the President, Congress and the CIA on their race to war.
In the past prior presidents have needed support from the American people after the …show more content…
“On 4 April 2002, in an interview with a British television network, Bush said: ‘I made up my mind that Saddam needs to go...” (Fisher 393). Beginning in November of 2002 the Bush Administration pressured Congress to go to war and with House and Senate races around the corner supporting the popular war would be advantageous. Targeting across party lines and rallying support within his own party, President Bush labeled congressman not in line with the war as corrupt and uninterested with the safety of the American people. “The partisan flavor intensified when President Bush, in a speech in Trenton, New Jersey on 23 September, said that the democratic Senate ‘is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people’” (Fisher 398). On October 10, 2002 the Senate voted 77-23 in favor of the war. The CIA gave evidence to support the fervor for War. The CIA prepared a national Intelligence Estimate (NIE), an analysis based on national security concerning an area: Iraq, in order to convince Congress to adhere to war. “The National Intelligence Estimate of Early October 2002