Does anyone remember Lou Dobbs and his flag pin? He may still be wearing it. There were numerous people in the media who were loudly gung-ho. Even Howard Stern, I remember. But yes, ask them now about the effects of their words and actions as some sat atop tanks speeding toward Baghdad. Oh the thrill for the reporters, the anchors, etc. It made me sick at the time. We were talking about people dying and yet here, it was all on TV and we sacrificed nothing for our soldiers and for the war effort. Nothing changed for us here. Life went on as usual. God forbid something might interrupt our reality TV and cushy existences. Awful.
52
We had no business wading into Iraq. The leaders at the time claimed they were doing it because of weapons of mass destruction, but it was a lie. They outed CIA agents, suppressed information which would discredit their lies, and rushed into war while belittling the UN inspectors who were begging for more time and saying clearly the WMD claims were unsupportable. People such as Rice and Powell supported the lie through their shameful lack of intellectual integrity. They should have known better - the facts were all in the public domain, but they were blinded by their proximity to power. Meanwhile, true criminals were at work, Cheney and Rumsfeld. They ginned up the war to achieve their own goal of a Pax Americana throughout the middle east. They knew WMD was a pretext, but they didn't care. And of course they had the witless W to use as a tool to carry out their vision. It was a crime.
45
One of the first "sayings" I believe I ever heard was "Two wrongs don't make a right". In reading the comments here, it is so striking that many of those who defend or apologize for the invasion of Iraq point out the many horrible things that Saddam did. No one, including Mr. Antoon, deny that. Yet, the invasion of Iraq was based on a lie that Saddam possessed WMD's and resulted in a million civilian deaths, about 5,000 US deaths (plus how many US soldiers crippled for life?), a final cost of $3-4 TRILLION dollars, the abasement of America's honor and the destabilization of the entire region. And all for what? Many of the things that Saddam did were wrong, but the invasion of Iraq was also wrong. That does not add up to a right. It was a criminal war and the criminals should be held accountable.
52
Our media hardly ever mentions those few hundred thousands Iraqis that were killed or the millions who were displaced. Every life is precious.
I wish we had mandatory military service. Our politicians would think a lot harder before they go to a war. General public would be active and hold the government accountable.
31
I agree with the writer. We had no business invading Iraq. We k
are responsible for so many deaths of innocent Iraqi citizens. I'm embarrassed, sad, and ashamed of what we've done.
23
We didn't kill anywhere NEAR what ISIS intentionally murdered, singly and in groups. Perhaps your complaint should be addressed to Barack Obama who pulled all our guys out on a campaign promise that sounded oh-so-good. That's when Iraq really went all to pieces.
6
I remember very well what it was like to be against or at least uncertain about the Iraq War. But at the time war fever was high pitched, in light of what happened to the World Trade Center and Pentagon. I tried to write letters to the editor and talk to people about how Saddam Hussein wasn't the brainchild behind those acts of terrorism, but people didn't want to listen. It's possible that there are still people in this country who think Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11. A few years ago, I am pretty sure it was 40% of Americans. To be against the war seemed to be anti-patriotic. I called in to a talk show with Tucker Carlson and told him that I worried our soldiers would become sitting ducks in a long quagmire, and he sort of brushed aside my concerns. I told him that, where I lived, I felt uncomfortable voicing an opinion against the war, and he pooh-poohed that so I asked, "What reality do you live in?" Because when I put up a sign in the dark of night that said Osama bin Laden is behind 9/11, not Saddam Hussein, so why are we invading Iraq?" it was torn down as early as 8 am in rush hour traffic by my own neighbors. So there's more to the story and there were those of us who knew it would be a bloody mess, billions of dollars, etc. and not easily solved. Leaving us weaker. A local dad had bumper stickers made that said, "Kick Butt, Come Home Safe." I asked if that's what he told his kids when they went to school in the morning. He sent me a bumper sticker.
29
I fought in the Iraq War and I am very proud of what we achieved there. But I found the Iraqi People some not all did not want to make it a better place Post-Saddam. We all have regrets and wish things came out different. Our cause was just, we soldiers had a job to do and we did it. We were told that Saddam Hussein had WMD and was Planning on using them.
5
I'm really sorry you were pulled into fighting in that war. It was fought for one reason: oil. We had no argument with Hussein, except that the Bushies wanted to finish what GW started, and get control of Iraqi oil. There were NO WMDs, and they knew it. Our cause was not at all just.
Then the Americans threw the Sunnis out of the government and the army, leaving thousands of angry armed young men, who largely wound up as rebels, and eventually, ISIS. Whatever chance there may have been to provide a better country was ruined by alienating one major segment of the society. From there, the road to destabilizing the entire Middle East was open. And here we are.
26
On February 24, 1991, I was of a vast force that invaded in Iraq and was finished in 100 hours. On March 17, 2004, I was back for my 2nd Iraq war based in Mortaritaville, Balad, Iraq.
In 2004, I and many others were stuck on the bases because it was unsafe outside the base. There was no set objective in Iraq. We bought peace with money and it was a fake peace. I remember seeing $100 bills in cellophane being paid for a make work for Iraqis and the Iraqi getting the money was a son of one of Saddam's Ambassadors to Canada.
John Yoo's Torture Memo that allowed for waterboarding and other bad methods made us in American Military with a giant bullseye on our backs. It was written by a professor that didn't know that torture doesn't work! The person being tortured will say anything to stop the pain. And many times, the statements are useless and not helpful.
I came back to the USA in March 2005 very angry! I was deeply opposed to the war in Iraq. This war was not of necessity but of convenience. Bush43 was told by his own group there were NEVER any WMDs.
The columnist was right when he refers the country now being sectarian. The so-called democracy is a joke. Ironically, the dictator Saddam allowed women more rights, then the present Shi'a controlled government.
Remembering this war is sadness and the missed chances. Every time, there's any news about Iraq, I despair. Nothing but desolation visited the country and we lost many people and for what?
40
The single greatest threat to peace and prosperity in the Middle East is Iran and the single greatest reason for their ascent was the destruction of Iraq.
19
I remember my fears all too vividly as I watched the jets taking off from the aircraft carrier on the nightly news. I told my wife that this would be Vietnam all over again. Our country has reaped what was sowed-death and destruction of lives on both sides. Did we win? Tragically, I guess we can’t really say yet, because we are still there.
13
If the "worst US foreign policy decision ever taken" was also crime, then the guilty include these 29 Democrats in the US Senate, whose support (on October 11, 2002) gave the 48 Senate Republicans (who also voted for the blank check Iraq invasion fiasco authorization) the majority they otherwise fell short of:
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Breaux (D-LA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carnahan (D-MO)
Carper (D-DE)
Cleland (D-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Daschle (D-SD)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Edwards (D-NC)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hollings (D-SC)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Miller (D-GA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Schumer (D-NY)
Torricelli (D-NJ)
31
Well said. I hope the NYT editorial board takes this to heart the next time they feel pressure to endorse a US military intervention. When the war drums were beating in 2002-3, they convinced themselves to back it, as they have backed every significant US conflict. I doubt they learned their lesson, but we can hope.
38
Go back and fix your country. No one is stopping you. Whining doesn't help
14
Shameful, but not a war crime. I never understood why Bush set out to destabilize the Middle East. I can only think it had to do with the popularity boost that war gives a sitting president.
4
Especially a president who ignored warnings that terrorists might use large commercial jets to attack the US. Bush needed a good war to keep the public from focusing on his failure.
14
The American (domestic) political process failed, or was perverted by Darth Cheney.
It cost the USA a significant amount of Blood and Treasure, and continues to color our relationships with the rest of the world and distort our domestic political process.
The Iraqis, like the Afghans (and Palestinians), failed to grasp their opportunities. Yes, we gave them opportunities. They were more interested in personal ("Corruption") and sectarian advantage than actually building a stable society and state. See "Treasure" above.
You can't have it both ways.
Vietnam seems to have long moved past the "You Owe Us" stage.
6
Learn from the past. Look to the future.
In retrospect, we should have let Saddam, Uday, and Qusay do what they wanted with the Iraqi people.
The lesson from the Iraq War is that the U.S. should never be sucked into wars with authoritarian regimes, regardless of their brutality.
We must become sufficiently inured to foreign human rights violations that we are unwilling to expend blood or treasure to stop them. We can be sad and angry about other countries’ lack of political-, religious-, gender-, economic-, and/or other rights, but let’s accept that we can’t change them.
I was fooled once by pictures and stories of suffering. Never again.
12
How many comments are being made about the crime of that war! What a bunch of small minded moralists. Does anyone really think that we should have left that dictator in place in Iraq?
War is hell. Freedom does not come without a hefty
price.
I have hands on experience with that hell, death and dying as a infantry unit commander.
BO and Hiliary both committed a crime by not doing a thing about Syria. That country is destroyed and the refugees are destroying Europe.
Bush made a better unpopular choice.
BO drew a red line for a dictator in Syria for which he had no guts to back up his threat!
Who suffered more Iraqis or Syrians?
Yes the answer is Syrians!
That is a crime.
6
Any evidence to back up such a claims ... ?
Are you aware of the fact that today, because of the US puppets governing Iraq, it's even a worse dictatorship than what it was under Saddam Hussein?
Are you aware of the fact that, contrary to what was the case under Saddam Hussein, today the US has destroyed Iraq's infrastructure, healthcare and education system, and economy?
Fact is, Saddam wasn't a threat to the US. And IF Bush really wanted to improve ordinary Iraqi's lives, why didn't he secure the borders and fire the entire army and refuse to allow real, free elections ... ? It's horribly naive to believe that Bush's motive was democracy rather than regional influence and oil.
As to Syria: when the civil war broke out, many different factions, supported by many different regional powers, immediately intervened. So if you believe the US should engage militarily rather than diplomatically, WHAT kind of rebels do you believe we should support, and why? The answer to this question is EXTREMELY complicated, that's why a military intervention cannot possibly solve the problem over there, you see?
That being said, thanks for your service!
7
Dictators can be deposed without destroying the whole country or by military invasion. The Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, who also had adversaries killed was forced into exile by the U. S. as was the Shah of Iran. I never remember anyone seriously saying we should invade those countries because they were run by brutal dictators. Unlike the Iraq invasion it did not cost trillions of dollars and a million dead innocent civilians. Iraq suffered greatly under Hussein but invading it only added to the suffering of the civilian population.
5
Let's walk a mile in some Iraqi's shoes before we start judging who deserves to have a war dropped in on them and who does not. Since you obviously have the credentials (including death and dying - your coordinates are of this earth, so I'm not sure how you're able to be writing), let us know how to decide upon which party to visit our destructive talents. Where do you stand on Darfur and Myanmar? Niger and Mali? Heck, there's trouble in Venezuela and, of course, North Korea, Iran and Russia could use some "correction".
13
The day I saw the World Trade Center towers fall, while still aghast with grief, shock, and horror, I said to my coworker, "Oh no, now we're going to go bomb the hell out of some far away little country."
I knew then as I know now that an ideology can't be bombed. We were attacked by extremists, not a geographical country. We should never have gone to war against sovereign nations. We should have tried other options to address terrorism.
As an American I have protested our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and can't apologize enough for what we have done and are still doing.
25
The invasion was based on a fabricated lie that was sold to the American people by the government and the media including the New York Times.
By any honest moral standards it was a human catastrophe and criminal endeavor. Most Americans rely on self deceit and refuse to embrace this
ugly reality. The want to embrace the fantasy of American Exceptionalism and
belief that America has been a force for good in the world.
America has never been great. American Imperialism has been and continues to be a “real and present danger” to Humanity.
Mike
23
I'm so sorry.
I never supported the war. It was wrong from Day One.
22
Okay so you hate America and its government even though you have chosen to live here. Why don't you return to your homeland and try rebuilding it? Iraq was a rogue state, an outlaw state. Deeply dysfunctional and run by a sadistic dictator who invaded Kuwait and gassed his own people to death. What part of that was America's fault? Your article will get a warm reception from the hate-America crowd that reads this paper but don't try taking this on the road because most Americans are patriotic and do not appreciate offensive criticism from an outsider who has personally benefited from America's largesse and is now pushing the "Great Satan" litany.
4
In real life, one of the reasons why Trump won the GOP primaries was precisely the fact that he had the guts to "tell it like it is" and call the Iraq war a horrible mistake on live tv and standing next to Jeb Bush, remember ... ?
It's too easy to imagine that all Americans who disagree with you on the Iraq war (and that includes Trump) are people who belong to the "hate-America" crowd.
Time to remember that engaging in real, respectful debates with those who disagree is part of what it means to be an American, rather than imagining that you can simply discard any opinion that differs from yours by presuming that those who don't share your opinion must hate NOT that opinion but "America" ... ;-)
16
Do you really think bombing "a sadistic dictator who invaded Kuwait and gassed his own people" will help? You just add "bombing" on top of it like a dash of ice cream, just another layer of destruction. Shes exactly what America needs: an imigrant with a story to tell, thats why America is better than e.g. Russia. In America you can tell the truth. Maybe you are less of an American patriot than I am as a Swiss citizen?
12
Always worth remembering that Saddam Hussein was a hero in Palestinian circles and comtinues to have buildings and schools named after him in Area A within Judea and Samaria.
3
What I find really interesting is that the Iraqi author, like a lot of the people I meet from that region, blames everything on someone other than themselves - in this case the U.S. Of course, the invasion was a huge mistake, but it really forced Iraqis to blow up mosques and kill each other? Do you really believe that? I guess if it helps you to make sense of the world, then so be it. Equally interesting are the U.S. commenters who jump on this view as it fits with their narrative of the world and hatred of Bush and his crew. A million dead? Who actually killed whom?
5
Mr. Warren, please note the author's comment on the identifications by sect and ethnicity attached when the governing council was named. The US policy made it harder and harder for people to work across those divisions. Also, as the author said, corrupt individuals who had powerful US connections were put into power. We do bear responsibility.
13
Here is another thought for Sinan. In 1945. Germany and Japan were utterly destroyed. Millions of Germans were forcibly kicked out of surrounding countries. The infrastructure of both countries destroyed, the cities were empty shells, millions homeless and starving with basic social functions pretty much non-existent. Iraq suffered very little infrastructure damage in April 2003 and still sat on some of the worlds largest oil reserves. Do you want to compare Iraq 15 years after the war verses Germany or Japan? The Germans and Japanese overcame far greater handicaps and turned their countries around to become democratic economic powerhouses. You want to blame the US fine (it was a stupid decision to go in), but maybe Iraq should look in the mirror and realize she blew it herself.
7
You're leaving some crucial facts out of your comparison here:
1. Iraq did NOT cause 9/11, quite on the contrary (there were no terrorists in Iraq before Bush destroyed Iraq's borders), so this wasn't a war to stop a genocide or a dictator invading other countries, contrary to Hitler's Germany.
2. Immediately after the war ended, the Allies implemented the Marshall Plan, which invested heavily in Germany's reconstruction. The US never even STARTED doing the same thing in Iraq, and of course once you completely destroy a country, it no longer has the money to do so itself.
And then we're not even talking about the fact yet that those same Allies who invaded Germany during WWII all unanimously rejected Bush's Iraq war, having immediately understood that this had absolutely nothing to do with democracy or dictatorship, and everything with trying to get access to cheap oil.
As to infrastructure damage in Iraq: you seem to forget that after 2003, the war became SO bad (because of the massive flooding into the country of terrorists, combined with Iranians - all because Bush didn't even THINK about securing its borders) that most of the casualties (Iraqi and American) date from the years AFTER 2003, situation that made it necessary to start a "surge" in 2007 ... ?
There's absolutely NO way to take the facts into account and then still blame the Iraqi people for what we've done to them.
23
The German and Japanese situations were different from the Iraqi situation in several important ways:
1. The Allied occupation forces, instead of firing their entire civil service, kept those government employees whom they felt to be trustworthy. They worked WITH the civilian governments of those countries as guides rather than as overlords.
2. The Germans and the Japanese had strong national identities and long, distinctive cultural histories. Iraq was an artificial creation of the colonial powers after World War I.
3. The Germans and the Japanese were not only technologically advanced countries with the highest standards of living on their respective continents at the beginning of World War II but they also had some experience, however short, with parliamentary democracy.
4. The official policy was to treat German and Japanese civilians with respect. There were no Abu Ghraib-type prisons in either country, no careless destruction of cultural monuments and treasures by occupying forces.
5. By the time the Allies prevailed, both the Germans and the Japanese were starving in the rubble of their cities. They knew that their respective governments had led them into hell. They were ready for something new. In contrast, Saddam Hussein was the kind of dictator whose actions didn't affect most of the population as long as they didn't actively oppose him. A lot of Iraqis didn't think Saddam Hussein was so bad.
That's why Germany and Japan turned out better.
12
This author shows no gratitude for being given a safe haven while his countrymen took the first opportunity to kill each other when freed from dictatorial control. The author's idea that the U. S. somehow imposed sectarianism is absurd. The bloody age-old sectarianism was released as soon as the Iraqis had a chance to express it. The U. S. is not responsible for a million deaths. More than 90% of those deaths were Iraqi on Iraqi. Bush believed that the people of that land and other lands in the region could manage their own affairs in republican fashion. That was his tragic error. Why does this author remain in the United States which he hates so much? The reason is that we will protect him from what he would experience in the land of his birth.
9
I agree that the iraq War was a grave mistake. However; what I don't get is why our government after previously supporting a Iraq/Iran way would virtually hand Iraq on a a silver platter to Iran. I thought that Iran was our enemy. go figure!?
2
Following 911, I suggested we just roll into Cairo and build bridges, roads, solar power plants, waterworks, and hospitals, and give away laptops. All of these would have one common feature: large American flags painted on them. If the terrorists and nationalists wanted then to destroy these items because of our flags, then they can explain to their fellows the resulting traffic jams, lack of medical help, and stone-age connectivity. Of course I was being arrogant and tongue-in-cheek, yet infrastructure constitutes an investment that typically pays back seven times what was put in, whereas we see what $3 trillion spent on the Iraq War has yielded for both Iraqi's and Americans (that's the Stiglitz estimate when all veterans health benefits are paid out). And the warrior worship needed in America to insist against all evidence that it was a great achievement that finally vanquished the 'shame' of Vietnam lives on in the person of our current President. When the whole country insists for decades that wrong is right, this orange-faced Nero is where you end up.
5
Cairo? Only one of the 9-11 hijackers was from Egypt. 15 were from Saudi Arabia, so why not pick on Riyadh?
6
The consequences of this war have been tragic - both on the part of Iraq AND on the part of Americans. So many lives lost and still it goes on. HOWEVER, the crime committed was on the part of Saddam Hussein and his crimes on humanity including those on his own people. The world cannot be blind to a dictator and his cohorts who nerve gas their own people in mass genocides, invade and steal important assets from other countries, bait world authorities and close your doors to mass chemical inspections without facing the most serious of consequences. America's REAL crime is pulling out of the first Iraq war in the 90's before fully defeating Saddam.
2
Like most Iraqi Kurds, my husband celebrates his "liberation" from Saddam 15 years later, while also mourning a lifetime of losses. He was gassed by Saddam's regime 30 years ago this week, an anniversary Mr. Antoon unfortunately ignores.
In addition to killing Iraqis with chemical weapons, Mr. Antoon also fails to mention that Saddam Hussein carried out genocide (Anfal, Halabja) and mass persecution of Shia/opposition that killed hundreds of thousands; as well as his "Arabization" campaign (going back to the 1960s) that changed Iraq's demography forever and led to an ongoing war over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
None of that history justifies America's problematic policies - first the faulty intelligence that led to the invasion (although the NYT reported that 400 older WMD were discovered, and of course Iraqis had been gassed) as well as those that exacerbated sectarianism and alienated Sunni Arabs.
As someone who was once fiercely opposed to America's war but worked for years in Iraq, I have had to open my eyes and ears to understand the complexities and wide range of experiences/perspectives of Iraqis. For example, I was surprised that no Iraqi I met (outside of the west) mentioned the legality of the invasion which so preoccupies Americans; instead, they were entirely concerned with the aftermath -- mostly bad, but some good.
5
I am deeply sorry for the actions of my country in Iraq. It is important to remember that many, many people spoke out against this action and tried to stop it. Sadly, too many were either duped or filled with blood lust after Sept 11 to listen to reason.
7
I am a foreign born American citizen. I am glad to see how many U.S. born American citizens have sent comments that show that they realize that the invasion of Iraq under false pretenses was a war crime. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et caterva should at least be in jail. It is as simple as that.
11
We humans have an infinite capacity for self-justification. I expected that after hundreds of thousands of deaths, those who had been wrong about the invasion would feel remorse. Instead there are too many Americans who refuse to accept any responsibility. Instead they blame Saddam Hussein (a bad actor, to be sure, but not responsible for this bad act); or they blame the Iraqi people themselves.
Instead of blaming the victims, we should blame the war's architects.
This war was a clear violation of the Nuremburg Charter, however much the Bush administration tried to skirt the rules by claiming it was a preemptive invasion--international law doesn't recognize the right to preemption. And even the fiction that it was a preemptive invasion is belied by the fact that we had no proof of WMD and we refused to allow U.N. inspectors to continue their work.
Most of us now know that the threat of WMD was a fiction created to fire the country up for a war that the administration wanted. Half of Americans, just like most of the rest of the world, knew that these were phony excuses from the start.
9
We attacked a sovereign nation that had not attacked or declared war on us claiming as justification the concept of preemptive war in the face of WMDs the evidence of which was spurious and widely criticized before the invasion. It seems we were guilty of manufacturing a cause and attacking a country without legal justification. Similar to invading a neighbor after staging a false attack on a radio station and then overwhelming it with superior weapons and training in a matter of weeks.
16
What comes around goes around. Trump and the GOP are most certainly the USA as we once knew it!
3
Not the first time, and not likely the last. The critical question is what Americans -- politicians, media and people -- do the next time this happens, when the US attacks without justification for what appear to be the personal/political interests of its leaders. I can think of more than a handful of instances in my lifetime: Grenada in 1983 when Reagan needed a bump before re-election; Iraq, 1991 and 2003; Iran, pretty much every election cycle since 1980; Bosnia in the 90's as well?
What will you do when Donnie the tweeter ramps up a war against Iran, North Korea or (more likely) some Saharan country most Americans have never heard of?
10
Why do you consider the Gulf War in 1991 "without justification"? Iraq invaded Kuwait and the U.S. and it's allies mounted a counter-offensive to liberate Kuwait. Having lived in Kuwait during that time, I consider that to be a justified reason to attack another country. Also note that of all the instances you noted above, the 1991 Gulf War was the only one where you had a major coalition, in fact the largest since World War II.
13
Remember, Kuwait was Iraq before Britain separated it unilaterally. This is why Saddam always thought Kuwait actually belonged to Iraq. Also, you might want to read up on what April Glasbie, our Ambassador to Iraq, conveyed to Saddam, that it was okay with the US for them to invade. Unfortunately for Saddam, Bush had a change of heart.
5
It's not about historical accuracy, it's about venting about the evils of America. This paper is second to none when it comes to that.
2
Read Joan Didion about Dick Cheney. The word “crime” is more than appropriate. Add “stupid” to that as well. So much destruction, for what?
10
From the Iraqi war and two other Middle East wars, I learned one lesson: the most brutal dictator is far better than the most glorified foreign liberators. Think for yourself: why would the Americans have sacrificed themselves to liberate the Iraqis from a dictator?
6
I was certainly "opposed" to invading Iraq for the U.S. was still involved, as presently, in Afghanistan (Actually against Pakistan ISI supported Taliban)! The invasion of Iraq was an unprecedented strategic blunder and a humanitarian tragedy and directly destabilized the Middle East. We proudly changed "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries", but the French were correct! Yes, Bush/Cheney and others escaped accountability "Slam Dunk!" for their ignorance, arrogance, and outright lies. Why the British joined in this idiocy is beyond me! A War Crime, if not, what is a War Crime? Let no one think otherwise, the U.S. will continue to pay dearly for this act into the future.
5
Sinan, we all suffered like you did. But we are here now. Any solutions?
5
Your neighborhood was bombed? In Boston?
2
Interesting that the NYT chooses to publish this op-ed. I agree with everything the author so eloquently says. Like him I opposed the invasion from day one. But let's remember, the NYT was a principal actor in fomenting and justifying this war. Their chief reporter, Judith Miller, helped perpetrate the lies of WMD that were the main rationale for going to war.
Now, 15 years too late, we get this analysis, stating compellingly what the NYT, in its reporting and editorializing, has been unable to say for 15 years.
There's a crime there too.
And now the U.S. political establishment is escalating a new war with Syria. The blueprint is very much the same. The head of the 'enemy state' is portrayed as a ruthless and dangerous dictator. The 'rebels' that we support are fighting to 'liberate' Syria and create 'real democracy'.
But what do the people of Syria want? I would guess the majority (not a hand-picked subset of pro-war expatriates) would say what Sinan Antoon says here: that a 'war of liberation' led by America is not the solution they want, that it is fundamentally not to be trusted. That the result is already much worse than pre-war conditions under Assad. And will only get worse.
The NYT methodically pushes for regime change in Syria, despite the fact that this is actually the agenda of the U.S. defense and intelligence community, not the American people. Most people here, most people in Syria do not want this war.
Yet the NYT continues to foment a new war.
16
elucidating. after the horrors of 911, from which my family personally suffered, no one including the media had the spine to oppose gulf war 2. not just media but our politicians were complicit. It is restorative to see the media stand up to autocracy but it does not erase the sins of nation building by a country ignorant of other cultutes,who makes decisions from the top down with little understanding of the implications.
5
Uh ... any concrete evidence to back all these things up?
In the meanwhile, why are you skipping the fact that it's a Syrian civil war that started the war in the first place, unlike what happened in Iraq?
And since when is the US intelligence community having a political agenda ... ?
As to regime change in Syria: you cannot possibly support the very notion of a democracy and then NOT support the idea of regime change in Syria. So of course NYT editorials support a transition towards democracy. And that also happens to be what a majority of the Syrian people want.
The NYT is NOT pushing for a US led war in Syria though (as you could have easily found out yourself, if you'd have done some fact-checking), and the question of HOW to obtain that transition is an extremely complicated one, taking into account the regional powers engaged in the war, and the fact that our ally Turkey opposes the Kurdish rebels in Syria.
If the NYT is proposing a solution here, it's clearly a DIPLOMATIC solution (which is indeed the only option). The Times is precisely criticizing, on an almost daily basis, Trump for treating US diplomats so badly and failing to get the State Department running on full speed because of the firing of so many career experts and the lack of hiring new ones.
Time to update your info a little bit ... ;-)
1
trump wants his war, I'm sure it's just a matter of time.
7
It doesn't really matter who said of Napoleon's execution of the Duke of Enghien, "It was worse than a crime; it was a blunder." Given that the perpetrators will never be punished, it doesn't really matter either which the invasion of Iraq was, but, in fact, it was both. To the sad few who still romanticize the overthrow of an evil tyrant, in Iraq most people lived under a state of law, where the laws for most were oppressive but knowable and livable. After the invasion, no one did. Or, as I told an Iraqi friend before the invasion, nation building is not something the US is good at, and when you're really bad at something, maybe you shouldn't do it. But then, the US was even worse at it than at least I could have imagined, on this alone both criminal and stupid.
6
The meainstream/establishment media is fully complicit in the whitewash of George W Bush and the craven neo-cons who were his accomplices. This ignorant small minded bully set America on a downward spiral erasing it's moral power and sources of pride. Not to mention the nearly planet-wide plunge into violent conflict , misery and increasing the chances for our extinction.
Bush should be hiding in a spider hole, not showered with affectionate false nostalgia.
12
Not a blunder, a crime. Thank you for stating it so clearly.
9
Considering how complicit this newspaper was in leading the nation to war, it is an interesting opinion piece to see in the NYTimes. If only they has published the doubts (Hans Blick) instead of blowing on the embers (Wolfowitz, Powell, et al) that war would never have happened, a million lives spared.
There are many of us out here who, then and now, look at the latest spin and shake our heads in disbelief, sadness and anger at the gullibility and historical amnesia it serves.
Last year we watched as, journalism be damned, the Old Grey Lady (Krugman, et al) pressed her thumb on the scale for Hillary Clinton in the primaries. And now we watch as critical thinking is again being thrown aside to feed the distortions/promotions of the sequel to The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.
I didn't buy it then, I'm not buying it now.
6
You seem to simply reject no matter what the NYT writes because it's a liberal newspaper, no ... ?
If I'm wrong, why didn't you come up with any arguments to back up your claims ... ?
Of course, no mention in the article of the thousands of American lives lost because the Iraqis didn’t care enough about their own country to overthrow a dictator. America didn’t destroy Iraq, Iraqis did. And continue to do.
12
You seem to be new to this debate.
There were no WMD and no terrorists in Iraq when Bush and Cheney decided to invade it. So Saddam Hussein was no threat at all to American soldiers. That means that IF you want to care about US troops, the main question should be: WHY did the GOP send our bravest young men and women over there in the first place ... ?
Secondly, once Bagdad was taken, Bush decided to ... not secure Iraq's borders, and fire its entire army. THAT's when, for the first time, Islamist terrorists massively flowed into the country, and started a war against US soldiers.
It took Bush YEARS before he realized his gigantic mistake and to start "the surge". In the meanwhile, he had allowed those terrorists to completely destroy the country's (sophisticated) infrastructure network, economy, healthcare, and education system.
Bush then installed one of the most corrupt Iraqi governments ever, using American-Iraqi businessmen to take over the country.
So no, it's certainly not Iraqis who destroyed Iraq, it's without ANY possible doubt the US.
3
How many dictators have you overthrown? You make it sound pretty easy!
2
Excellent, succinct point, should have been a NYT pick.
4
Very few thinking americans believe this was a justified use of american force, and most of us believe the Bush administration purposefully and actively participated in lying to the american public about the need to invade. Many of us shake our head reading something like this. But what to do? Arresting Cheney and others as the author suggests isn't going to heal the author's nation.
2
Doing the right thing such as arresting Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others is the way to teach our citizens that the Law applies to everyone, and there are no excuses to treat those criminals any different than the lesser criminals who fill the 2.5 million prisoners US prison system.
6
Arresting mass murderers doesn't bring their victims back to life. So why bother?
5
Whatever label you put on it, the killing and maiming of so many people under false or misleading pretense, with poor planing and awful execution of the end mission by American leadership is something US citizens should be deeply regretful of. Making it even worse is the huge amounts of treasure that have been and continue to be wasted on this failed initiative that could have been used to the benefit of not only Americans but all people of the world such as education, infrastructure, medical advances, climate change, starvation and poverty.
I am 70 and was taught as a child that "America doesn't start wars" -- we are always the good guys. I still like to think that most of us are "good people" but we need to acknowledge that, like anywhere else, we are subject to being led by doubtful leaders, and, yes, we do start wars. Apologies and regrets are fine but what can really do to atone for the Viet Nams and the Iraqs is ask ourselves how our nation can lead to prevent this waste of human lives and resources from happening again.
8
Instead squandering every bit of political capital on their lame"health care reform," the Democrats under Obama and Pelosi should have opened investigations into the war crimes of the Bush Administration in pursuit of the trial and punishment of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Colon Powell, et. al. Oh well, 99 per cent of American don't even remember "Shock and Awe" anymore. The US deserves its nauseating downward spiral into dictatorship and decay.
1
Thank you Sinan Antoon for telling the unvarnished truth about the disastrous Iraq War. "Blunder" hardly does justice to the enormity of the horrors, destruction, death and chaos our leaders brought to the country. The author doesn't even mention the wars and disruption to the rest of the Middle East as a result of our stupidity. We did not learn the most basic lesson from the Vietnam War: don't start wars if we are not directly threatened and unless all other efforts have failed. (Something our current president also doesn't understand).
5
I remember sitting in the waiting room of a busy dentist's office (in a red state) on the eve of the invasion. There were half a dozen people, besides one dentist, talking about the upcoming invasion. The dentist said, "I predict we'll be in and out in less than a month." I said, "How much do you know about that part of the world. Anything? Probably no more than Bush does." Shouts and hollers all round, condemning me for being unpatriotic. "You can't win freedom for another people. We should've learned that lesson in Vietnam. The people have to do it themselves, and they will, when the time is right. We can't do it for them, and exporting Democracy via an invasion will prove to be a huge mistake." But the beating of the war drum, the patriotic fervor following 9/11, was too much, and I soon fell silent---not only in the waiting room but generally. My voice was not wanted, anymore than were the voices of the dissenters in the Bush/Cheney admin.
8
What I remember is that millions of us protested getting into this war, while George Bush declared that he didn't pay attention to marches and protests - like that was a high minded, good thing. With those words he told us we didn't count. I remember, to this day, what that felt like coming from our President.
7
I was never a supporter of the US invasion of Iraq, but representing a Iraqi man who sought asylum in the US brought home how disastrous it truly was. My client initially welcomed the invasion, but after the US dissolved the Iraqi army, chaos ensued, and within a year, al Qaeda came to his home city of Ramadi and began a reign of terror. My client chose to fight the terrorists, only to be captured and tortured. He now has PTSD and permanent physical damage, and has been separated from his family for years.
5
Over the years I would always hear commentators saying that our invasion was a "mistake", but I could never think of the right word to describe it, until i read this article. It was a CRIME. The United States does not have the blood of only Iraq citizens on their hands, but also all the other people who have died in the Middle East since then, and you can add Afghanistan.
7
The circular medal awarding squads of the US military are still active- crowing about their hero patriot warrior fantasy. All of those lives for nothing. VietNam taught them nothing. All of those lives for nothing, as well.
10
President Obama's greatest failing was his refusal to investigate and prosecute the flagrant criminality of the administration that preceded his.
Unless we bring our own politicians to justice, we are hypocritical to call for the prosecution of foreign war criminals.
10
I doubt it was Obama's refusal. I am sure the Republicans had something to say about it.
1
How many crimes did this man help perpetrate by sitting idly by while Saddam Hussein killed and gassed his country men? He feels so unnerved by our actions here in America that he feels compelled to come here and make money off of us from his books. If he is so unhappy with America and Americans, he should return to his own country and start to make a difference there.
12
Are you serious? Are you not aware that the United States actively, as a matter of documented official government policy, helped Iraq by supplying BILLIONS in military, intelligence, and economic aid, including satellite intelligence that helped them carry out actual chemical weapons attacks?
You castigate the author -- who literally in the opening sentence of his piece states that he was TWELVE when Saddam came to power, and was therefore a teenager during the 1980s while Saddam committed many of his worse atrocities -- for not somehow singlehandedly overthrowing a brutal dictatorship that tortured and murdered opponents... but have zero words to say about the massive, decade-long official support, authorized by Presidents Reagan and Bush, spanning countless agencies and departments of the U.S. government, which included actual concrete military support and weaponry that actually killed real people.
Comments like this are scandalous in their staggering ignorance, total dismissiveness of any context or history, ultra-reactionary "if you dare criticize the government, you should go back to your homeland" attitude, instantly erasing the mountain of their own government's official policy of support for the very crimes and atrocities, while somehow placing the responsibility only upon those who dare to criticize those policies, a total Orwellian inversion of reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_for_Iraq_during_the_...
7
Oil. We invaded to secure the oil infrastructure for our own use .
3
Howard you very well may be right about the original intent. But stats show the US importing on average 15,000 barrels a month over the past 10-12 years from Iraq. Not nearly enough to justify a war, you'll agree. My point is more about this guy complaining. Many US Service people feel they were trying to make Iraq a better place.
2
I've had boots on the ground through the entire Iraq war. The country was ruined before we got there, main revenue source was opium poppies besides state oil. Everything was dilapidated except Saddam's compounds, palaces, and a few other wealthy individuals property. Now did we do the country any favors during the invasion and subsequent occupation? No. However, what we have done since then is wipe out one terrorist organization after another, deposed a brutal if American made dictator, and put a huge dent in the Iraqi/afgani opium trade. Many people do if that's worth the loss of life, and the only answer I have for that is it depends on what the individuals that died contributed or had the potential to contribute to the world. Most of the people on here crying about this man's article have no idea what the war was like and have never served a day in the military. So your opinions on it are rather pointless. But I will leave you with this parting advice, save your tears the vast majority of these people don't deserve them.
5
I appreciate your service but disagree with you.
Starting a war under false pretenses sorta makes you accountable for subsequent atrocities, doesn't it? You can't honestly blame Iraq for not being first world enough to deserve our accountability. This is not the first time America has blood on it's hands.
Take Nam.. another pack of lies led us into that circular target practice, and more lies kept us there. Millions died. We own that. The problems exposed then are still around today, and we have a similar cast of war hungry, lying, greedy thugs in charge right now. Watch out or we'll do it again.
The article is on point and a warning.
3
My wife and I demonstrated against the looming invasion of Iraq along with millions of others in the US and around the world. It seemed obvious to us that the justifications were phony and that the results would be disastrous. They were. Note also that over 4,400 Americans were killed and over 31,000 wounded, many permanently disabled. For what? We are nowhere close to paying for the war, and the blowback continues in Iraq and throughout the region. The combination of arrogance, ignorance and power continues to have terrible consequences that we, as Americans, should be especially wary of.
7
I'm with you, Some of us "evil" Trump supporters turned specially on this issue, Hillary supported the invasion while in Congress, Trump opposed. I lost some friends in these escapades too. I think the Iraq Invasion was the worst mistake America has made in my lifetime.
3
This is another Mr. Trump lie. There are contemporary recordings of Trump telling us that he supports the war. Stephen, you can't believe everything that Trump says. Moreover, it is incorrect to blame those in Congress who were lied to. The blame and accountability rests squarely on the shoulders of the Republican administration at that time. Though all Americans now have a responsibility to repay this debt.
Stephen of Texas wrote:
"I'm with you, Some of us "evil" Trump supporters turned specially on this issue, Hillary supported the invasion while in Congress, Trump opposed. I lost some friends in these escapades too. I think the Iraq Invasion was the worst mistake America has made in my lifetime."
2
Thank you of reminding us. You provide the invaluable service of a historian. Except, that the history is still unfolding.
Many of us saw it as a crime back then and still do so today.
The appearance of GW Bush on the Ellen DeGeneres show has cemented my already low opinion of Ms. DeGeneres. What a travesty.
3
Unfortunately, you are correct. Mr. Obama tried to undo the horrors of the W. Bush Administration but was thwarted. Many Americans do not understand that other people who are not American also have hopes, dreams and aspirations. Where ever one resides, he or she possesses a dream to create a unique reality for him/her and their families.
Many Americans know that they need to start again but it has made so many populations/countries angry that it may be impossible at this juncture. Nevertheless, America must do better and DJT won't help. An I'm sorry from me is meaningless, because it doesn't make it right for you and your family.
I'm afraid President Obama consciously decided (as he stated) not to review or prosecute the horrors of the Bush 43 administration's relentless march to and prosecution of the war.
Mellow Obama just didn't want to stir up a fuss. As he did not wish "to appear partisan" by disclosing to the American people in October, 2016 that their election was being perverted by Russian operatives on line.
1
The ideal of equality under the law is far from being honored throughout our society. Rarly are the powerful who break the law, as President Bush did by lying his way into the Iraq war, held accountable. Will we Americans ever embody that ideal, or will those in power, with few exceptions, remain about rhe law.
3
Mr Antoon's view needs to be balanced by the estimated 500,000-800,000 Iraqis murdered or disappeared over Saddam's thirty-year reign of terror; by the failure of the Iraqi dictator to comply with the conditions and terms for ending the first Gulf War; by the fact that the sanctions regime was failing; by the fact that Saddam could have had safe passage for himself and his family - forty-eight hours to get out of 'Dodge'; and most important, the refusal of the Iraqi people to accept American stewardship, and instead, they descended into mindless violence directed at their fellow citizens. A small percentage of Mr. Antoon's estimate of one million dead are attributable to the Americans - the bulk of those killed were the casualties of Iraqi on Iraqi violence.
9
The contrast between the British understanding of the Iraq War more than a decade later and the American understanding is fascinating. Most Brits agree that the war was a horrific crime based on lies, a crime that has gone unpunished. And the Tony Blair is a war criminal who should be at least behind bars. Americans, on the other hand, are willing to acknowledge that the war was based on lies but still refer to it as "mistake" mainly because 4000+ American soldiers died, not because of the kind of thorough destruction across all levels of society it brought to the country. They're still to rehabilitate Bush and Cheney and pretend the criminal invasion of Iraq is the equivalent of accidentally spilling coffee. It's a disgrace.
8
Fifteen years ago I marched in San Francisco to protest this inhumane lust for war, and I recall engaging in some verbal sparring with fellow marchers when I blamed the arrogance of Ralph Nader along with his self righteous supporters. Take Ralph Nader out of the equation, Al Gore’s President, no invasion and no hand wringing fifteen years later.
5
A similar argument could be made against pied piper Bernie, vis-à-vis Hillary Clinton, even though Bernie can’t come close to Nader in the unhinged arrogance department.
Not really. Bernie wasn't a spoiler, he was a legitimate contender and likely victor against Trump, whose chances were cut short by entrenched party politics, and a mainstream media which prejudged the outcome.
4
Granted - BUT - since Bernie’s mesmerized minions boycotted Hillary, they in fact - gave us Trump. There’s no pleasing the lefter-than-though crowd and they’ll continue to spew their self-righteousness the day Trump is re-elected.
1
My sentiments exactly. It was a crime that has gone unpunished and has been swept under the rug like all American crimes. The mentality in the U.S. is to forget about all the nasty things we’ve done or justify it with some myth about democracy and freedom. When it comes back to bite us, we feign ignorance about why people dislike us. Maybe Donald Trump is our karma.
I don’t think I have the words to express how much I am sorry for what this country has done to Iraq and its people. I am truly and deeply sorry.
6
Speaking as a 'Nam vet who came home and marched--in fact, I've been marching ever since--yes, the invasion and occupation of Iraq was a crime. So, indeed, was Viet Nam. I would be inclined to add Afghanistan to the list. And there are many smaller--I won't say "lesser"--examples. If there's a consistent U.S. foreign policy, it's one of doing whatever the party in power wants to. How long has it been since Congres actually declared war, its Constitutional responsibility? An authorization is not a declaration, above all else when its used as a blanket OK to go and do where we want. So yes, apologies are in order, not just to the countries we've harmed but to the people of this country; the taxpayers; the grunt on the ground; the bereaved.
20
The use of war to advance foreign interests rather than to just defend from imminent threat may be a war crime. The laws of nations since WWII are not the same as they were from the end of the Thirty Years War to the end of WWII. So perhaps on that basis, Bush et al might be considered war criminals.
But this article attributes the terrible outcomes of the American invasion to what was the deliberate purposes of the U.S., to satisfy the emotions which he experiences when he reflects upon what happened. He has every right to his feelings, but to deal with what happened effectively we must consider what really happened, not the evil specter which anger draws from anyone's imagination.
Going to war in this instance was wrong and the motives were unjustified by the facts available, and that is what our country must address. The U.S. is not some evil force that pretends to be benevolent.
3
Thank you for putting the invasion into correct perspective. I have a close friend who lived through both wars in Iraq that is now in America for four years. He has spoke of the terror, the horrible despicable acts done by American soldiers.... The looting, stealing , raping and the killings. I have cried many times for the Iraqi people and what my country did to yours. It's horrible and my only solace is knowing those responsible will one day answer to the God! I commend you on your bravery and accomplishments!
11
Was it not a crime for Iraq to attempt to annex Kuwait in 1990? Alas, perhaps Bush should have pulled an FDR and simply stayed out of foreign disputes.
1
Everyone who served in Iraq thinks about it on a regular basis.
1
The Iraq vets I know are proud of their country, and there is a huge Army base nearby. We realize how few New Yorkers bother to enlist any more.
Saddam Hussein was a lawless monster who had women kidnapped off the sidewalks, experimented in new forms of torture, and left containers of poison gas and the materials to make it all over Iraq. A NYT story told all a couple of years ago.
What as found immediately after we went in was enough to kill hundreds of thousands of people.
America did something rare in world history, sacrifice blood and treasure on behalf of another country to help you win freedom from a brutal dictator. Once freed, Iraqis chose to have civil war rather than peace. They chose to dishonor the sacrifice of our brave soldiers and the taxpayers that supported them. The cost is one million dead and a country in turmoil. Perhaps that is not yet enough to come together to make peace. America fought its own Civil War, and when 620,000 soldiers and 50,000 civilians had died we made peace.
7
Did Iraqis ask for this sacrifice? And how much in blood and money this sacrifice cost to Iraqis?
4
This boundless love for the Iraqi people and concern for their "freedom" is demonstrated by such benevolent gestures as our massive support for Saddam throughout the 1980s, including supplying him with weaponry and intelligence while he used chemical weapons against the Iranian military and the Kurdish civilians, by the U.S. deliberate bombing of basic Iraqi infrastructure during the Gulf War in 1991 (Google "Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities" to find a classified intelligence report showing our planned destruction of Iraq's water infrastructure, and the predicted spread of disease and suffering as a result), then using the UN sanctions committee after that infrastructure was destroyed to cynically withhold basic goods and materials under the "dual use" pretext to prevent Iraqis from rebuilding that infrastructure in order to prolong civilian suffering, ultimately resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands during the 1990s sanctions.
Blind nationalist myths about our benevolence and altruism of course never feel the need to cite evidence for such claims, since like religious mantras, the Holy State's perfection is self-evident. All that is needed is to repeat the mantra, like a religious chant.
States are not moral actors, and do not engage in trillion dollars acts of saintly benevolence through military bombardment, invasion, and occupation.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/26/exclusive-cia-files-prove-america-he...
4
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al should have been tried and executed in public but they weren't and now we have Trump who will likewise go scot-free, while our grey eminences wonder why kids today have no respect for the law.
18
The invasion by the US was a disgrace, a travesty, and a crime. Much of Sadam's crimes (killings / imprisonments of ethnic minorities, invasions of Iran, corruption, ...) were perpetrated by many US leaders by pursuing this unjustified unprovoked war that most Americans did not support, and by enriching themselves shamelessly. Why won't anyone investigate how many billions Cheney, Rumsfeld, or subsequently Eric Prince illegally pocketed from this war? Was it worth more than a million people's lives? I'm deeply sorry, every day, for the destruction of your country which held the beginnings of civilization, by our uncivilized greedy leaders.
12
Only if this article would have been written by a permanent resident of Iraq would I respect it. Too much playing from two sides here.
5
The more I read this op-ed, the more I think NYT commenters here have been royally had.
Despite his professed hatred for Saddam, Antoon gives every appearance of shilling for him. Antoon was no despised or persecuted Shiite Muslim. His Christian family seems to have prospered under Saddam. He spent the entire period of sanctions and war in the US.
Antoon condemns the US for what he calls its real purpose, namely "dismantling the Iraqi state and its institutions". Wait a moment. That is Saddam Hussein's state and institutions he is talking about.
That is not all. He spins the preposterous fable that the US is to blame for the sectarian civil war in Iraq. Come on already. Antoon knows perfectly well that the "Iraqi state and its institutions," whose destruction he says were the US's goal, were founded on the subjugation and denigration of the country's Shiite majority. Saddam was part of the Sunni elite that lorded it over the Shiites.
Antoon (elsewhere) condemns the "genocidal embargo (1990-2003)". That financial and trade embargo was imposed by the United Nations Security Council, and supported by Bill Clinton, and its goal was to dissuade Saddam from pursuing the development of WMDs. What mystifies me is Antoon's total failure to condemn Saddam's murderous policies at home and abroad and his goal of making himself the Kim Jong-un of the Middle East. Where is his outrage?
Whose side was Antoon really on?
9
On side of the Iraqi people the ones that you forgot about. Saddam was bad, but the invasion made the lives of Iraqi people much worse.
3
In 2011, according to Obama and Biden, Iraq was a great democratic country with a bright future ahead of it. What happened?
4
People have a very short attention span evidently, and a collective memory that only encompasses the XXIst century, for many. The author, and most comments, conveniently forget that Saddam Hussein wasn't a poor little victim minding his own business, when evil America decided to pick him for bullying practice.
The list of provocations, threats, involvements in international terrorism (including a failed assassination attempt on the US president at the time, George Bush Sr.) and the state of Iraq's Chemical, Biological and nuclear weapons programs, and Hussein's declared intent to use them as soon as possible on US citizens and interests, whether abroad or on US soil, were enough to justify a strike without even the WMD scare that finally instigated the attack and ensuing occupation. To say that Hussein, and as an unfortunate collateral, the Iraqi people had it coming, is the mother of all understatements.
From PBS,, not exactly a right-wing news organization: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/analyses/ishe.html
"we can either hope he doesn't do what we know he can do, and wait, or we can consider that the threat is large enough to justify action today."
So please spare us the victim card. What happened in Iraq was unfortunate and sad, but we'd be reading the same kind of articles if Bin Laden had been pre-emptively killed before 9/11.
6
The invasion was a crime--a war crime. And the criminals who perpetrated this crime are still at large, many of them still taken seriously are treated with respect. We still are dropping bombs in several countries and we have expanded the countries where we have "boots on the ground." We have expanded the use of drones and mercenaries, and we have imprisoned the few who have shown the courage to release the secret information about these crimes. Given our rhetoric that we are a shining beacon for democracy and freedom, we must hang our heads in shame that we have allowed this to happen. We are far from being the country and the people we always claim to be.
9
I agree completely. This was not a blunder or a mistake or “bad intel”.
This was nothing less than a calculated war crime.
And let’s not be so civilized and nice to ourselves.
Cheating on your finals at, say, Princeton or Harvard, would be a “disgrace”.
Bombing thousands of innocent men, women, and children into a million bloody pieces is horrific war crime.
The entire Bush cabal should be living out their final days in isolation at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague.
7
Sinan, my guess is that you're going to read every single piece of mail that your article has generated. I want to apologize on behalf of my country and also for being a small person in a large nation and, like so many of my fellow citizens (anywhere from a half million to three million Americans whose votes don't count), having no clout. We tried, but the protests of millions fell on deaf ears.
I sent out a detailed e-mail to everyone I knew personally as well as business contacts explaining how and why President George W. Bush was fabricating reasons to send troops into Iraq. This cost me some friends and business opportunities, but at least I did what I could and I have a clear conscience. W. was re-elected as a "war president", which was his goal: to hold onto the power to which he and his family were accustomed.
But we destabilized the Middle East - which also resulted in the Arab Spring from North Africa to Afghanistan - and spent a lot of lives, time, money and goodwill - wasting them for what? Yes, if we broke it, we should fix it. But I have no desire to see the next generation go back to fight again. I'll think twice about even visiting for the 2022 World Cup.
Who knows? Qatar may still be involved in its "Cold War" proxy conflict with Saudi Arabia. It's anyone's guess when all of this is going to end and how many more 911 scenarios and other atrocities we will witness.
Chevy
South Hadley, MA
7
To argue that a foreign country can invade and plant a democracy on another country is without any historical precedence or logic. Iraq under Saddam was brutal but what came afterwards ended up being far worse. What is worse is that there was no plan for post-war Iraq and it was under resourced from the very beginning. Building political institutions takes time and resources, neither of them exist in the present Iraq. History will judge how big a crime the invasion of Iraq was and remains.
8
The invasion and destruction of Iraq was a war crime and there never has been any accountability by those who were behind it - Bush, Cheney, Powell, and the army of neo-cons and enablers including the cheerleaders (yes,the NYTimes editors included). But we have seen this American film before - the victims (the murdered, maimed, shattered and destroyed lives) of Vietnam, Central America, South America have yet to receive justice . . .
7
It takes two hands to clap. Japan received two atomic bombs from the Americans, Germany was mercilessly bombed by the Allied forces. Regardless of whether one would consider those bombings as ‘crimes’, a well-known and much more important fact (and ‘lesson’) is that Japan and Germany were able to take whatever advantages the ‘invaders’ or the occupying forces had to offer. As a result, now the Japanese and Germans have better things to do than wasting their time blaming the Americans for their ‘crimes.’
3
I sympathize for the writer. It’s a horror tale. The lives of ordinary well placed Iraquis lives have been destroyed for generations to come and Iraq will never be the same. There is absolutely no comparison of life under Saddam Hussein and life now.
George Bush never showed real regret for what he unleashed. One could give hoots to his paintings compared to the destruction of entire Iraq. It’s a shame that his father did not have the nerve to stop him. He was ignorant but what about his father? Almost an unpatriotic act to let his son wage a useless war that not only destroyed Iraq but sowed seeds for Syria creating millions of refugees.
3
I remember George W. Bush's repeated assertion that "We'll fight the terrorists over there, so we don't have to fight them over here" and its dutiful parroting by other Republican politicians and sympathizing opinion columnists. I kept thinking, how selfish. Bush and his enablers were saying that Iraqis must suffer and die so that we Americans may live in peace and prosperity. They didn't even view Iraqis as human beings, merely as tools for their use. Yes, what they did was a crime, but Privileged White Men can do what they want without ever being held to account.
4
Buried in this Politico article is an interesting tidbit:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/jul/17/facebook-...
That tidbit: the ICC does not have inherent jurisdiction over Iraq for war crimes.
It seems as though the U.N. Security Council could refer the matter, but has chosen not to do so (and it does not take a poli-sci savant to realize that it never will).
Again, while the fury over the Iraq War is founded, "crime" is a legal term that needs a lot more foundation before it can be thrown around. ... Including jurisdiction.
The late Vincent Bugliosi wrote a book in which he prosecuted Bush for this crime. He would have convicted him. Rest in Peace Mr. Bugliosi.
3
Removing Saddam was good thing. George W. Bush did it in the worst possible way and for all the wrong reasons and he botched what came thereafter. But he didn't force Iraqis to fight the muslim version of the Thirty Years War. That is entirely on them. Iraqi plunder and sectarian strife did far more damage as all the bombing. Recommended reading: George Packer, Assassin's Gate
4
Also recommended reading:
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/26/world/us-secretly-gave-aid-to-iraq-ea...
https://www.thenation.com/article/reagan-legacy
Who gives you the right to tell people in other countries how to live?
1
As a child of the 60s, I could never sanction ANY war and I certainly could not understand the invasion of Iraq. As an American, I deeply apologize to you and the people of Iraq for America's transgressions.
8
For what its worth Sinan, hundreds of thousands, millions across the country protested the Iraq war. I think many people tried hard to stop it, but I just didn't see the necessary reporting from the media. If they would have ran a daily headline "Hans Blix says no Nukes", this would have never happened.
6
It is indeed unfortunate that there has never been any accountability for the war against Iraq, nor for the torture and other abuses in the aftermath of 9/11. Because, according to Bush's successor, Barack Obama, it was time to "look forward, not back." Bush and his administration are responsible for their crimes, and Obama and his administration are responsible for preventing any accountability.
2
A crime it certainly was. You could almost see it coming from the onset in Tora Bora. As the US troops supposedly had Bin Laden trapped there, to the amazement and disgust of our allies (excluding Tony Blair). we turned over the capture of Bin Laden to the local militia who in turn let him go. Rumsfield and his cronies, I'm sure, would have a totally different recollection of events. Had we captured Bin Laden at that point in time, there would have been no reason whatsoever to invade Iraq. The rest is history. That crime put the US on a downward trajectory that we haven't recovered from...and now we have Trump.
1
My thanks to the author. I agree with him that the war on Iraq was a crime. I protested along with thousands of other Americans, to no avail. I am so sorry for the horrors perpetrated on your country. I remember reading about ill equipped Iraqi soldiers being run over by American tanks and essentially buried alive, along with many other monstrosities. What happened there doesn't deserve to be called a war, it was a slaughter, an invasion and yes, a crime.
4
Yes!
I see other commenters hemming and hawing about how the invasion wasn't really a crime.
The invasion WAS a war crime as defined by the Nuremberg Trials after World War II: "waging aggressive war," i.e. attacking a country that was no threat to us.
I felt that way from Day One, especially after the torture at Abu Ghraib was revealed after being long rumored. Add another war crime defined by the
Nuremberg Trials: "crimes against humanity."
Saddam Hussein was a harsh dictator, but using him as justification for destroying the infrastructure and social fabric of a nation was despicable. When the U.S. command fired the entire civil service (some 500,000 people) and imposed its own dictatorship, a revolt was inevitable. The so-called "insurgents" were fighting against an unjustified foreign invasion. We were the Redcoats in this war, and it is beyond tragic that any young Americans had to die for this cause.
It was also discouraging to hear the alleged "left-wing radical" Nancy Pelosi say that "impeachment was off the table" for the Bush administration. If there had been any justice in this world, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and their friends under no-bid contracts who profiteered to the tune of billions would have been put on a nonstop flight to The Hague to stand trial for their cynical and self-serving destruction of a nation.
6
For argument's sake, if a preemptive invasion by our country was ineluctable, Saudi Arabia should have been the target. They assisted the hijackers, and have protected the those Saudis involved.
4
I agree the invasion and the war were a crime, perpetrated by Cheney, Rumsfeld and the neocons Wolfowitz, Perle, Abrams, Feith, Libby and others who led George W. Bush by the nose into the debacle. They were a crime because some of the motivation was dreadful: Bush's naivete and his juvenile need to one-up his father; Cheney's anger that H.W. Bush didn't continue into Iraq after kicking Saddam out of Kuwait in 1991 which made him ignore evidence such as the Sunni-Shiite divide that made the prospect of an invasion and occupation more than daunting, accept "evidence" such as that from the notorious "curve ball" that "proved" that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, and time and again force CIA analysts who expressed deep misgivings to go back and take another look; and Rumsfeld's simple know-it-all arrogance.
I also agree that the class-by-itself presidency of Donald Trump has made people start to forget just how horrible the Iraq war was. I am one of them. It took this op-ed to refocus my mind on this disgraceful episode in the history of our beloved country.
3
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq....the echoes of Eisenhower's warning about the military industrial complex reverberate in endless iterations.
When you're a hammer everything you see is a nail. When you're a general everyone you see is an enemy. We have too many generals (and wannabe generals - trump), and not enough poets.
6
it's a question whether 9/11 would have happened had Bush not won the election. Clinton warned Bush, I believe, in person about Bin Laden, and the Bush administration promptly took Al Qaeda off the radar. Also, Bush being a Christian conservative, the right wing media came out swinging against any questions against going into Iraq. Since Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, it is doubtful the US would have been behind a liberal Democrat going into Iraq the way the whole country got behind the Bush administration.
3
I can't dispute this. Bush made a terrible choice to invade and occupy Iraq, with ramifications still being felt today. But to fully discuss our involvement there you cannot ignore (let alone exonerate) President Obama's decision to prematurely withdraw troops. Remember, he ran on fixing Iraq, but his Iraq policy decision ultimately left it much worse off by allowing Isis to fill the vacuum. Of course, most left-leaning folks have such an irrational emotional attachment to this particular president they cannot stomach any valid criticism of the man. They will make excuses. But history won't.
1
You could be right. I haven't studied the effect of the troop reduction. I'm a middle of the road moderate fiscal conservative pro-social programs type, and with respect to foreign policy mostly what I believe and have observed is that with the possible exception of South Korea, nation-building hasn't worked and likely won't ever work. I don't exonerate Obama, but the responsibility starts and remains primarily with the folks that led us into this fiasco for reasons that are unimaginable to me, except if I want to reduce them to oil empire, leverage against Iran, personal vendetta from Bush to Saddam, and mostly the immature hubris of thinking that America can fix things in foreign cultures far away. Your need to make sure Obama gets blamed too seems irrelevant to me, unless you are a military historian. There was likely nothing he could have done to prevent ISIS and to prevent the chaos and bloodshed Antoon writes about. But--OK--sure, Obama messed up too. There: does that make you satisfied?
1
If we had sent a million troops to occupy to Iraq for a thousand years the end result would be the same. The Iraqi people did not and do not want us there. After we utterly destroyed the Iraqi nation the was nothing left to fix. We had to leave and sooner was better than later. Or would you have liked us to stay there forever the way we stayed in South Korea when we shouldn't have been in Iraq in the first place. Hell, maybe we should still be in Vietnam. Never-ending war is now the great American pastime.
2
Bush didn't sign a SOFA with Iraq because Iraq insisted, as was this nation's right, to have our Military under Iraq's judicial system; for Obama to have continued to occupy Iraq, and that was exactly what we were doing, he would have needed to accept this condition, or simply continue as a foreign invader
1
No matter what each individual believes about America’s role in the regression of the Iraqi state, this man’s assertions are misleading at best. How many people died in the Iran Iraq war? 1 million? 1.5 million? How many people were tortured to death and disappeared because of Hussein? How many people died in terrorist acts sanctioned by the Hussein government? How many Kurds were killed with chemical weapons? America’s hands are not clean in the history of Iraq, but to cast total blame on the US and stick one’s head in the sand when it comes to a brutal dictatorial regime is just plain wrong.
4
Trump makes George W. Bush look so much better as a president, despite the grave damage he did. For all anyone knows, he and Cheney were the ones responsible for getting him installed.
2
I watched our Secretary of State stand up before the United Nations and reaffirm the lies our government was telling us about their nuclear capabilities and poison gases. The Klatchy Newspapers were the only newspapers that told us the truth. No other media in our country opposed this war. I marched with the millions of people around the world whom opposed this war. I watched a debate at Oxford University concerning who was the greatest threat to peace in the world and I believe from what was said that it was us. I composed a handout against this war which i distributed at my church. The response was that I was unpatriotic and many in my church thought that I should leave. I didn't because I thought that Christ was on my side. What we did to Iraq was a criminal offense for which those responsible have not been punished.
5
I marched with you, and recall handing out fliers in front of the office of then Senator John Edwards (NC) in Raleigh, trying to convince people to oppose Edwards' announced decision to vote for the IWR. No one on the busy street wanted to know anything bad about Bush or his proposed war. They were all cheering for the chance to "give them Muslims some of their own medicine."
2
Glad there is something left called Iraq. The objectives of the invasion were slaughtering everyone who still had pride and honesty, and erasing Iraq from the face of the earth. These were the objectives of neoconservatives. Their crimes are numerous including opening the gates for terrorists, especially from Saudi Arabia and Chechnya; forcing educated and skilled middle class to leave the country; fragmenting of the country; spreading bloodshed and misery, and institutionalizing of corruption.
2
I agree with you completely. This invasion was unjustified. There were no weapons of mass destruction and our government lied to us repeatedly. I voted for Obama because I hoped that the criminals would be brought to some level of justice. I knew Bush et al were lying while I watched the crime unfold on worldwide television. Many posts are correct that Saddam was evil etc etc. We do not invade countries because of evil leaders. If that were true we would be in Russia and many other countries. Putin is no less evil than Hussein was. We invaded Iraq because Bush jr. FELT LIKE IT!!
5
Since when is gassing Kurds acceptable?
Dear Sinan Antoon,
There are many in the US that share your grief - as much as we can imagine the loss of one's country. No country is perfect, but it is the collection of all of its people, not just the wealthy and not just its resources. Many of our citizens have yet to accept how our government decided to lie, steal and kill to have their way with your country - and others around the world. It may take generations. In America, as you know, we are experiencing that same type of destruction from within, the greed and racism are rampant. Yet, as in Iraq, there are good people here and I'm glad you're one of them at this time. I hope we in the US can somehow forge a better, more sane foreign policy, somehow, some day. Definitely without Trump.
1
We should seriously try to get the military industrial complex contained. We have had nonstop wars. After Iraq we went into Libya and basically killed Ghadiffi and destroyed that country and then went into Syria to do the same. What right do we have to go into a sovereign country and destroy it? We were not invited by the country. Now the war drums seem to be beating to go into Iran and even Russia. Let’s have a National referendum to see if the people really want this. It seems not to matter if there is a Republican or Democrat in power. They are both too weak to resist this push always to war. The money of course is a huge factor but what else is driving this insanity?
3
The word "crime" is apt, but perhaps does not go far enough. Our country, the United States, is a superpower that has engaged in crime after crime since it emerged as a "leader" after World War 2. The Iraq war in one of several of our crimes. There is no other superpower that has acted in this way since the 1940's, bombing and killing people on such a massive scale.
2
Thanks for your words. yes, it was a crime. Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, with the eventual collusion of Colin Powell, lied about WMD in Iraq, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, in order to start an illegal and immoral war which has destroyed the lives of 1000's of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. The gentlemen above all are international war crimes perpetrators - and should be sent to the Hague. But the useless Obama government refused to take any action against these criminals - because we always want to be nice to criminals, as long as they are Americans from good families. There was, and is, no justification of any kind in law or out for our presence in Iraq.
Not just Iraq. Bush/Cheney disrupted the whole Middle East. Europe is paying the price right now. We are not.
2
The invasion of Iraq was a mistake that harmed America's image in the world but also a crime that devastated the people of Iraq.
When we go to war, we give members of our armed forces license to commit the ultimate crime: killing other human beings. Before doing so, we should be VERY sure that it is absolutely necessary.
In Iraq, this was not done. Iraq was a war of choice without justification. It was started on false premises with hidden agendas by people who avoided their country's call during the Vietnam conflict because they had "other priorities."
Given the above, it is fair to say that even the many casualties caused by enemy action can be laid at the feet of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld.
1
Certainly the horrors in Iraq that Mr. Antoon chronicles in his article bear serious reflection, and should serve as mandatory reading for a new generation of American voters, who need to always consider the true intentions of its elected officials.
That said, I am blinded by the fundamental fact that Mr. Antoon penned this article from the comfort and safety that he has enjoyed - for more than 27 years - here in the United States. The same United States that offered him an advanced graduate education, at the likely expense of a competing, American-born applicant. The same United States that provides him an abundance of food, shelter, safety and freedom of the press.
Yet from this comfortable perch in New York, Mr. Antoon condemns the very land that has afforded him these luxuries, while referring to Iraq as "My Country". Where's the balance?
1
"....I knew that the actual objectives of war were always camouflaged by well-designed lies that exploit collective fear and perpetuate national myths."
Perfectly stated.
1
It’s part of our DNA. We need to own the Middle East in order to insure our energy supplies and pipelines . Not to mention to keep China and Russia out . And surely the Middle East doesn’t want to owned .
Endless war,oil inspired .
2
In destroying Sinan's country, we may very well have planted the seeds for our own country's destruction. Unless we face up to our responsibility, and finally hold our leaders -- Bush, Cheney, et al -- accountable for their crimes, I fear we are doomed to suffer a fate as bad, if not worse, than that of Iraq's.
Don't hold your breath for catching and prosecuting the perps. The ones who committed the crimes of the Vietnam War, the installation of dictatorships in South America, the criminal war in El Salvador, etc., etc., etc., are still at large. There is no justice. And there is no peace.
Right here we have a perfect illustration of why the Trump proponents of the 'deep state' mythology and the 'burn it down' mentality have made a colossal miscalculation. The United States definitely needed to fix some things and provide oversight and accountability of its institutions.
But when you burn it down (dismantle the state and its institutions) and have nothing up and running to replace it with in the short-term interim, you're going to end up with a "dysfunctional and corrupt semi-state."
So, now what are we gonna do? The sand in my hourglass is mostly in the bottom of the bottle. I feel really sorry for young people.
1
Don't forget we had a coalition of the willing and there were many willing to participate. I like many Americans have given up trying to stop our Military Industrial Complex from raising mayhem around the world. Most Americans seem OK with it and many of your young like to voluntary in caring out this mayhem. Please except my apology for my complicity. I am currently a member of the Green Party: Peace People Planet.
2
The article clearly points out how Iraqis feel. We were duped, something that all humans will not admit to themselves. Worse, we had already lost a war by trying to win the hearts and mines of people after an invasion, Vietnam did not work. Yet, we allowed ourselves to give in to our vulnerable feeling after 9/11 to pursue another dictator who we made. They say the start and end of a war is the most dangerous for civilians but that is not true in today's world. The people within a country can rebuild unless they have a superpower who dictates the political script. There are many "terrorists" in that region that are ready to over power any government's military. So we are both stuck. Our leaders had alternate agendas and it was never about helping the people of Iraq, very hard to do when you don't even try to understand them. Today we resist our own Dictator, the Pretend King Trump, while we watch in horror of the casualty counts of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our rebellious individualistic society wants everyone to fight their fight alone since we are alone now. We do not understand what it feels like for another country to have power over our way of life. Hopefully, Czar Putin will not teach us that lesson. One day I hope we can go to Iraq and make amends.
I too remember the dread I felt after 9/11 when Rumsfeld proudly announced the "shock and awe" invasion of Iraq....arguing that Afghanistan was "too soft" of a target. That decision helped pave the way for the most destabilized middle east that we are still dealing with today. Perhaps not a crime in the literal sense, but a crime non-the-less.
2
I did not vote for the people who took us into Iraq for the second time. I did not vote for the people who took us to Iraq the first time. I believe that the first time, which occurred after Iraq invaded Kuwait, is not the same as the second time. All the same, it is my country that did this for a second time. And my countrymen who voted for the people who did this a second time. The blame and the shame for that second time sits squarely on the shoulders of the folks who were in the White House when it occurred. All the same, each and every American is inextricably attached to the debacle. We could not have known at the time that the justification was a falsehood. But since we Americans now do know this was an unnecessary war, with grievous results, it is a debt that we must repay. It is a responsibility which we all must shoulder.
1
The "creative destruction" of Iraq was part of a openly discussed neocon plan to destabilize the Mideast. History has yet to be written on the details on how policy was made during those times, and why Saddam's army was disbanded.
One of the sad outcomes of that period is the current violent schism between Shias and Sunnis. In Saddam's Iraq Sunnis and Shias were heavily intermarried, and (evil though he was) Saddam ran a secular government. Today, we see the entire Muslim world split...one has to wonder whether this is part of a modern "divide and conquer" strategy.
When criminals go free, there is little incentive to refrain from repeating the crime.
4
I believe in karma. What we have done to other countries will come back and haunt us in other ways. Even though we are the richest nation in the world, look at the problems we face each day here. Greed for money will be our downfall as a nation.
I have a small but significant criticism of the headline "Fifteen Years Ago, America Destroyed My Country" The author was accepted and has benefited from living in the United States for thirty years. When will the United States become his country? This is not to say that his criticisms are not valid. Yes, individuals in the U.S. make mistakes, sometimes devastating and criminal, but the country has been a beacon of freedom and refugee for many.
3
I recall my support for Obama being predicated on my naive belief that he would certainly call for an investigation of Cheney, Bush and the Project for a New American Century ( remember PNAC?) all of who promoted the distasterous and illegal invasion of Iraq and the resulting war crimes. That Obama did nothing was a defining moment for his presidency and US history. Very simply, having accepted this travesty and moved on, we can no longer call ourselves a nation of laws. It's not surprising that we see Trump daily violate his oath of office, and ignore the Constitution. Why wouldn't he? If the Bush administration can evade justice after killing millions and spending trillions on an illegal war, who will care about Trump's relatively puny financial crimes?
1
“The only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history.”
Over 200 years ago a certain people were very upset that its laws were being made by a distant country. They rebelled and successfully fought a revolution to govern themselves.
Now many of the political descendants of that people celebrate that revolution but think nothing of dictating the laws and policies of other countries without the concent of the governed.
“The more things change the more they stay the same.”
1
I wouldn't call it a crime, but it certainly was, at best geopolitical mistake, at worst irresponsible.. Democracy and Education go hand in hand, although I won't venture to suggest what the temporal relationship is between those two variables. But Iraq-and many others we subsequently released from dictatorships- did not have the Education system and Educated class that co-exist or predict successful Democracies.
1
The push to invade was completely, transparently, irrational.
All the reasons not to invade where still present back when George HW Bush & Defense Secretary Cheney decided not to push into Bagdad from Kuwait. Our supposed intellectual elites in the media, who were on watch, apparently did not remember the reasons for caution and skepticism. NY Times columnists endorsed Iraqi regime change, and later have argued for it in Syria.
It wasn't just a crime, it was a demonstration that mainstream institutions (media, political parties, etc...) can be overtaken by peer pressure and hysteria.
2
Embarrassed as I was to see the spectacle of yet another unnecessary self interested war, I have no words for the anger, frustration and guilt I feel for being part of America. I am sick of being part of this country that has done so much harm to so many and has so little gain to be proud of. The wasted trillions, the inequity it has brought us, the moral, ecological and socioeconomic damage of these stupid wars is on an incomprehensible scale. I can Not even begin to understand the horror of the hurt and suffering we have inflicted on so many people. This the century of America will be judged by history in harshest of terms. The worst of the British empire, or the Roman Empire pales by comparison.
4
Why doesn't the author live in Iraq, his beloved homeland? Why isn't he there helping to educate and unite the people as they build the beloved country they imagine Iraq to be. He left his people behind when he fled to America.
3
Rather easy to say that from the comfort of a powerful, colonialist country, isn't it? Have you ever lived in a place where you were the occupied and not the occupier? He's doing what he can to help his country, even if from abroad. And what are you doing to help your country from within?
2
'The pundits and “experts” who sold us the war still go on doing what they do'
CNN with Blitzer and Amanpour were the biggest cheer leaders of the Bush invasion. If they had had any conscience, they would have admitted that their view was wrong and caused Americans to view the war as a'holy' american (and allies' war with the intention to destabilize the middle east on behalf of Israel.
Yes, the invasion was a stupid mistake.
It removed a significant block against Iran (a worse threat than Saddam ever dreamed of being).
But, the author tries to drop the Iraqi history of corruption, sectarian strife on the US.
The country was already a mess - a tribal society with a violent religious divide.
The US had no interest in the resultant civil war and gave up blood and treasure trying to bring some semblance of civilisation to that dark place.
Yeah, we probably made it worse, but Iraq wasn't exactly a garden of eden.
2
Saddam being a terrible dictator is no excuse to invade and destroy the country and its people. He was a US friend when he was at war with Iran, as is the Saudi dictator currently destroying Yemen and warmly welcomed by the US.
4
Get ready America... trump, John Bolton, and Mike Pompeo are getting ready to go to war against Iran. I say, put them on the front line.
5
A war based on arrogance and deceit is always a crime.
4
Hmmm...something seems to have fallen down the Memory Hole! Ah, it is retrievable!
From a column by Daniel Okrent on May 30, 2004:
"The apparent flimsiness of ''Illicit Arms Kept Till Eve of War, an Iraqi Scientist Is Said to Assert,'' by Judith Miller (April 21, 2003), was no less noticeable than its prominent front-page display; the ensuing sequence of articles on the same subject, when Miller was embedded with a military unit searching for W.M.D., constituted an ongoing minuet of startling assertion followed by understated contradiction. But pinning this on Miller alone is both inaccurate and unfair: in one story on May 4, editors placed the headline ''U.S. Experts Find Radioactive Material in Iraq'' over a Miller piece even though she wrote, right at the top, that the discovery was very unlikely to be related to weaponry."
Talk about amnesia...
4
The US today is a shadow of what it was prior to Trump, W and Reagan. They destroyed this country from within, without a bullet being fired.
The same people that destroyed your country have bee destroying our country for decades. It’s just a matter of time when the American human toll exceed the Iraqi.
3
What a moving tome from Mr. Antoom!
This shameful episode in America's venture into nation building under W should not be ignored.
We exposed ourselves as what the rest of the World believed - we are a war mongering Nation that has no regard for any lives that are not white Americans.
3
I notice you have have no intention of going back to make things better.
4
Oil is at the bottom of all these Middle Eastern wars. Bet on it. We are no better than sophisticated thieves.
4
The amount of rationalization and excusing in the commentary section certainly explains where the US is today.
Jeez, America!
It was and is a WAR CRIME!!!
The US invaded and destroyed, sovereign country.
We killed and made refugee of millions of innocent women and children.
5
You speak of having opposed Saddam AND the war. Tell me, what were you doing to oppose Saddam other than moving to the US?
You seem to have left your countrymen and your "brothers" in the Arab world completely off the hook. The larger part of the problem in Iraq has been this stupid jihad business that's fighting for.... what, exactly? This former state in Iraq and Syria that nobody wants to live in?
This was a mistake on America's part, but mostly because it just wasn't worth it. To say that Iraq's present is all America's fault is tremendously ignorant. This part of the world has been in cultural decline for centuries before America even arrived on the stage, and that rot has led to the sentiments the author expresses as having almost universal purchase in the Middle East. It's that rot that failed to recognize an opportunity to develop in the direction that Korea, Japan, or Western Europe did in recent history, but is instead willing to support terrorism on a massive scale to defend their "honor".
Say what you will about US foreign policy, European history in the region, etc.... There are still people that actually live in Iraq, and collectively they hold more influence over what happens than anything. It would be wonderful to hear an Iraqi talk about what they need to do, rather than this unceasing litany of what's been done to them... often by people living in the foreign countries that they're accusing of these "crimes".
3
Nah.
What crimes did Iraq commit? Who is responsible for that? Only Saddam? What about Iraqi people?
I get that Saddam did not have nuclear weapons, but he was causing havoc. Against Shia and Kurds in Iraq. Against his neighbors. He was threatening Israel, our only friend in the region. Instead of putting oil wealth to improve the standard of living of average Iraqis, he was squandering it on palaces, and personal opulence, guns, chemical weapons, and other fairly ungodly pursuits.
The Iraqi people need to own this. After the military defeat, Iraq could have lived in peace with Saddam gone. But no, you wouldn't have it.
Iraq was invaded because Saddam was causing trouble for the west, most of whom had no interest in him as long as he was participating as a global citizen. Had he let in inspectors and shown everyone he had no nukes, no one would have invaded.
Sadly, when you tease and irritate super powers, you pay. Not fair, but it is what it is. See what happens to N. Korea now. It won't be fair. But it will happen.
But I do not think of Iraq war as a crime US committed. Iraq committed it. Iraq disintegrated all on its own; you caused the tribal warfare by refusing to live in a democracy, giving in to Islamicists, and lord knows what. Please own that.
Kalidan
5
Crime is an apt descriptor of American military adventurism in Iraq, and what a stirring article we have from Mr. Antoon. The author's allusions to the complete lack of planning (or concern) on the part of Paul Bremer, and the army of hastily-assembled U.S. bureaucrats tasked with assembling a provisional government ad hoc, are telling. "Bungling" on this scale is not a matter of mistakes; entire cities were ground into dust. The Americans who oversaw this project remain wealthy, powerful, and respected on account of their so-called work.
What's more, glancing at the NYT Picks from the article's subsequent comments provides a fascinating cross-section of all the petty, sulking attitudes that yet persist in the U.S. in the wake of this travesty. Whether by pedantic appeals to the narrow textbook definition of war crime, condescending disparagement of Iraq's sectarian violence (a.k.a. 'we're not to blame for their inherent savagery'), or tepid justifications for our eternal military involvement based solely on the brutality of the Hussein regime, the denial and willful ignorance is thick in the air. Interesting also that the NYT would enfranchise such views by the handful on their 'Pick' list. The Editorial Board, doubtlessly mindful of their own legacy in supporting the Iraq War (crucially, at the onset of hostilities), no doubt wishes to hear as much as possible from the apologists. What a heavy weight we all bear.
4
"Condescending disparagement of Iraq's sectarian violence" - You would heap praise on it? Or engage in the willful ignorance of it as you condescendingly accuse others? And your blithe reference to the brutality of the Hussein regime seems a clear indication that you found it entirely acceptable. And, of course, anyone who disagrees with you is an apologist. You call others condescending but fail to recognize it in yourself and your supercilious remarks.
Yes! And this is why I feel such outrage when liberals like Bill Maher wax nostalgic about George W. Bush. As bad as Trump is, he hasn’t (so far) launched us into a genocidal war on false pretenses (WMD) that decimated the author’s country. Bush and his cronies are war criminals, absolutely. I happen to live in the community from which the war in Iraq was launched and “managed,” and I can assure that there are still many “patriots” out there sporting “Operation Iraqi Freedom’ license plates on their Mustangs and Harleys. The delusory propaganda runs deep; it is imperative that the truth run deeper.
2
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are the reason that George W. Bush remains the worst president in American history, despite all the bizarre goings-on of the current occupant of the Oval Office. At least Trump hasn't started any immoral, bloody, destabiliing multi-trillion-dollar wars . . . yet.
2
So, what shall we call what Saddam did to your people then?
4
You can call it: NOT YOUR BUSINESS
2
Sorry, Mr. Antoon, it was not a "crime" and you show no evidence otherwise. It was a colossal, poorly thought out, and poorly executed blunder. But it was done in response to a dictator that YOU and YOUR PEOPLE let happen.
You never had a country. You had a bunch of tribes fighting each other temporarily stabilized by a tyrant.
4
Sure it was a stupid move that was not endorsed by many Americans including myself, however I don't think you guys had it so good before the U.S invaded. It's apparently be ruled by terror or dictators in the middle east : (. They should focus on democracy instead old hatred and religious beliefs, until that day comes get used to it.
1
With a million dead at the hands of President George W Bush, I feel strongly he is worse than Trump.
It is conceivable, that with the eroding of Obamacare, another million people will die.
Time will tell.
Only then will Trump be as bad as Bush.
The invasion of Iraq, which was touted as a venture meant to bring democracy to a region filled with dictators, will remain, like slavery, one of America's dark past. And like slavery, which was defended for many years by racists, until Abraham Lincoln exposed its hypocrisy, that 2003 invasion will haunt the consciences of arrogant politicians like Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz to their graves.
1
I would not argue with her calling the US invasion of Iraq a crime. The killing of innocent civilians is certainly a crime. The total one-sidedness of the author and the denial of any responsibility of Iraqis for the precipitating reasons for the invasion and for what followed is, however, striking. One of the pretexts for the invasion was the possession by Iraq of WMD and while no nuclear weapons were found, it is abundantly clear that poison gas was used to kill thousands of civilians. Saddam Hussein was a brutal, corrupt, murderous dictator responsible for millions of deaths in the war with Iran and the invasion of Kuwait along with his suppression of political threats and his attacks on Shias and Kurds. Torture, including such atrocities as gouging out the eyes of children to get parents to talk, was routine in pre-invasion Iraq. The sectarian fighting that followed is not atypical of Islamic states where, when not brutally suppressed by dictators like Assad and Hussein, is always latent and springs forth with regularity whether it is Sunni-Shia or against minorities like Druze, Copts, Bahai, Yazidi. I wonder what Ms. Antoon and the chest-beating, mea culpa crying Americans would have had the US and world do in response to Saddam's brutality - the same thing as it did in response to the massacres in Darfur and Rwanda, i.e. almost nothing? By the same logic, these people would evidently have opposed D-day since Hitler did not attack the US.
2
I will never understand why Bush and his crew were never punished for killing all those people on a revengeful hunch. Perhaps someday.
1
No mention of SCUD missles being fired into israel from dear old Saddam. How about the stupid invasion of Kuwait?
How about that 911 ? Comes time to pay the piper. Reap the whirlwind.
2
Israel has a right to defend itself; we have neither a right nor an obligation to obliterate another country in their defense.
Our ambassador at the time gave her tacit approval for Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. Our 2003 response had nothing to do with Kuwait, which had been "liberated" a decade earlier.
Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
That's 3 out of 3.
1
How about 911? Iraq had nothing to do with that.
Our public prefers to not think about the death and destruction caused by George W.'s Crusade -- yes that's what he moronically called it -- and the reactive terrorism that sprang from it. So let's just focus on money.
George W.'s director of the NEC Larry Lindsey made himself famous or infamous in 2002 when he predicted that the cost of the Iraq war would be up to $200 billion. He was derided by the arrogant Rumsfeld, who said the cost would not exceed $50 billion. The creepy Wolfowitz -- the guy who runs his comb through his mouth before slicking down his hair -- said it would be self-financing.
Lindsey was fired -- some suggestion was made that he was out of shape and did not exercise, which was conveniently true -- as was fired fiscal responsibility advocate Treasury Secretary O'Neill. The Decider's Iraq war -- probably our greatest international mistake ever even quite apart from its cost -- charged to our national credit card, has now cost 15 or 20 times the supposedly too-high estimate for which Lindsey was fired, and the tab is still running.
With Bush and his codpiece as passengers in the fighter jet landing on that carrier, Mission Accomplished!
2
Perhaps if your countrymen would stop killing each other over old grievances things would improve
2
Yet you choose to live in the evil country that destroyed your country. Where is your personal moral compass?
2
Yes, but it's more complicated than this. Certainly our country is responsible but what of Hussein's crimes against Kuwait, Iran, and gassing of innocents in your country? Is the price of stability worth those massacres but not others? We have certainly learned a lesson from Iraq as shown in our reluctance to now intervene in Syria where Assad won't ever give up. I honestly don't understand why we intervene at all in the Middle East at this point because were damned if we do and damned if we don't. I used to think it was all about oil, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. If it were, we'd be intervening in Venezuela which has more oil than any other country in the world.
Those who've followed the situation in Iraq, won't find anything new in this op-ed, but that's no reason why it shouldn't be published, precisely because of the "mostly amnesiac citizenry" that Sinan Antoon is talking about.
I recently met, by chance, an Iraqi refugee. He was in his twenties. He had nevertheless already been jailed for two years, and had constantly been tortured in prison. His crime? Having participated in anti-government protests - peaceful protests, of course.
The government continues to harass his family week after week, threatening to hurt his mother or other close relatives if they don't reveal where he fled to.
So no, the US clearly didn't replace a dictatorship with a democracy. It replaced a dictatorship linked to a well-functioning state (when it comes to infrastructure, healthcare, food, jobs, security and education), with a dictatorship now linked to a totally dysfunctional state - AND that became a gigantic safe-haven for terrorists, after Bush refused to secure the borders and simultaneously fired the entire army without providing any other job for those people.
And then there's indeed the utterly despicable Western habit of "divide et impera", of dividing occupied territories by creating rigid "ethnicities" and then putting them up against each other (as we've done in for instance Rwanda and Vietnam too ...).
So yes, illegally invading a country and totally destroying it IS a crime. There's simply no other word for it.
3
I can't disagree.
It would be the humane thing for human beings to consider war a crime, but most of us do not. Most of us don't even consider it as a last resort only to be used in defense of a direct attack on our countries.
Oh, we always *talk* in terms of war being in defense of country, but we are very inventive in finding ways to justify warring on other people for many other reasons besides self-defense.
The Iraq war was no different. Americans were ready to support it, no matter that the pretext for war was a lie, and wage it, no matter that we engaged in "enhanced interrogation" "extraordinary renditions" and other euphemisms for torture and other war crimes.
Most of us say we want peace, but always vote for war.
Most of us think that aggression is strength and diplomacy is weakness. A good portion of us enjoy war. Most of us are willing for our country to kill and torture rather than risk looking "weak and vulnerable." Most of us would rather create enemies than accept that our way is not the only way.
Unless human beings evolve, war will never become a crime. We get off on it too much.
2
This article is interesting, but the simple cause and effect model proposed is as flawed as the Neocons' belief that if we simply "gave" countries freedom and democracy that all would be fine.
The Iraq war was the result of a simple schoolyard bully calculus: which target to pick. North Korea had a huge military and Chinese backing. Iran was 4 X as populous. And Iraq was clearly the weaker sibling. The Bush administration therefore chose Iraq (which had been proven weak militarily) as the venue for their 'democracy experiment'.
The Bush administration was tragically naive in that belief. They had no concept of the ethnic, tribal, and sectarian issues housed within these societies, nor did they grasp that, absent established secular education systems, people would default to their tribal beliefs. Whether this occurred because of specific flaws of Islamic belief systems or because of more universal factors of corruption, greed, and thirst for power is a complicated question. I'm sure good arguments exist on both sides.
While Bush/Cheney's simplistic cause and effect relationship was clearly wrong, I believe it is also wrong to claim final judgment based on artificially short time horizons. It's hard to argue that there is no connection between the Iraq War and the Arab Spring, for example. And while that experiment has yet to bear nourishing fruit, perhaps it, too, is a weigh station on a journey to better future for the people of Iraq, Syria, Iran, and the M.E.
The Neocons do not want to give freedom, only want to steal the resources of other countries to keep their high living style.
I'm no fan of the Neocons. Having said that, it's a mis-characterization to say the Neocons wanted to "steal the resources of other countries to keep their high lifestyle." I believe they wrongly thought they were protecting the nation and potentially solving the problem.
The path you describe is being pursued by China as we watch. They seek to bribe whoever is in charge of the countries/resources without overt wars based on any other principles. Perhaps it's a smarter strategy.
Unfortunately we did not destroy his country. It would have been much better if we did nothing to repair his country, and took as much oil as we could.
1
I was against the invasion before it was undertaken. I did not think that the evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction was credible enough to amount to an imminent threat. In addition, my knowledge of world events had me concerned that defeating Saddam would not initiate a peaceful and democratic Iraq, more like an Iraq descending into anarchy and civil disorder. So I opposed the invasion from the start.
Secondly, I observed that the forces included in the invasion did not allow for a takeover and occupation of the country. The numbers of soldiers deployed could not do that. It so happened that when our troops defeated the regime, the country descended into lawlessness, and the small number of soldiers in the invading force not only could not stop it let alone secure the country for American control and exploitation.
We were wrong. We were responsible for a lot of innocents being killed. We left the country worse off than we found it. But the idea that the U.S. invaded Iraq to steal it's oil or to make it a dependency does not conform with the facts. It's actually a misinterpretation of the facts as they are open to all.
I have no doubt that those involved in cooking up this invasion hoped for a friendly government who would give American businesses favorable advantages and provide the U.S. with military bases, etc. But they really did think that as soon as Saddam was out of power this ideal state of affairs would just spring into being.
Sinan Antoon,
Sorry you feel this way because I too was disappointed for different reasons: 1) thought Iraq wasn't worth fighting for with American lives and dollars, 2) doubted Iraq would ever develop government by the people, 3) have little interest in what Middle Eastern countries choose to do ... any involvement from the West has never worked and Middle Eastern countries should decide and determine their own fates. None of this is about whether the invasion was justified for whatever reason. Afghanistan is different however, there never should have been main force troops on the ground, particularly in a country that has never been governed externally nor had a stable internal government for any reasonable number of years. Another waste for the Afghans and Americans, in a country very difficult to wage war. Again, not about justification. Afghanistan made some sense relative to Al Qaeda. Back to Iraq, not much.
The invasion of Iraq was absolutely a war crime. There never was any national security reason for invading. There was never any evidence of weapons of mass destruction. The administration mapped Iraq's oil fields and the companies interested in exploiting them before we invaded (https://www.judicialwatch.org/maps-and-charts-of-iraqi-oil-fields/). As members of "Project for a New American Century", Cheney, Rumsfeld and Powell were all on record as wanting to invade Iraq during the Clinton Administration. There was never any concern about Iraquis or anyone other than the inner circle of men who made money on the war. Thank you for publishing this. I hope that if/when Trump calls for war, we'll resist more forcefully.
7
Gassing the Kurds, firing missiles at Israel., yeah these are not crimes. Your memory is pretty subjective.
Mr. Antoon is right to remind us of one of the falsehoods foisted on us as justification of the invasion -- that we would be welcomed by ordinary Iraqis and maybe even by Iraqis generals who would deliver their troops to us. Ordinary Americans, including my son who served in the war, thought Saddam was responsible for 9/11, and the administration didn't discourage this lie. Democrats (outside of Howard Dean) did nothing to gainsay it -- even though they surely must have known that Osama bin Laden was under a death sentence in Iraq.
But the overriding rationale for the war was the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam did not have. Karl Rove says, "Oh, we were discouraged about the absence of WMD." Apologists say, "The Democrats thought there were WMD too."
Everybody today seems to forget that Saddam, threatened by invasion, had allowed open inspections for WMD, and inspectors WERE NOT FINDING THEM! If only the inspections had been allowed to continue for 2 to 3 months, Hans Blix could have issued a report authoritatively asserting their non-existence.
What kept Democrats from demanding the inspections continue? I wish some of them would step forth now and give their specific reasons.
The order to invade could have been halted and we would have Saddam where we wanted him. We could have demanded that the inspections be made permanent. We may have even been able to convince him to abdicate. A solution similar to what happened in the Balkans might have been achieved.
7
I dont sympathize with the author nor the iraqi people. Iraqis like the rest of the muslim world cheer dictators when they overthrow a democratic goverment. They cheer when weak democracies take over dictatorships. They cheer virtually over every political upheavel, which makes me wonder, where were iraqis when wide spread looting, killing, and raping were takinv place after US invasion. Bottom line you (Iraqis) are responsible...NOT USA
3
Of course not. We only invaded their country and dismantled their infrastructure leaving it in complete chaos. No harm no foul right? What total willful ignorance.
1
The victors write the history, and U.S. media buries this story as inconsequential. I remember George Bush's answer for his "mistake" of not finding any WMD, "Saddam was a bad guy and the world is better off with out him." That's like having an infected fingernail and cutting off your arm to fix it.
And, please, let us not all forget, Condoleezza Rice with her, "mushroom cloud," imagery to get the population behind the absurd, "invasion." (Including Hillary, but not Obama.)
Putin, today does the exact same thing. He glorifies WWII and the victory over the Nazi's but never mentions that Stalin, yes, started the war by partnering with Hitler to split Poland in half. All we ever hear is how WWII was started when Germany invaded Poland, when the Russians simultaneously invaded Poland from the other side.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter. We all know what happened in Vietnam, and the U.S. has been doing the exact same thing ever since. The media companies dance to tune of the military industrial complex. Nothing gets viewership like conflict and war, and viewership means more advertising dollars.
6
Of course, Iraq before the war had been a model of Jeffersonian democracy and international peace, except when invading Kuwait and Iran, launchinjg missles at Israeli towns, poison-gassing Kurds, bragging about having WMDs and torturing and murdering so many of its own citizens.
4
I’m not sure what your justification is? Are you saying we were justified invading Iraq despite having been lied to about the existence of WMDs?
That it’s ok to invade a country on a false pretense so long as you can find a rationalize over the next 15 years?
You are aware that when Iraq invaded Kuwait, we intervened at that time? And that we sold the, the weapons they used against the Kurds for them to use when they invaded Iran?
Is your ultimate response “it’s ok that we destabilized Iraq for the past 15 years on false pretenses because their dictator (who we supported in his rise to power) was an awful person that 12-20 years prior to the invasion was a regional nuisance and used the WMDs we sold him against his own people”?
I find it hard to believe that after all these years and all that we know, people can still support the decision to invade Iraq.
I did not then, and do not now, think the invasion was justified.
My issue is with the author's cover up of Iraq's many horrendous sins, which you just fine with, as well.
The admitted de facto war criminal Bush 2 did not learn from Lincoln.
Do not go to war unless America is attacked or about to be attacked.
What should have been done with monsters like Hussein was to put him in front the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague along with Bush 2.
7
Sinan Antoon is exactly correct. It was a historic crime and the criminals are still walking free in the USA. They are largely members of the "Project for a New American Century" (PNAC) whose first stated goal was "regime change" in Iraq (after 20 years of US secret support of Saddam Hussein as a Baath party assassin). Ten of the PNAC people were high up in Bush's government, and several of them fabricated the "weapons of mass destruction" lie that was used to justify the war against Iraq. These people are criminals. Two of them (Abrams and Libby, nee Leibowicz) were later convicted of crimes but received lenient punishments. Here are their names:
Elliott Abrams (convicted criminal)
Gary Bauer
William J. Bennett
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush
Dick Cheney
Eliot A. Cohen
Midge Decter
Paula Dobriansky
Steve Forbes
Aaron Friedberg
Francis Fukuyama
Frank Gaffney
Fred C. Ikle
Donald Kagan
Zalmay Khalilzad
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (convicted criminal)
Norman Podhoretz
J. Danforth Quayle
Peter W. Rodman
Stephen P. Rosen
Henry S. Rowen
Donald Rumsfeld
Vin Weber
George Weigel
Paul Wolfowitz
Cheney and Wolfowitz should be arrested and charged with criminal conduct immediately for fabrication of false intelligence on WMD in Iraq.
The PNAC plans beyond Iraq are the destruction of Syria, followed by the destruction of Iran. You are seeing this now, before your very eyes.
15
Why didn't Doug Feith make your list? Serious oversight.
Why Bremer is not in the list?
his actions as a assigned governer , destroyed the fabric of IRAQ.
Thank you for writing this.
I am ashamed of what we did when we invaded Iraq. A hopeless, botched disastrous mess based on lies and stupidity by an inept and incompetent government.
Let's just hope this current government is too hopeless to do something as awful and stupid.
7
I take it the author was a friend of President Hussein.
2
Mr. Antoon, since you consider Iraq "your country", despite having lived among us for more than 25 years, and since you evidently despise not only America and its current president, but also Americans generally (you know, us 'amnesiacs', who do not share your refined sense of history), I suggest you do yourself and us a favor and remove yourself forthwith to Baghdad.
4
Completely agree. Not only a crime against the people of Iraq (for invading the country unjustly by pretext of lies) but also a crime against the American people who lost so many killed and wounded; a crime against Israel by removing the one check on the regime of Iran, now the most powerful regional player, and a constant threat to Israel, ditto for Lebanon, ditto for Syria; a crime against the Arab people as a whole, for fomenting the pipe dream of the Arab Spring, which has largely failed (see Syria, see Egypt - initially run by Muslim Brotherhood and now run by another dictator, see Libya - now mired in tribal based warfare and chaos, see all the migrants fleeing these Civil wars and turning Europe into a refugee camp (so a crime against Europe as well). I could go on. The invasion of Iraq has opened Pandora's Box like no other event has since Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.
4
Another astonishing display of affection through the times for ruthless dictators— first the jongs, then ho, now saddam. So egregiously wrong that it destroys any ability to credit more serious reservations about policy choices from the times. So saddam should still be in power, and bush is the torturer, you say. So bizarre, so contemptible.
1
You are so right, my dear! What decent human being wants to live under dictatorship! Everybody who does not have our freedom to vote for one of two political party should take to arms or commit suicide.
The perpetrators of this atrocity (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et. al.) are truly war criminals and should be on trial at the Hague! Under the veil of lies they invaded a sovereign country and destroyed a culture. They should be ashamed and punished. I would like to see them squatting in a hole (AKA Hussein), dragged to trial and shot. An eye for an eye.
4
George W. Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Condi, Wolfowitz, Perle, are all criminals. General Powell is a disgrace to his uniform. Yet all of them roam about freely appearing on talk shows, on the lecture circuit as if they were as innocent as new born babes. Condi was even considered for a Presidential candidate. Yet some kid peddling a couple of ounces of weed goes to jail where they may be killed by loony cops or crazed inmates. Now we have Trump who is determined to destroy the FBI, CIA, Department of Justice and our US Constitution and if the Democrats don't win in 2018, he will get away with it.
Then what follows will be a dictatorship and the NYT, CNN, Washington Post, etc. will be shut down forever. I just can't believe what is happening to us...WE THE PEOPLE!?
3
Sinan Antoon believes the U.S. has left his country in worse shape than Saddam Hussein. Antoon who choose to fight for his Iraq from his New York home has forgot the horrors of Al Anfal, the Dawa killings, the Halabja gassings,
rapes and murders of thousands of Iraqi’s. The atrocities are numerous and are a Google search away. Antoon’s credibility and memory are best suited for revisionist history.
3
The United States has acted as a demonic raging destructive beast in the Middle East. We are a land of incompetent generals, a foreign policy establishment of reckless fools and a danger to every other nation on earth.
4
The cheney-bush-rumsfled-exxon mobile invasion has produced a war in Syria, an enhanced Russian position, immigration nightmares in Europe, Brexit, and even the clown show occupying the White House. Quite a list of accomplishments, not to mention several trillions in wasted spending of our national treasure. All to prove we is real menses.
3
Ask those that had family that Saddam and his sons killed, raped and tortured how good a country it was.
50
So that was worth a million Iraqis dead, as well as thousands of Americans dead and wounded? Over a trillion dollars of our money?
22
Did you read the article? He is an Iraqi who has lived in Iraq before and during Saddam's reign and visited after. I imagine he has asked other Iraqis about it.
13
The author of this piece did not say that Iraq was a good country under Saddam. In fact, just the opposite was said.
6
No question that the war was wrong.
However, it might be helpful to recall that Iraq had invaded its neighbors (Iran, Kuwait), that the Iraqi government was a vicious and corrupt dictatorship, that the Shia were repressed, that Iraqis did not fight or unite for their country after Saddam's fall and that instead each religious or ethnic group is fighting for its own selfish share of the pie. The US wasn't responsible for allowing in ISIS nor is it responsible for the malign interference of Iran.
Its also true that Iraq was never really a nation, it was a forced combination of three mutually hostile groups.
2
The invasion of Iraq and its aftermath have been important factors in the decline of the moral, political and military leadership of the US. It has weakened democracy and the American model as a beacon of good governance, a situation that is being exploited at astonishing pace by less principled powers in Moscow and Beijing.
That loss started with the erosion of respect for the US Presidency in the Clinton/Lewinski affair, slid into the hyper-partisan politics of the Gingrich conservative revolution, led directly to the election of George Bush, was fanned by 9/11, and took us from there to the invasion of Iraq. I had a sinking feeling during the looting of Baghdad and the mutilation of our servicemen at Falluja. It turned to despair with Abu Ghraib. I realized that we could not “win”, had lost any moral authority and in fact were hated. It was the genesis of ISIS.
Don’t underestimate the effect of the (US catalyzed) Great Recession. Cataclysmic political shifts are born from such events, affecting the lives of ordinary people and the economic fates of entire nations. Now we are seeing the rise of the right wing, extremist populism and the polarization of ordinary politics. And Trump. America looks frightening ungovernable, and people are looking to alternatives to democracy – does China have a better model? The answer is for America to wake up to the risks and vote in large numbers for reasonable politicians.
1
Not entirely sure what the point is of this piece. Yes, we all know the "nation building" efforts that major powers engage are always fraught with the risk of failure. In the case of Iraq we also know that it has an almost non-stop history of sectarian violence, dating back literally centuries.
Blaming the US for the sectarian hatreds and resulting violence? Why not blame the British? They were there before when Iraq was an actual territory. At any rate blaming these problems on Bush & Co is just like blaming Gorbachev & Co for the sectarian violence in the former Yugoslavia. Maybe the Iraqi's need to spend more time looking in a mirror when they make these complaints.
4
Thanks for this. And let's not forget for a second that the Editorial Board, Judy Miller and the rest of the paper all thought the war was a great idea and happily parroted whatever propaganda the Bush administration provided them with.
12
LOL this unfortunate war was certainly the occasion for David Brooks to display the depth of his culture and the profundity of his philosophy.
The Bush administration's "preemptive war" was a war crime, pure and simple. It is astounding to think that no one responsible for that atrocity was ever held to account... well, other than Tony Blair, of course. He paid a hefty price. At least the English knew what to do with the bum who got them into that ignorant mess.
3
“I flew from New York, where I now live...”. Your country was ravaged by Americans yet you choose to live amongst us. That says something about you right there.
3
George W. Bush is a stupid, smug, venal man. Lucky for him there is Donald Trump, who is mad as Caligula, and also destroying this once-great nation. But let’s look a bit deeper and see what we can learn beyond these two men’s lives. The real problem is that the Republican Party has become such a cesspool of bubbling moral rot, that all we can fish from it is men and women unfit to govern. Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Grassley, Tom Cotton, Nunes, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, John McCain (yes, let’s be honest, his cancer doesn’t get him a pass in this reckoning), Alito, Clarence Thomas, Gorsuch (no honorable man would have accepted a stolen seat on the US Supreme Court), must I really go on? Republican majorities in the House and Senate give us a cowardly crew who serve not the ideals that built this nation, but instead worship money and have sold our birthright to the Koch’s, Mercer’s, Adelson, etc., etc. George W. Bush is responsible for many more deaths than Trump, so far, but we have the Republican Party to thank for both men, with no better options to follow.
6
Iraq as a country should not exist in its current form. The only way for the Middle East to move forward is either the cooperation of all ethnic and religious groups or the complete redrawing of national borders.
1
The invasion of Iraq by Bush and Cheney, at the behest of corporations (who all made out like bandits), is the current genocidal crime of the century.
Bush and Cheney (and their corporate backers) are War Criminals and must be brought into a Nuremberg-style court and tried as such. Let them plead and prove their innocence in front of the world.
3
Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, 9/11, sectarian violence never existed.
Even the new heart Dick Cheney got by surgery won't help him realize that he and Rumsfield and George W. are responsible for far more deaths than even someone as evil as Saddam Hussein!
3
"...I never thought that Iraq could ever be worse than it was during Saddam’s reign...
You apparently never contemplated the reign of Qusay or Uday - or what might have been, in some alt-left multiverse...
Everyone forgets that everyone - except Saddam - won the first war in Iraq...
Because it was run - from the top down - by people who knew what they were doing...
And - you wouldn't have been able to visit and sign books in Kuwait in 2017 otherwise...
Because it'd no longer have been there...
2
America is bad bad bad... but yet you still live here... probably not as a citizen either.
Obama tried to destroy this country and many people testify to that.
1
It makes me sick to see George Bush and Dick Cheney living their lives of ease. Their lying and actions destroyed the lives of so many and yet in this country we treat them with honor.
5
And just as evil, George W. Bush destroyed the UN as a body that had integrity, that would fight against aggression. He invaded Iraq and laughed. No one would stop him and his murderous regime. He lied to the American people about weapons of mass destruction, but this is an America without morals, without a shred of caring for the poor and powerless in the world, so...
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
2
A crime for which Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, and the rest of the lying thieving Republican Criminal Organization were never punished,luge biggest mistake of the Obama Adminisration, and one that must be rectified, albeit years later. Bush's rehabilitation is particular repugnant. He should be rotting in jail, not on
TV shilling his mediocre paintings of the men and women he sent to be killed and maimed on a lie, so Cheney and his father and his friends could make billions.
4
Until the clown kills so many...Bush is still worse. Having been in Somalia as a soldier and witnessed the horrific consequences of war, and as a supporter of international law, I was adamantly opposed to the invasion. Trump is a clown..Bush is a monster and a war criminal.
4
Well said Mr. Antoon. Bush, Cheney and their cohorts should be arrested and tried for treason. Purposely lying to the American public in order to push their misguided neoconservative agenda that lead to the death and maiming of thousands of our youth and the untold suffering of Iraqis not to mention the rise of Al Queda and Isis are crimes so monumental they should not be ignored.
3
Absolutely. George W. Bush et al should be in prison.
4
Didn't the NYT publish about a recetn estimate that put the total death toll at 2.5 million?
2
Memo to USA from Iran: Thank you.
Yes a Crime.
For those able to read and write there is no surprise here, the neo-con nonsense that flowed out of the White House and their allies in the Pentagon it is impossible to find any thing but a bunch of boys at play with the nation’s resources. They were going to make the world-at-large fill their often University of Chicago concocted dreams.
The surprise only came when Sec. Powell bought the package and delivered it to the U.N. with out a grin.
Good to see it begin to see the light of The Times, if only in the Opinion section. Of course there is the embarrassment that The Times of that time bought the package too but the media thrives on ‘events.’
1
Sinan Antoon tells a story about a crime committed by the United States doing what Antoon never believed possible, creating an Iraq even worse than it had been under Saddam's reign (final sentence).
Antoon reports much that I knew and points to other failures I knew less about, one of them Bremer's creation of the "Governing Council". I learn that Bremer followed American practice of assigning each individual to a sect and ethnicity (follow that link) as step 1 in creating a council of looters.
Antoon did not have space to remind readers that the USA had earlier fully supported the evil Saddam Hussein because Saddam was willing to war against Iran, seen by American administrations then and now as the most evil of all countries. During that period, the US supported Saddam’s the gassing of the Kurds in 1987 and 1988 remembered by all for Halabja (read about George W. Bush and other’s duplicity @ https://nyti.ms/2kPqjLF “Halabja: America didn’t seem to mind poison gas.”
My very closest friends here in Sweden are members of an extended Kurdish family whose village Saddam destroyed twice and members of an Assyrian family who also fled from Iraqi Kurdistan to Sweden. They could add infinite detail to Antoon’s account of what America did to wreck not only Iraq but much of the middle east.
The American perpetrators should be tried for committing war crimes, but that will never happen.
Newroz piroz be!
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
4
Absolute balderdash!
We freed your country from a ruthless tyrant with oceans of Muslim blood on his hands. Rather than seizing the priceless opportunity, the Iraqis chose to settle scores in a vicious orgy of violence.
Iraqis killed Iraqis; Americans are blamed.
We owe you no apology.
And if you dislike this country, you should leave.
2
Apart from the opinions of the author, we'll never know what Iraq would be like today were it still under Hussein
1
better than today,
You forgot ISIS , I suppose.
1
Just before reading the Times' opinion page, I had just finished today's Tom Dispatch. What timing.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176400/tomgram%3A_andrew_bacevich%2C_a_m...
To anyone who still blames the Iraqi's for the faulure to get back on their feet I guess you must mean the failure after we destroyed the country, its infrastucture, and killed men, women, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, babies, mothers- yeah, forgive and forget I say, I mean wouldn't you?
3
America??? Try the Republican Party!
1
In 1923, as Hitler and his insurrectionist cronies marched towards a line of government soldiers in what became the failed Munich "Beer Hall Putsch," the soldiers opened fire, killing several Nazis, including one with whom Hitler had linked arms. It's generally thought that had that bullet been less than inch to the right, Hitler would have been an obscure footnote to history and 50 million lives might have been saved. Saddam Hussein was the Hitler of the Middle East. He was not "like the Nazis," he was not a "neo-Nazi," he was a Nazi; the origins of his Baath party went back to the thirties when it was formed as the Middle East branch of German National Socialism. This was a man who rose through the Baath party ranks as its torturer-in-chief. He was a man who put out the eyes of captives with a lit cigarette. I am a life-long liberal who was dismayed by W. and everything he stood for. But it happened that I had the opportunity to go to the White House shortly after the invasion of Iraq and meet him (Yale Class of 1968 reunion). I shook Bush's hand,looked him in the eye and said "Thank you for ridding the world of a terrible tyrant. You've made the world a better place." I meant it then, and I mean it now. What followed was a war that was a mismanaged debacle, an underfunded mess that caused untold woe and brought shame to the U.S. But invading to get rid of the monster that was Saddam -- absolutely correct. This time, unlike in 1923, the bullet was on target.
If I remember that misleading propaganda about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and the diplomatic war mongering of Israel, plus the primitive thinking of Dubya "doing something great" I am getting sick, even after such a long time.
At least we have the refugees of Syria here in Germany, a late byproduct of this American warfare. Nice.
3
If you like what Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and other Republicans did to Iraq: vote Republican! If you liked the rein of Sadam, instituted by Rumsfeld, vote Republican! If you want Saudi Arabia's version of Islam to eventually rule the mid-east, vote Republican!
3
Bush. Cheney. Rumsfeld. Wolfowitz. These men are the true criminals. Accessories to the crime are the Republicans. Let there be NO confusion on this point. War pigs who profit from death.
3
Vietnam? Iran? Nicaragua? Chile?
2
Again and again, Americans need to be told the truth: "No, the Iraq invasion was not a 'blunder,' a 'mistake made on the basis of bad intelligence' -- it was a war crime, a war of aggression." By avoiding the truth we descend ever deeper into dishonesty and malfeasance. But nobody in a position of power or influence will speak the truth about Iraq!
The Bush administration and an eagerly compliant Congress committed what the Nuremburg Tribunal prosecuting WWII Nazis defined as the "supreme international crime" : initiating a war of aggression. More than a million civilians died. Nobody was prosecuted. This has defined the United States for the 21st century. And yet people complain about a petty crook like Trump!
1
That is reason we need to change name "AMERICA". It is a toxic European name.
Indeed George Bush should not be dancing on Ellen Degeneres show but mopping floors in an orange jumpsuit
4
W and Cheney should have been brought up on war crimes.
3
Ha, ha, ha!
You think an American leader will ever take responsibility for his crimes!
Bush invaded Iraq...and unleashed ISIS, which helped Russia overtake the U.S. as the world's #2 superpower (China is now #1).
And Obama overthrew Qaddafi, which led to the Libya becoming a failed state from which hundreds of thousands of migrants have poured into Italy, destabilizing the entire Eu.
And how did America respond to this? By electing Donald Trump, who is selling us out to Putin because he prefer a white European dictator than he does a Chinese dictator.
Trump has yet to kill as many innocent people of George W. Bush. His whole administration was made up of war criminals. He did not protect the US, and he wrecked nations and ruined lives. Paint that, Mr. Bush.
Bravo sir...Bravo!!!
If we wouldn't have intervened somehow Kristof would be currently rinning pieces chastising yhe US and others for not doing anything. Does that help the author? No.
Dear NYT, this story comes 15 years too late.
4
Who ever called Iraq a "blunder?" Maybe George W. Bush. Although he more likely referred to it as a "boo boo."
1
The truth hurts.
1
Kinda puts the Russian meddling into perspective
3
Tony Blair and George W. Bush should be put on trial in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The war made America the enemy of the entire Muslim world and gave rise to terrorist attacks in Europe and America. I sit by the waters of Quebec and I weep when I remember America.
4
Who should we blame? Us, the People...for keeping Bush Regime, especially Cheney, free, at large...They should be in jail...and the assets of their families confiscated......Well, do we have the courage, stomach.....no.....Only way for the real world to respect us...and perhaps the next generation....if they are not so naïve, gullible....
2
America was 100% immoral when the Bush Administration decided to invade Iraq. The American government lied to its people, it changed the reasons for the invasion so many times that people couldn't remember the latest version. But the real reason was always oil. Many middle class americans love their SUV's for the same reasons they love their guns — they help them feel secure in their rat race world. They wanted to keep driving them and they wanted it to be cheaper.
Still two wrongs don't make a right.
Iraq was already evil when we invaded. Saddam Hussein really was comparable to Hitler, just a regional version of the same stuff. What the Iraqi regime did in their immoral invasion first of Iran (to steal their oil from the border watereway and adkjacent lands) and then again in Kuwait was really the same stuff.
Saddam ruined Iraq, not America, America simply made sure it would stay ruined. A nuance perhaps, but the truth.
1
Who decides who or what is evil? Americans?
1
There was one 'winner' in all of this - including the current mayhem throughout the ME that Iraq invasion caused: Israel and Israeli expansion.
2
If Invasion was a crime, this paper abetted it. If anyone listens to Pod Save America -- the prolix Obama aides -- any time foreign policy is mentioned, the refrain "They learned nothing from the Iraq War" is heard. Neither Team Obama nor the editors at this paper learned anything from learning the wrong lessons from Iraq. Behold the last 8 years.
Antoon mentions sanctions. If you watch or read far-left news, you often hear about children dying because of sanctions in the '90s. Here's what you don't hear: Hussein deliberately made the population suffer in order to assert that sanctions were a humanitarian crime; in fact, there was enough money to provide for the population if resources were rightly distributed.
Hussein massacred, tortured, supported and engaged in terror, and retained the ability to quickly assemble WMD should he choose. The Iraqi state facilitated his son Uday in the regular rape of girls as young as twelve. Iraq's intelligence agencies were working with Egyptian Islamic Jihad, headed by Zawahiri, now head of al-Qaeda. As for "backing dictators," the left says this but fabricates the reasons why, or absurdly asserts that the U.S. backs dictators AND tries to "impose democracy."
Is there no responsibility on the shoulders of the terrorists and states like Iran who tore Iraq apart? Imagine how Hussein would have responded to an uprising like the one in Syria. Perhaps invasion was a mistake, and certainly the occupation was bungled, but this was not a crime.
2
IT WAS A CRIME.
2
“The names of its members were each followed by their sect and ethnicity.”
Yikes!! That sounds like the Oscars. Or how the diversity Nazis treat ... well, everything. Quota systems and insisting on group-think representation are BAD?!? You write THIS in the NYT, the US’s biggest cheerleader for group-think-obsessed identity politics?
The author makes a bunch of great points, primary among which is that places like Iraq are not worth one single drop of an American soldier’s blood.
But the more poignant lesson is that “diversity” kills. Perhaps HE saw himself as an Iraqi and felt that meant something. The people engaged in “sectarian civil war” considered other identities more important.
Saddam’s US foes believed – stupidly – that Iraqis would welcome, and could handle, democratic self-government. W actually – foolishly – believed that, when Saddam was gone, folks within the borders of Iraq would unite and act as if being an Iraqi meant something. Unsurprising, they didn’t. They put their ethnic and religious identities ahead of any of commonality of interest. They fought and killed over ethnic and religious differences.
THAT is what happens when a “diverse” country elevates group-think over devotion to a common idea: the idea that country is more important than group differences. Only a tyrant can keep such people together.
And THAT is the lesson Americans should take away from Iraq: group-think and identity politics inevitably lead to violence and tyranny.
1
Killing one person, for whatever reason, is a crime. How naïve of me!
George Bush and his enablers - Condi Rice, Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, plus too many others to name - are all war criminals. What's more, Bush was stupid as well. Not only did he destroy Iraq but by crippling it, he empowered its number one enemy, Iran. The very same Iran that is now arguably a scourge of the Middle East.
1
Our great mistake was underestimating the social cohesion of the Iraqi people. We poured our blood, sweat and treasure into creating the space for a stable, free and democratic Iraq to emerge. My comrades and I took extraordinary risks to support the nascent democracy and it galls me to see the author claim otherwise. I was there. It was far from perfect but it was a worthy cause. In the fullness of time, I hope the mission succeeds.
1
"There never was a good war.... nor a bad peace." Benjamin Franklin
When W. decided to invade Afghanistan I was skeptical of it's success. After all it was Bush, who had never really distinguished himself as a thinker.
But we had been attacked and the stated intentions of the invasion seemed sort of reasonable.
I was hoping maybe after the initial invasion and the supposed rout of the Taliban the U.S. would follow up with a rebuilding program. Put the people to work rebuilding and modernizing their infrastructure.
But with Bush it turned out to be personal. Saddam had insulted a Bush.
The invasion of Iraq was illegal, so yes it was criminal.
We Americans must soon realize that our military adventurism needs to stop. These wars are only good for one thing: profits to the military INDUSTRIAL complex.
I was, and continue to be, so very sorry for what the U.S. has done to the Middle East. And to your Country, Mr Antoon.
To paraphrase Red Green, "I am an American, but I can change. If I have to."
4
This was a thoughtful moving piece that has longed to be heard. I hope that the readers really grasped what was written. For it also could have been written about the once prosperous state of Libya. It could have been written for the hopeful Arab Spring students of Egypt or the now shattered and partially occupied nation of Syria.
Even as we read this there are elements within our government and outside in media and politics that urge yet another Middle East war, this time with Iran. The same arguments about democracy and security within the region are being made. And they are as false and disingenuous now as they were in 2003.
To answer for war crimes that have claimed well over a million lives seems beyond ones moral sensibilities. But we must try and the first step is to accept the truth of what we as the American people have done and raise our voice so that it does not happen again.
2
I participated in the few anti war rallies held at that time. We didn't see a cost return benefit at that time, and today we have a bigger cost than anticipated and a smaller return. 15 years later the cost keeps rising. Yet there is no clamor to bring this mistake to an end.
The end of the draft and the all volunteer army left us without the enthusiasm of youth. It has left us with a congress that has give its war powers to a congress that ha no soul.
5
Having invaded a sovereign nation that had not attacked us, Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Rice and Powell were and are war criminals and should be dealt with accordingly. That "torture thingy" they did during the illegal Iraq War was just icing on the cake, a freebie thrown in at no extra charge to the American viewer. Just remember, my fellow patriots: "These colors don't run."
6
For those able to read and write there is no surprise here, the neo-con nonsense that flowed out of the White House and their allies in the Pentagon it is impossible to find any thing but a bunch of boys at play with the nation’s resources. They were going to make the world-at-large fill their often University of Chicago concocted dreams.
The surprise only came when Sec. Powell bought the package and delivered it to the U.N. with out a grin.
Good to see it begin to see the light of The Times, if only in the Opinion section.
3
I was also nauseated by George W. Bush parading his paintings following the atrocities he perpetrated.
10
Iraq tolerated and possibly aided Al Qaeda, as did other countries in the area.
Al Qaeda killed over 3000 Americans. THTA's a crime and a disgrace.
I do not feel sorry for any of the countries in the Mideast that "celebrated" 9/11.
Note that ones such as Egypt and Jordan, which keep the evil tendencies in Islam well in check, were not bothered.
Stop attacking those who defend or avenge themselves.
The crime was conducted after WWI when the Middle East was drawn on a map without an appreciation of its history. Bush was lefty dealing with its consequences.
3
Bush was one of the true believers of PNAC, they were not interested in what happened after WW I. His administration wanted to rule the world and plenty of them are still roaming around in Washington DC, the neo-conservatives.
28 years ago, your country invaded one of its neighbors, because of a dispute over drilling for oil. Saddam had been dictator for a dozen years, during which time you remained a citizen in your country. Did you think invading Kuwait was right?
You were vehemently against the invasion of your country in 2002? Why were you still in the United States then?
2
Millions of people around the world and in the United States took to the streets in a futile effort to prevent an invasion that then Pope John Paul condemned as a tragedy for humanity. All protests were ignored, dismissed, or even mocked, even in the pages of this illustrious paper. The invasion remains a crime against humanity, and its repercussions are evident in the destabilization of the entire Middle East, in the civil conflicts in Syria , the rise of ISIS, the bloodshed in Libya, and the flood of migrants and refugees. Bush, Cheney, Rice, our Congress, Tony Blair - all should be brought before the world court and tried instead of enjoying comfortable retirements. The government's descent into Trumpery is also a tragic result of the lying and chicanery that caused your country such anguish. As you so cogently point out, Americans become willfully amnesiac about the war- as long as we don't see coffins coming back, or are coddled by idiot tv and media, we take comfort in a sense of entitlement and watch stock market returns. The war was for control of oil, then a contested, precious natural resource - it had nothing to do with 911. It strengthened Iran, and we had better beware the propagandists for the next conflict. I am truly sorry for your loss and thank you for speaking so courageously.
6
A full 10% of the population of Portland, Oregon, took part in anti-war protests, and there were five- and six-figure protests in every major American city.
While most Republicans in the House and Senate voted for their president's war, a shameful number of prominent Democrats did, too. I'm convinced that the memory of that vote dampened enthusiasm for John Kerry in 2004 and Hillary Clinton in 2008 and 2016.
1
You are correct. Bush should be tried for war crimes and practicing his paintings inside a federal prison.
6
While I vehemently oppose Trump and his lying, selfish ways, I doubt anything he did comes close to the enormous destruction George W. Bush unleashed.
I will never ever forgive him.
5
The United States loves war.
Plain and simple.
3
GW Bush and Dick Cheney are war criminals. They invaded a country that did not attack us and was no threat to us. The did so knowing, as our French and German allies that would not participate knew, that the intelligence upon which they pretended to rely was insufficient and incorrect.
These criminals should be tried in an international court and imprisoned for the rest of their lives so that our country never allows such illegal war to happen again. Worse than Trump.
6
to paraphrase a certain folk singer, bye, bye, American Exceptionalism
1
...and fifteen years after that abominable act people like Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are living a peaceful life with their loved grandchildren somewhere in their own country...
4
It's the proverbial boy casually throwing stones into the pond. The boy in this case thought he was bringing the almighty's gift, but a million frogs died instead and the pond was left to rot with their carcasses. And we who gave the boy the stones are accomplices in this crime against the humanity. I'll bet the boy still believes he did the right thing and the pond is better off.
A twist to this fable is that some of the frogs invited and egged him on to throw stones. Chalabi and Saddam's enemies whose motive was only the greed and hate, not love for their country, used the mighty killing machine of the US to their dirty job. Where are these criminals now and what price have they paid? That is what I would like to know.
3
Tony Blair. Colin Powell
these were the propagandists who blinded me not the know nothing uncurious Bush.
The overthrow of elected Iranian government in the Fifties; the long Vietnam debacle and the support of anti-communist thugs in South America (Nicaragua) in the sixties and seventies; the whole Iraq thing and the destabilization of the Middle East; Afghanistan; Endless wars.
At home the Christian/Republican Party exact the highest war tax anywhere. They proliferate guns and weaponry. And, everywhere in America, Americans see the wealthy of their country slipping away into the hands of international billionaires.
We are now at war at home with Christian/Republicans who want to continue all of the above.
3
Even after the fact...the weakling Democrats, refused to look back to determine whether there were mistakes or even crimes committed and decided to let it slide. Both Pelosi and Obama were adamant about that. They never learn. There should have been a fact finding commission. For those of you who believe that this was perpetrated by the Republican administration, don’t forget how complicit the spineless Dems were in perpetrating this disaster. Voting lockstep with the fascist regime in power at the time. I blame them for the political situation we are in today as well. What we need is an effective opposition party...what we have are the Democrats.
7
But are we ever going to punish the war criminals, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld?
3
It was the Democrats under Obama who betrayed Iraqis. We left them with the beginnings of a democracy with actual elections in an Arab country.
Is Stephanie comfortable with Mr. Hussein having a poison-gas industry as well as the worst torture chambers in the world?
Do you even remember Iraq under Hussein having warred with other countries twice in the preceding years?
In retrospect all in all, the US and the Mideast would probably have been better off letting Saddam continue to slaughter and terrorize Iraq on his own (not to mention dropping poison gas bombs on Kurdish villages) ... a skill he was a master of. Of course, then writers like Sinan Antoon would lambast the US and the international community for ignoring the plight of his country in the face of all that murder and oppression, too.
1
yes JW, Iraq has been so much better off over the last 15 years ...
We have found a WMD, and it is us.
6
Ordinary Americans like me knew full well that the case for Iraq invasion was cooked up. The W's White House team badly wanted it. W I didn't think was capable of thinking through consequences.
He went for the war because: "BAA... Sadam insulted my Pappy"
5
Pretend that it was President and Mrs. Obama the Iraqi killers were going to be sent to hunt for and then decide if Hussein posed a threat. The progressives have been inundated with the best-designed hysteria campaign the world will ever see.
Public-relations majors will study this disinformation effort for decades.
Thank you Antoon for being brave enough to call the devil by its name. The US is a war-monger & has always embraced dictators-to-date.Just one country-Saudi Arabia-that defies all that the US claims to stand up for is sufficient example. The tax-payer funded largest terrorist org in the world, the CIA, has overthrown many democratically elected leaders. The US has marketed itself as the beacon of democracy, human & women's rights but you can see how all the issues that America swept under the carpet are reeking now. The US to date has not made any reparations for its atrocities on its own citizens-native americans, african americans, women who serve in the military or who just want to make a living or get a degree without being raped-yet it has the audacity to tell other people how they should treat theirs.The US media, including NYT, have never practiced true journalism; it's mostly opinions. Its amazing how a channel like CNN never attempts to tell the other side of the story even though they operate worldwide. It's the tyrants & dictators who get prime time slots not democratic leaders. It's who America is-a dictator in democratic clothes. The US has committed genocide worldwide-Vietnam, Japan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Bangladesh & many more-either directly or by supplying arms, funds or just turning the other way. The US will never stand trial bcoz its the biggest bully but time will punish the sinners-that's KARMA!
1
And the criminals who perpetrated this crime..........walked away with riches.
3
"The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in the United States as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime. Those who perpetrated it are still at large."
Amen.
It has taken 15 years for the Times to print the truth. Meanwhile, since no one bothered to hold the perpetrators or their delusional supporters responsible in any way, the American right, blinded by a thick cloud of its own vile hypocrisy, has drifted straight off of the map of reason. Et voila, our current situation.
But hey, one person did arguably pay a price for her vote in favor of the invasion of Iraq - did she learn anything?
5
Oh, I have been calling the Iraq invasion a war crime since - I don't know - 13 years ago?
W.Bush (and his cabal of criminals like Cheney and Powell) should be sentenced and appropriately punished as war criminal(s).
1
I was living in the US when the Bush government decided to invade Iraq. Thinkers were invited on TV describing on the one side the horror of chemical war (Anthrax !) and on the other side the roses petals that would be thrown by Iraqis to pave the path of the American soldiers. Even the NYT supported those lies. This was a massive communication failure. Did we learn a lesson ? We now have "fake news"... I hope we collectively find a solution, democracy will not survive to institutionalized lies.
2
It wasn't Americans that killed 1 million Iraqis, it was Iraqis killing Iraqis.
Who is killing Libyans in Libya? Libyans. Who is killing Arabs in Yemen? Arabs in Saudi Arabia. Who is killing Syrians in Syria? Syrians.
Please don't blame America for the problems in Iraq. America is not perfect, but because so many people (like you) prefer to live in America, America has thought (naively) that it could export itself to the Middle East.
1
Bush and Blair. Cheney and Rumsfeld.
1
You know who destroyed your country? Your own countrymen. The responsibility for hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis lies square on the shoulders of Sunni and Shiite death squads that carried out horrific atrocities across Iraq for a decade. American hands are not clean, but Iraqi hands are drenched in blood up to their armpits. Own it.
2
You are blaming the victim Regina.
This song commemorates the tragedy.
https://soundcloud.com/roger-bainbrain/short-little-war-1
This is what amerika has become a thorn in the side of rest of world .
We did in the Congo , we did it in Korea , Vietnam
Now with a war monger for president and a lot of unbalanced Americans joining the military.
If nobody volunteered there would be no wars .
This feels like ugly truth.
2
The United States has been blundering its way through history for so long it now takes for granted it can do whatever the heck it pleases because as the biggest bully on the block, never more so than with an actual bully like Trump, there are no consequences to suffer. Ah yes, the land of the free and home of the brave. What hypocrisy. For most Americans, Afghanistan and Iraq don't come up in conversation any more, only how high their taxes are. Shameful.
DD
Manhattan
2
He's absolutely right, and Dick Cheney should be put on trial at The Hague.
1
The Gulf War through the eyes of an American citizen. At 79, I’ve experienced World War 2 as a child and America as the greatest country in the world because it “saved” the world. At the time, I looked at the rest of the world as a supporting cast, be surely we were the saviors.
The Korean War started as a joke! Most of us believed it would be over in 2 to 3 weeks. Why? Because we were the strongest Empire on this planet.
Then came Vietnam. I was already out of the Air Force in 1961 so it didn’t affect me, although the Cuba fiasco almost got me back in service which really scared me.
In 1967 my singing partner Errol Sober and I flew with Robert Kennedy to Binghamton NY where Bobby announced his candidacy for President. Errol and I were part of the so-called Peace Movement.
After that, I, along with most Americans, paid little attention to the wars and skirmishes around the world. It wasn’t until 9-11 that I woke up to the reality of the Middle East. Now we had a real enemy on our soil. We had to fight back. Let’s blow Afghanistan off the map since it harbored our invaders. Then came Iraq, and all of a sudden, the entire Middle East became our enemy. Most of us really didn’t understand the two sects of Islam; Sunni & Shia, so why not just let them fight it out themselves? When O’Bama became President, I really did think He would get us out of there and that war would be over.
We now have a dictator for President. It’s Deja Vu all over again.
America did not destroy your country.
You did that yourself.
America gave you the opportunity to build a country that could have been great.
The people in your country failed and as you write even in this article there was a short period of relative security when you were there and that soon afterwards suicide bombings became the norm and sectarian civil war started where hundreds of thousands of your people died.
Did Bush force your people to commit suicide or to fight a civil war.
Instead of using the opportunity he gave you to to build the country the people of your country decided to destroy it.
If you want to blame someone blame yourself.
1
The pundits and “experts” who sold us the war still go on doing what they do.
It was good for the journalism business.
Now, Trump is good for business.
Thankfully, he hasn't started another war.
Now the NYT writes about Tweets, Porn Stars, Facebook, Russia and another Special Counsel (Starr). They tell us we are close to tyranny. They were on the Tyranny bus with Bush and his weapons of mass destruction.
The Mideast has given itself over to stagnation and ruination for hundreds of years. Massive and unending pseudo religious internecine wars, colonialist and despotic exploitation, violence and mismanagement seemed to have permeated every level of society. “Your country”? If I read this correctly you’ve not lived there most of your life.
1
We do not have the right to invade any other country simply because we want to change the government. What America did is a crime. You are absolutely riight. Every people has a right to develop their own history. Without invasion, without War. We violated that right
1
I urge anyone who has questions about the invasion of Iraq to read Naomi Klein's article in Harpers Magazine.9/28/04.
Baghdad Year Zero: Pillaging Iraq in Pursuit of a Neocon Utopia.
Funny how the to liked/rated comments are the ones where the person apologises and takes full blame on themselves. They also heartily agree with the author who denounces the US showing no respect for the thousands of American lives lost and the fact that they removed a ruthless dictator and established a fledgling democracy.
What the author and these cry babies dont understand is that the US pullout from the region by the Obama administration created a vacuum which was filled by ISIS. The author is calling the presence of American forces an "occupation" !! It is this ridiculous mindset that enabled ISIS to thrive and ruined Iraq.
So a Republican removed the dictator, A democrat bungled and lost it again and another Republican, Trump, saved the day by decimating ISIS. And in keeping with this cycle I can see the dems/lefties trying to undermine the good that has been done - once again. Pathetic. Obviously I will get no likes for this comment which might also be removed.
We stood, penned in by NYPD, in the cold gusting wind on First Avenue. February, 2003. Thousands and thousands. Speakers, barely audible. "War is Human Failure". We knew what was coming. We knew who would suffer. We knew this nightmare was wholely manufactured through falsities by dark minds. We knew this was a Crime. We knew this was a scheme by the Military Industrial Complex and their toadies (Bush and Co., I call them) to destabilize the Arab World, create massive profit for the cynical, corrupt Powers That Be.The Armourers and Energists needed to feed their disgusting death machine. And, it happened anyway. What had we learned from Vietnam and other stupid wars of annihilation ? Everything that has subsequently happened since, that blood and death and those dashed hopes of millions, I lay at the door of Mr Bush and Co. Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen. High Crimes and Murder. It is unreal to me that The Birthplace of Civilization and it's people have been destroyed in such a way. That a reasonably stable (dictator or no) societies have been, literally, blown to smithereens. Apologies ? Consequences ? Mankind has lost it's mind. Willingly, here. Ignorance and Denial. Thank you, Sinaan. It must be Stated.
Very insightful. The surreal darkness that spread across the states following 911 made this insane adventure in Iraq possible. 73% of Americans supported the invasion. The brutal impact on Iraq was well expressed in world media outlets, but not so much in the USA. Meaningful unbiased coverage has not improved in the intervening years.
It was refreshing upon my arrival in Canada over ten years ago to hear even "conservative" Canadians ridicule the Iraq war, not because it was morally wrong, but because it was so obviously STUPID.
1
And then there's another example: Afghanistan. We've spent over $1,000,000,000,000...that's over $1 trillion...and lost thousands of lives, both American and Afghan, in a futile attempt to display American power in a land of camels, sand and worry beads. Time to bring 'em home. And people wonder why "America First" is an attractive notion between the coasts.
Deep sadness and sorrow for you and your people.
Sad to hear also that Mr Bolton is now back on the scene. Who’s next John Negroponte ?
Who could forget CNN's Wolf Blitzer and "Showdown With Saddam"? I remember a talkshow saying/joking(?) that the war was inevitable as CNN had already created the graphics. Everyone was on the bandwagon.
Another twisted American reality show with horrific consequence. Shameful
1
LOL.
To the vast majority in this world, the US is the baddie.
The US has killed - literally - millions of civilians and not a one of them ever got a hint of justice.
Sorry Iraqis, but you're not going to be the exception.
And of course US schools are - and have been for generations - so swamped with propaganda that Americans don't even know their own history. Amazingly there's no internet in America, so they can't even do a google search before they cheerlead the country into war of aggression after war of aggression. Instead, the country casually kills millions of civilians and STILL feels like its the target, beset on all sides.
If any country ever did to America what America has done to so many countries since the 50s Americans would probably collapse in shock.... but it won't happen.
The US has spent 250,000,000 a DAY on JUST the war on terror, since 9/11. And - not surprisingly - there's almost no appetite for a foreign policy that would kill that cash cow.
Instead, Americans just shrug as they learn over and over and over that their tax money is being used to butcher women and children in countries they can't even locate on a map.
So, sorry Iraqis, but you're boned. Americans don't and won't start caring. And we KNOW this because we can see they've never EVER cared in the past and have no reason to start now.
1
"Few are guilty, All are responsible" Abraham Heschel
2
Looks to me that the author is just promoting his book - of which this paper is a happy accomplice.
As an observer to both Iraq wars, it is my belief that the second war, and possibly the first, was a mistake for America, but not Iraq.
Iraq benefited by getting rid of a ruthless dictator.
Just as generals are accused of always fighting the last war, the NY Times is always condemning the last war, the one that they put all their resources at the time into supporting.
While Sinan Anton and the other 500 people, , all with a real stake in it, courageously and eloquently wrote "NO To War. No to Dictatorship," the Times functioned as the propaganda arm of the government. The streets of the world were filled with millions of people who could see right through the lies and rationalizations while the columnists and reporters at the Times kept doing the bidding of those who wanted to dominate and destroy. There is nothing to indicate that the Times in anyway has learned anything from its disgraceful role in the past. Nothing at all that will prevent it from being complicit in the crimes of the present.
3
Yes and yes. More than in Viet Nam, much more, was domestic opposition not allowed. Abroad, was condemnation. except for our so-called allies in Britain, who gave Bush the cover he needed to attack.
"Removing Saddam was just a byproduct of another objective: dismantling the Iraqi state and its institutions. That state was replaced with a dysfunctional and corrupt semi-state."
If it makes you feel any better, I think we're going down. And for us, it was a self-inflicted wound.
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Bob Dylan
1
Typical complaints from people who can’t even police themselves.
While the author's conclusion is acceptable, frustratingly, the author, as many people do, fails to have to courage or straight-forwardness to say it would have been better with Saddam there. He tries to point out he didn't like Saddam 30 years ago before leaving Saddams's paradise. He writes "No to war on Iraq. No to dictatorship". This is having and eating your cake. I'll assume he was supportive of our decision to leave Assad in power, and not to put boots on the ground in Syria (with actual WMDs ironically). Certainly Rumsfeld and friends were criminally stupid morons in their execution of the occupation. But if the conclusion is that removing Saddam is inevitably going to lead to disaster, then drop the pretenses and just say the dictator is (in this case) better than the alternatives. Then say it again for Libya, Syria, Rwanda, and the Taliban while you are at it. Would it have mattered if the execution of the war had been done with a competant Powell instead Dumbsfeld? Via a real UN coallition? If the state had not been dismantled? If Saddam had been taken out by the first Bush in '91 when the UN was basically involved already? The Bush family hit pause for 11 years after Kuwait because Bush#1 was too cowardly politically and spooked by Iran to remove the cause the war. Then Junior tries to avenge his daddy with his incompetence. But calling it criminal, rather than incompetant, implies that taking out dictators is always bad. Assad welcomes your conclusion.
1
I complete agree that the invasion of Iraq was a crime, and only those American who are too coward or abusive can pretend otherwise.
1
I recall that most Democrat politicians were for the invasion too, right?
America did not Destroy your country it Liberated it from being under the Brutal Evil Murderous Hands of a Butcher. There were Zero Votes of who was elected in those days...yes the division of Religious faiths and the meddling of Iran has depleted the current state of Iraq ....but the true Love of the people's new found freedom will not be subverted by reenvisioned articles such as this one!
1
Why aren't all of these American War Criminals being brought up on charges? Why are they being protected and even allowed to paint stupid paintings? They apparently authorized the killing of almost ONE MILLION Human Beings. They must face the world and be prosecuted. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld.
1
As an American, I am very sorry about the Iraq War and the destruction that it has wrought, especially upon the Iraqi civilian population and the country's institutions.
Rest assured that not all Americans were on board with the Iraq War, and many of us never believed a word of the ginned up hysteria.
Always remember -- Cassandra was right.
As a close reading of Ms. Antoon's piece makes clear, what occurred after the invasion of Iraq (rather than the invasion itself) created the current mess. When it occurred, I favored the invasion, not because of the (false) claims of weapons of mass destruction, but because of Saddam's mass destruction of his own peoples (the Kurds) and his neighbors (the Iranians).
The post-invasion mess occurred because those (Americans) in charge had forgotten (or never learned) the lessons from the of history of our own post-war occupations--of Germany and Japan: Don't wipe out the existing governmental administrative structures; reform and manage them with care, wisdom, and patience. That's the new old lesson.
1
No. That's not the lesson. The lesson is, don't go to war based on lies.
I completely agree with the author, America's invasion of Iraq was not only unjustified and destructive but also caused a massive destabilization of the middle east which should have been forseen by competent leaders which we did not have.
It is rally amazing how our current leaders are eager to investigate any relatively minor government scandals but very much tiptoe around the subject of the Iraq War.
I would like to see GW Bush and his staff at the time subject to an investigation and trial, even if there is no punishment at least we could make the American public aware of the scale of the disaster so that isomething like this never happens again.
2
When Johns Hopkins reported that 600,000 civilians had likely died I put up an anti-war sign in our front yard in our house condemning the war and in the last decade I've attended a few anti-war protests. All good citizens should have known the crimes our leaders and the military/contractors were doing in our name. I should have done more to protest, more to stop this madness. I've known for years that "we" were slaughtering Iraq and I didn't do enough to stop it. My relatives who died in the camps would undoubtedly expect more from me. We need a national conversation about what we've done - and the war won't end until we do.
4
Yes. It is true that USA destroyed Iraq.
We made a terrible mistake. We convinced ourselves that the people of mesopotamia would embrace American values and transform into a modern democracy.....
Instead...the Iraqi people taught us how to torture, how to operate frauds, graft, and lie like true professionals....
We poured Billions upon Billions of dollars into Iraq.....and built nothing, twisted skeletons of schools, a criminal elite that conspire to anihilate their tribal enemies, wild-eyed religious fanatics that burn heretics at the stake, bomb cratered market places, complete mockery of rule of law.
NO.
Its the other way around.
Iraq destroyed America.
Nothing Accomplished.
4
Abu Gharib.....built by Bechtel for Saddam. Then Bechtel reported back to us how the Torture Facilities were operated.
Instead of destroying this facility.....we opted to use this to our own advantage, simply picking up where Saddam left off.
....
Our President LIED about everything in order to justify an invasion that was cynically crafted by the US Senate to avoid the declaration of war. As no declaration was ever made......after 90 days.....the whole sham became Illegal.
"mission accomplished" declared Pres Bush the Second......41 days into the sham.....but no Congressional authoriztion for continued military operations was forthcoming.
Paul Bremer assumes title of "king of Iraq" and begins a self-serving, completely wrong headed approach to ruling Iraq....the results are disaterous.
Five years later, the General Accounting Office will estimate that the total cost of IRaq is 800Billion Dollars.....coincidently just about the same amount as the Bailout Pres Bush the Second gave to the Bankers as the world collapsed 2008 and he beat a quick exit out the back door.
3
And this is what the neocons want to do to Iran.
8
If only George Bush had not stolen the election by the cheating in Florida and needless/illegal interference of SCOTUS. Imagine our nation ahead of China in solar energy and less oil spillage under a president Gore. How any sane person votes republican is beyond my understanding.
9
If American invasion of Iraq is a crime it is God's calling for Holy Wars, a jihad. Evangelical Self-Righteousness runs deep in American Exceptionalism. It is a trait of the monotheistic God-fearing "Golden Rule": what is good for me I must do it to others. USA will bring its democracy and voting system to the unwilling, turn their thumbs purple at the voting booth, even if it means millions of innocent citizens will be killed or displaced. Religions and politics do run together. It is a historical fact. Leave the Muslims alone, so the Islamic sects take care of business themselves.
5
Trump is collective punishment for our sins, starting with our misbegotten invasion and occupation of Iraq. You are absolutely right. It was and still is a war crime. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz and all their other odious co-conspirators are war criminals, plain and simple.
12
As someone who is sympathetic to Israel, I am often wary of many loud and strident Arab voices.
However, the man who wrote this fine article is entitled to his anger and stridency. The American invasion of Iraq was so dumb and so destructive to Iraq, America and everybody in the middle east except Iran that I never quite understood what was wrong with Bush's mental processes.
There are just a couple of things the writer leaves out:
1) OIL. The far left often screamed "No Wars" for oil, and I suppose some people thought such slogans were irrelevant holdovers from a Marxist playbook. NOT SO FAST:
Shortly after we had taken Baghdad I read an article in "The Nation" that noted that the provisional government we had set up had VOIDED a Sadaam era statute that PROHIBITED FOREIGN OWNERSHIP of Iraqi oil reserves. Very simply, the US wanted to do to Iraq what it had done to Mossadegh, in Iran, in 1952. The US wanted to deprive a nation of the right to own its own oil resources. Needless to say, the moronic and vacuous US news media hardly mentioned this.
2) IRAN. The talented author of this article might not like this 2d comment, but a strong Iraq, paradoxically, helped the West. Iraq and Iran historically hated one another. (Of course, most of my fellow Americans know none of this). So long as they were consumed by their own rivalries, they were not a threat. The demolition of Iraqi power led inexorably to the ascendance of Iran, which threatens many.
2
Your country is one in a long list of nations.
2
The invasion was a huge mistake, led under false pretenses, and you are correct that nobody on this side has been punished for it other than our injured or killed soldiers, and the US taxpayer, who is stuck paying for it. However, it also sounds as if you are suggesting that Iraq can only function under a ruthless dictator. The US tried to teach your country how to write a democratic constitution, about holding fair elections and representative government, respect for minorities, etc, and the whole thing came crashing down because Sunni and Shia have been at war for over 1000 years, and Saddam was the only thing keeping a lid on the conflict.
2
Do you REALLY believe that the Bush administration's intention was to turn Iraq into a democracy? What about all the dictatorships that don't have massive oil fields?
1
“amnesiac citizenry” is the symptom. The root is some combination of ignorance, being misinformed (see cable news), gullibility (see Russia and FOX/MSNBC) and/or apathy (see voter turnout).
3
Contrast this with the statements of Cheney, Wolfowitz, Feith, Rumsfeld, Perle, Hadley, Rice, et al before the war.
Take a walk down memory lane and remind yourself how they disseminated cherry-picked data from thew newly-important Defense Intelligence Agency and sidelined Tenet at CIA.
Check out how some of these guys still get paid by partisan backers, many of whom wanted the war. Feith is at the Hudson Institute. Wolfowitz is at the American Enterprise Institute. Being responsible for a murderous, stupid war is no career killer, apparently.
4
Your position is laughable at best. The UN resolution was enforced as it should have been. U.S. did not go alone. I’ll give you one thing, you’re still too obsessed with GWB to join the President Trump haters. Stay behind and freedom has a chance.
2
Bush and Cheney should be dragged to the Hague. I am so proud of my son who protested the war at his Catholic HS where only two other students joined him. I am ashamed that, though I was against the war, I did not more vociferously call out those the thousands of American lemmings riding around with "United We Stand" on their bumpers and flags out their windows.
5
The United States had no justification for invading Iraq, and can take almost full credit for starting a war that continues to rain death and destruction on a once beautiful and promising country. Let's hope we're not headed towards a similar train wreck in Iran or elsewhere. As Voltaire observed, "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
6
W is won't to smirk “sorta makes me look pretty good”.
Well no, Trump has a ways to go to top this.
2
The unGodly mess of the Iraq war is the shameful responsibility of George W Bush.
6
Expecting the United States to bring freedom and democracy to a dictator-ruled country is like expecting Hannibal Lecter to save a patient on an operating table.
2
When I ponder in disbelief at our current President, I have to remind myself that he hasn't committed the atrocity of commanding the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of civilians like Bush and his henchmen (and Condy) did. 911 pales in comparison to the loss of life that is becoming a footnote in history. We owe them reparations, but that will never undo the horror inflicted. I was and remain so ashamed for the collective USA.
4
Crime: clearly from the outset.
4
Hmmm- not only have the ruined your country of birth they seem to have absorbed the fear that leads to sectarian violence, that they unleashed, and imported it back to the US (Sunni /Shia vs. Republican/Democrat). They are now ruining their own country via an unhealthy mixture of naivety, arrogance and hubris.
3
Americans had a chance to redeem themselves by throwing Bush out of power in 2004 for the invasion of Iraq and misleading the American public. Yet by re-electing him for the second term, they became enablers of his policies. By and large Americans proved to be cheerleaders for the Iraq War as much as their leaders were.
3
The sociopathic Hussein and his sons needed to go. At least Iraq is now somewhat of a democracy which is more than what can be said for any other Arab country and it is no longer a military threat to its neighbors. To that extent, something good did come out of the mess.
Perhaps Iraq should create museums to teach this history, in the same way that Jews, rightly, remind us of the Holocaust.
It took one President, with power unchecked by Congress, advancing his agenda by the misuse of intelligence material and manipulation of the public perspective, to use the US to hurt millions.
Selfishly I think that the lesson we need to learn most urgently is that it is happening again and that the victims this time will be closer to home. Nothing prevented Bush from his misuse of power, nothing is stopping Trump.
2
This is why George W. Bush and Dick Cheney don't go out in public.
They also can't travel outside the country because they could be charged with war crimes & grabbed up & forced to appear before the International Criminal Court charged with war crimes.
7
Qatar is pronounced such that it rhymes with bazar.
When I herd The first Bush pronounce it such that it rhymed with butter, I know he and his ignorant regime we’re leading us into disasters. They didn’t have the slightest idea of what they were doing.
NYT readers, let's not forget that columnists and reporters from the paper of record were on board with the occupation of Iraq.
Tom Friedman called Paul Bremer's creation of the Iraqi Council "the most important day in Iraq since the start of the war, and maybe the most important day in its modern history ... It was the day that a multireligious, multiethnic Governing Council of Iraqi men and women began to assume some power and responsibility for their own country — the most representative leadership Iraq has ever had."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/16/opinion/16FRIE.html
And let's not forget that a Senate under the control of the Democrats voted to authorize Bush's invasion of a country that had done us no harm. Chuck Schumer and 28 other Democrats — all the heavy hitters, like Hillary Clinton, Edwards, Biden, Rockefeller, Lieberman, Kerry — compliantly gave President Bush the green light to inflict full US military might against Iraq. Sinan Antoon reminds us the "pre-emptive strike" ultimately led to the deaths of one million Iraqis plus unimaginable chaos and violence.
Polls done on the invasion showed that roughly 70% of Americans supported it. Only 17% of all Americans opposed it strongly.
http://news.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-americans-support-wa...
We complain about Trump but he is just the most recent, most transparent no-nothing in a long line of American knuckleheads.
"We have met the enemy and he is us."
Let us weep.
5
Yes, it was a crime. Yes, they are still at large. But not forever. Eventually, justice will prevail.
President Jackson is well known for his slaughter of the Seminole. President Bush and his ilk will be known for the destruction of Iraq, and the deaths of so many. It is their permanent legacy. They and their descendants will never escape it.
1
My deepest apologies to you for this American inexcusable crime. I was a school bus driver at the time. I wrote and wrote and wrote letters to my Senators and Congress people to stop that war. I became involved with the U.S. Department of Peace efforts supported by Dennis Kucinich. We were unheard like you, invisible.
My deepest apologies, which are not good enough to repair the extent of loss in Iraq. Morally reprehensible.
All these stories tell me why we really learn history. It’s not about NEVER repeating “mistakes”. It has always been about FOREVER repeating these actions that give western powers even more profit and power. As Americans, the most burdensome legacy that we carry is the divide and conquer motif from the British. And a pretense of being purveyors of democracy. One needs to look no further than the banana wars in Central America as a clear illustration of our anthem. If I sound cynical, it is because I read in every article in newspapers about the I, me and myself of American.
I invite all Americans to think outside of our backyards. To read perspectives from other cultures, to be able to understand what an amazing, diverse world we live in and to embrace differences. To search for constructive answers, not wars and killing. And to realize that money, power and ignorance do not buy happiness, health or friends.
I'm so, so sorry. Not that that helps.
I was one of many yelling opposition to the invasion of Iraq, but our voices seemed to mean less than nothing.
"Crime" is not too strong a word for an action that accomplished no good and led to the deaths of tens of thousands and the maiming of tens of thousands more, not to mention opening the door to so much of the evil that has been done in the region since. Saddam was a horror but what followed was even worse.
And yet, with the lesson not learned, we proceeded to allow Barack Obama to repeat this criminality in both Libya and Syria. Perhaps a serious reconstruction effort,in the fashion of the Marshall Plan, can provide some measure of atonement and lessen the indelible stain on our history
And the worst of it is, that it really was not a war.
Oh sure hundreds of thousands were killed, trillions of dollars wasted, but the threat to which we responded was a fraud.
Which made it sadistic adventurism.
We were totally in the wrong. All for nothing.
WW2, Korea, we responded to fascist aggressors in defense of humanity.
And we helped the victims to rebuild afterwards.
But since then...
We need somehow to shut-down, reboot, and make amends to the world and to each other.
No more of this.
Break away from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria.
Make future interventions only on the basis of humanitarian aide and prevention, non-aggressive, non-military.
We have all heard the warnings about a war-on-terror that conveniently never ends.
We must end it.
We must break this military-industrial control of what once was our nation.
3
The Iraq war was about greed, oil, and money.
The Republican party does not care about the country or it’s people.
And as long as the people fall for their con, they will continue.
1
I too remember watching that Bush interview on the Ellen Show in disgust. A war criminal dancing and yammering on about his silly paintings. He and his minions (Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rice) join a cohort of American elites who commit horrible crimes with no consequences. They are too big to fail and too rich to jail. Meanwhile thousands -- including a fair number of Iraq war vets -- sit in prison for even the most minor of offenses.
5
When I read the title of this article I thought it was an article about the destruction of America by America written by an American. It is a deeply moving article about the destruction of Iraq by America written by an Iraqi. This brings to mind the wisdom that destroying others destroys oneself which is one central reason one chooses not to destroy others. How can the wise stop the foolish from destroying everything of true worth when the foolish live in the fog of emotional disregulation and lack critical thinking skills?
2
Ach! Doesn't this paper have any good news? Am thinking about dropping it and subscribing to "People" magazine. America seems like a house of horrors: Too much power, too much greed, too little compassion. Only a god can save us, according to Heidegger.
3
I hope you sent a copy of this to Dick Cheney, GWB, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi, Fox News, et al. As a rule I don't believe any one individual is 100% good or 100% bad. I try to empathize with and forgive my fellow humans. But the quantity of blood on their hands cannot be cleaned, and I truly hope none of them have a good night's sleep for the rest of their lives. The number of dead Iraqi children alone...unjustifiable.
6
The invasion and war was first and foremost a crime, and Bush and his gang and his erstwhile poodle, Tony Blair, are war criminals. And because these people were so delusional, arrogant, and incompetent, the invasion and war was also a colossal blunder.
The relative rehabilitation of Bush is disturbing. I am reminded of Rumsfeld being on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2011, which you can see here:
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/j6f55l/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-don...
-- a war criminal being treated like a pleasant old uncle. All this is beyond mere amnesia.
3
Not only was the war on Iraq a premeditated criminal act, not one American in charge has paid a price for it. Not the mushroom lady National security adviser, not the mobile biological labs secretary of state, not the foolish self-absorbed known unknowns defense secretary, not the child President, not the evil vice president, not the self-proclaimed viceroy of Baghdad, not the mercenary businessman, not the intelligence perpetrators of abu-ghraib, not the commanders who ordered the bombing of the al-jazeera news crew, not even the murderers of civilians in the square, not even ... The only heroic act was the journalist flinging his shoes at the child President, and by implication at America itself. Worse yet, America has learnt nothing from the war, and the cheerleading will resume. America is a bloodthirsty nation, fed by arrogance and furthered by a selective memory. Shame on us, we are all complicit.
5
I agree the invasion was a crime. I and others patiently await criminal proceedings for inciting this race-based attack. It was performed because of similar skin color and religious imagery, as if Iraqis were somehow responsible for Saudi actions on 9/11. The American officials responsible for these killings should be imprisoned, with Bush, Cheney and unquestionably Hillary Clinton and Don Rumsfeld among them. Hillary knew. I knew. She is a lot smarter and better connected. Let them all rot. Law and decency demand their incarceration and eventually, their deaths in custody. The delays confuse me and I suppose white privilege is the primary reason why these architects of premeditated slaughter walk free.
2
It's time everybody began calling this a crime. We were not attacked, the dictator had no WMDs, and no only did the administration know it, but the committed crimes - a propaganda campaign based in lies, and the outing of a CIA agent - in order to keep that fact hidden. We were led into war by liars, and once there we became war criminals. We actually authorized torture. These wars, which we're still fighting, are our nation's greatest shame since we started the Spanish-American war in quest of empire.
4
The invasion of Iraq was pushed by the far right - Cheney and his gang used false information and fear to "sell" the invasion to the public who were still rattled by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. People who criticized the invasion were called traitors; supporters were called patriots.
Trump does the exact same thing . Lies, fear, and hate - it works. Watch trump; almost every speech he uses lies to stoke fear and hate, and then he claims that this hate and fear is making America great.
2
Iraq has never expressed any remorse for invading and conquering neighboring Kuwait.
4
The original sin was committed by the British and the French, redrawing the map of the ME using the principle of divide and conquer, so they could always play different religious and ethnic groups against each other.
Kuwait never existed before as a country and yes, the area was part of ancient Mesopotamia modern day Iraq under Saddam laid the claim to.
Iraq didn't destroy Kuwait
Thank you for saying plainly that it was a crime. And for reminding that its perpetrators remain at large. They have paid no penalty. Each innocent life lost there had more value than the deceitful fools' who blandly wiped them away from a safe distance.
1
It should be printed here that W and Cheney are still on the World List of Killers and would be tried at the World Court in the Hague, Netherlands should they try to go to Europe. It might help the US present President in office to know that he might be next if he gets us into a war. He doesn't abide by any rules or history of the United States. Never should be allowed to sit in the White House when not divesting himself of his businesses or paid income tax for years; decides what percentage is fair under my middle class income level .The GOP Congress has made billionaires from millionaires and cries because there isn't enough money to wage this never ending war. We are an Oligarch. Get rid of these so called "Americans". LOCK EM UP
1
This peaked my interest. For anyone else who is curious, the answer seems to be a resounding no.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/jul/17/facebook-...
What was the alternative? Just wait till one of Husseins sons would take over, as happened in Syria with the Assads? So that they could spend more time planning gas attacks on Kurds, collecting WMD's while brutally suppressing the entire Iraqi population?
A regime change in Iraq would always be bloody, because, as we know now, there's no such thing as an 'Arab Spring'. The only difference with Syria, Iran and North Korea is that the Hussein clan was actually punished for what they have have done.
The strategical plan of the USA after the invasion of Iraq was far from brilliant, but they did manage to organize elections. The only reason for the current chaos, is that the ethnic and religious groups in Iraq started killing each other.
The real war crimes were and are committed by Iraqi's, not by Americans who wanted to get rid of Saddam
3
But "Mission Accomplished", with that mission being the denationalization of the Iraqi oil fields. BTW wasn't the Iraqi oil supposed to pay for this escapade?
2
Mr Antoon is absolutely right. The war criminals he identifies, who set the moral stage for Trump, need to be brought to trial without further delay to lead our country toward humility, decency, and justice.
[18.0320.1155]
1
Our nation with all its might and good intentions needs to have a system whereby it can look beyond war to its probable results and assess whether war is the best solution. Being ex military I understand what our leaders intend when they feel obliged to enter a country militarily but we need to be able to see beyond the act of war. Viet Nam, Afghanistan and Iraq all were entered for good reasons at the time, but scant attention was paid to the probable results when we accomplished our immediate goals, or failed to accomplish them. Futhermore, Congress is in most cases unlikely to appropriate sufficiently to rebuild the result of war. We have to go back to Germany and Japan after WWII to see how we did it right.
1
I am sorry for what US did to your country Iraq but it is not the first time. Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile, Afghanistan..... are a few well known nations that they partially or totally destroyed. The karma is on ...
2
Many thanks Mr. Antoon and the Times for this. As a child in the 60s, I and my family -- including two older brothers who lived in mortal fear of being drafted and sent to the 'Nam meatgrinder -- did all we could to push back against that atrocious war. When I visit the moving memorial in DC to the 58,000 + US soldiers who died there I always want to place a small makeshift memorial to the 2 million+ Vietnamese -- mostly civilians -- who died there.
Fast-forward three decades: now a parent, my family and I joined the march against the Iraq invasion, which included millions in scores of cities worldwide. Again, the War Machine plowed ahead, killing hundreds of thousands of your country's men, women, and children.
And now, my country has elected its very own Nero, and even the war criminals who were the architects of the Iraq atrocity are horrified.
At this point, with my life at least two-thirds over, why should I not think of the USA as an Evil Empire, ruled by an oligarchy that makes its pretensions to democracy a cruel joke, and which slouches about the globe in search of fresh adventures of imperial dominance and mass slaughter? The voices of reason, of peace, of temperance, never seem to prevail, and a gigantic right-wing propaganda apparatus has grown like a cancer, for which the word "liberal" is an epithet.
4
Always a great venue for criticizing the US. With that aside, the invasion was insanely stupid and biblically disastrous.
Just curious though, anyone here remember the Iran-Iraq War? Or the little incursion into Kuwait. Or all the lives brutally ended by Mr. Hussein? The occasional effort to create weapons of mass destruction.
So his totalitarian repression allowed the middle-class there a semblance of normalcy, fair enough. Beyond that, and though I know it's extremely provincial, I truly despise the people behind the invasion and who got my best friend killed in Baghdad.
It just seems that nothing is ever as simple as a headline though, is it.
3
Please know that there are many Americans like myself who are SICK of our tax dollars and resources going towards horrendous military involvement such as what you describe. It continues to this day, as we help Saudi Arabia ravage Yemen. Our politicians and those who elected them have a great deal to be ashamed of.
4
Many Americans were taken in by a president and his cunning vice president who lied about the need to invade Iraq. Osama who was in Afghanistan should have been the target. As Collin Powell observed, “If you break it, you own it.”
2
I didn't read it. You allowed yourselves to be ruled by corrupt sadist who attacked and made war with other sovereign countries in the region. Who declared himself unwilling and unable to conduct his leadership without murder and bloodshed.
This would be like the kind of leadership that was and still is common in the region. Which we supported and support in one way or another.
And then someone in your region did something totally ugly to us, the most powerful military country in the world, and you got chosen to be vengeanced on.
I believe in fair. This isn't it. So. Figure it out and get your region settled down and moved into the 20th Century.
3
Yeah cause it's so easy, right?
Nope. Not easy.
This can all be laid at the feet of the conservative / GOP coalition that has had many names over the years...Values Voters, Tea Party, Moral Majority, etc....legions of Americans manipulated willingly to serve the right wing agenda, underpinned by hate, lies, bigotry, and confirmation bias.
6
Oh yeah, remember this? I think Trump has allowed people to imagine that the GOP just suddenly went off the deep end. But the truth is he learned how to be a politician largely by watching Foxnews in the Bush era. He's a reflection of what the GOP is and has been for quite a while. A failure to prevent a terrorist attack after which they wrapped themselves in the flag and used the fear and bigotry in reaction to the attack to launch a multi-trillion dollar war on a lie. A war that killed thousands of Americans and far more Iraqis and made terrorism more rather than less likely in the future. We squander the good will we've sometimes built in the world. We give up any claim to being a good faith actor and ceded power and responsibility to dictators like Putin. This is what the GOP is doing to us. We are covered in shame and it must be stopped.
4
100% percent true and accurate. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et al are war criminals and should be in the dock at the Hague. It pains me to say that, but there's no getting around the fact.
4
Thank you for speaking the truth most Americans don't want to hear. We now know the Bush administration knew there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and knew there was no connection between the terrorists of 9/11 and Saddam's regime. The US invasion of Iraq was indeed a crime, and by the standards of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, the American architects of the war are guilty of war crimes. And now with Trump, we have doubled down on venality, arrogance, ignorance and criminality, making the Bush administration look better by comparison.
4
A crime it was, and through its perpetration the criminals created the very beast they ostensibly sought to slay: a nuclear-armed rogue state. What a boon to the missile defense peddlers, the drone hawkers, and the used strategic bomber salesmen.
Socialism with American Characteristics, perhaps.
1
Thank Judith Miller, and Fox News too, for continuing to give her a platform.
Ditto for Bolton, Colin Powell and most of all GWB.
3
The invasion of Iraq was a mistake and ended badly? Shocking!
No. “Crime” is the accurate term. The Iraq war was a breach of our contract with the rest of the world. We knew it at the time because Kofi Annan told us.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/16/iraq.iraq
2
No price was paid by the leaders who gave us the horrors of Vietnam. The cat is out of the bag. You can do things like Vietnam and Iraq and there will be no consequences. How sad. Though it is of small solace, I hope Mr. Antoon realizes that MILLIONS of Americans opposed our actions in Iraq and are genuinely sorry for what happened.
1
Yes, this was a true crime. I was truly surprised and disappointed when the US invaded Iraq in 2003. The main 'perps' are: GW Bush, D Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld ... the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
1
Well said. This is why, when people joke that Trump makes them miss George Bush, I remind them that the stone that unleashed the hornets from the nest was cast by W, an ignorant and easily misled leader who set the stage for both ongoing Mideast chaos and the ascent of our current and equally ignorant commander-in-chief.
2
Beautiful piece and timely reminder that for all of Trump's faults, failures and indecencies, he's still a long way from unleashing the havoc, destruction and loss of life that the Bush administration is responsible for. Dick Cheney is every bit the monster that Saddam ever was.
Finally finally someone says it! It was/is a crime and George W and his cadre are criminals are responsible for the catastrophe and tragedy that is the Middle East today. It can not be said often enough.
From the US perspective, this war was so dumb. Bush and his neocons removed the stalemate that neutralized Iran and Iraq for the entire decade of the 80's. The neocon chicken hawks got what they wanted; a middle east power void that ensured US power projection and an unquestioning, side-by-side support of our ally, Israel. The ironic result is that the entire region, and specifically Israel, is less secure than ever.
I would call the unwarranted deaths of an estimated million people a crime. This was no accident. As I recall, then president Bush was all upset at a supposed Iraqi attempt on his father's life. Then there was manipulation of the "intelligence." General Powell was the perfect person to present the story of the fictional WMD's to the United Nations. After all, he was the one who convinced the elder Bush not to let Desert Storm roll into Baghdad. The troops then lined up and marched in to a war that continues to this day.
Clinton had the right idea. Saddam Hussein needed to be contained crippling sanctions, and a no fly zone would protect the people he hated, but no invasion need be mounted. For eight years that worked. The younger Bush changed all of that.
With our current "president," a lot of people are thinking that the younger Bush wasn't so bad after all. This attitude forgets the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis. This is what happens when we call ourselves the greatest nation on Earth, or speak of American Exceptionalism. Those ideas automatically tag other nations and all of their citizens as inferior beings. This is what leads our nation toward criminal actions, which is exactly what the Iraq war will be considered in the future, even by this nation. If we don't face what we've done and call it what it was, we will do the same thing in some other place.
It's time that we all considered ourselves as citizens of the world.
2
No draft, no problemo! We now get to learn that a citizenry that wriggles free of having to risk themselves for wars pursues a lot of really bad wars! And that when you are unimportant for the tax base AND don't provide the manpower for any war, the powers that be can ignore your needs as a citizen! Or better yet manipulate you, so in the end half of you support them, and in total you simply don't matter and they get to run the country Viola welcome to the Age of the War of Choice With No Consequences for Presidents!
The premier example of this tradeoff is the young person who believes that they will never see social security when they are my age. I hear this commonly, "It won't be there for me," - where in the world do they get that idea? And why in the world would you hold that idea, as it's obviously not good for you. Only because it benefits the people who put that idea into your head. If you were subject to a draft, you'd certainly know how to demand a safety net for your old age!
Young people wriggled their way out of the draft system, the government now runs any fool war it wants with the plentiful volunteers for the exciting gun work, and high-profit sub contractors for the service side. Ordinary people? Who needs them? The old trope was, "War is good for business, invest your son." That was found to be a loan that required too high an interest in return, and the war makers, being crafty as it comes, have now found sources of zero interest financing.
1
Reading the comments I see why we are in so much trouble. I expected a few people to dig in their heels and beyond all reason or evidence still believe that the war was just and that it was the Iraqis that failed to embrace our benevolence. But no, my brief survey of this comment thread shows a frightening amount of incredulity concerning the crime that was the Invasion of Iraq. I was there 15 years ago and I am still haunted by the hubris. I went in a jingoistic American cheerleader, but I will never follow our country's mythologies uncritically again.
2
Thank you, patriotic truth teller.
Dear Mr. Antoon, I am so very sorry for what we did to your country. At the time just before the invasion, I used my (then) company website to post an essay, with a painting of the Virgin Mary with her baby Jesus, saying in the essay how the invasion would make Iraqi mothers cry. I got many nice emails from customers, mostly other mothers; then I started getting the hate mail, and took the essay down. I am so sorry for what we did.
How quickly the Neocons covered their tracks. Wolfowitz ran before the dust had even settled.
1
Send your complaints directly to those who enabled this war. Bush, Cheney Rumsfeld and several others. They are the criminals of this illegal war. And unfortunately they will never be prosecuted. Untouchables.
Please don't forget many millions of Americans publicly protested and rejected this invasion.
1
Cheerleading? Selective memory. I remember thousands protesting in the streets against an Iraq incursion, in all major cities across the country...for what good walking in the street with others does. Welcome to America, more of the same where warmongers declare war and mother's sons die for it. Read AA Milne's Peace with Honour, and consider legislation that hangs all politicos that declare war, even while the military enacts it. I'd like to see if that helps. Yes, let's call a crime a crime.
30 years ago, Iraq destroyed my country (Iran). It was a crime.
But seriously, get in line.
2
'Amnesiac citizenry' rings true - Bush's crimes have been largely forgotten by the public, and Reagan's before him. These former presidents who once lived near the bottom of the list in polls of presidential competence are slowly working their way up over time as people, and new generations, forget. Twenty years from now we will have buildings and airports named for the lying conman who currently occupies the White House, as time and an 'amnesiac citizenry' forgives and forgets his crimes too.
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney should be indicted for treason and war crimes. They outed a CIA operative because it was politically expedient, then invaded a country that did not threaten the USA, and based the decision on lies and disinformation. Donald Rumsfeld was also complicit. It is a stain upon this great nation that these men are walking around as if nothing happened. Worse, now people tend to compare them with the Russian traitor sitting in the Oval Office, who, is a sociopath, but totally indifferent to the security of the United States and its people. All men mentioned above were/are members of the GOP, a class of moribund political hacks never seen in the history of the USA. They are an existential threat to the United States. And Little Putin is standing by, waiting to pick up the pieces.
2
“ For ourselves, we shall not trouble you with specious pretenses — either of how we have a right to our empire because we overthrew the Mede, or are now attacking you because of wrong that you have done us — and make a long speech which would not be believed; and in return we hope that you, instead of thinking to influence us by saying that you did not join the Spartans, although their colonists, or that you have done us no wrong, will aim at what is feasible, holding in view the real sentiments of us both; since you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” The Melian dialogue in the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. It was the reply of the powerful Athenians to the weak Melians . Nothing much has changed in the last 2500 years.
And where is the blame on the Iraqi people? The war was a crime, yes, but why did so many Iraqis take the opportunity to start butchering their neighbors following Hussein's removal? Why did terrorist groups gain so much support? Why didn't the Iraqi people allow the American soldiers to rebuild schools, roads, and hospitals (arguably the only good things they did) without shooting and bombing them?
Here's the harsh truth: Iraq is a mess because your people are completely incapable of building and sustaining a functioning nation and getting along with different people of different religions, races, and ethnicities. It takes a dictator to hold it all together. It's the story of the Middle East as a whole, basically.
If it was up to me, Bush and Cheney would be rotting in jail. But spare us your self-righteousness. Yes, a million people died, but most of them died at the hands of their fellow Iraqis, not the American soldiers.
2
Thank you and thank you again for speaking the truth: not blunder but a criminal act that cries out for justice in the courts. The American and Iraqi people were lied to and members of the US Congress were threatened with the charge of “traitor.” Bush and his sad paintings — war criminals should be prosecuted.
1
So, here we are 15 years later with another ego driven potus. I am afraid that the current occupant of the White House will, to satisfy his ego, go to war to satisfy his ever growing quest to be “great”.
2
Mr. Antoon, Iraq is now a democracy--it's representatives are elected by the people. It is no longer being run for the enrichment of a dictator--who slaughtered thousands of his countrymen, imprisoned and tortured thousands more. Public funds are no longer being wasted on building endless castles for the pleasure of one man.
Thousands of American lives and billions of our dollars have given Iraqis their freedom. You're welcome.
3
Can the Iraqi people ever forgive us? Probably not in this lifetime.
And the most loathsome thing of all? Most Americans do not even care about the horror we wrought.
1
What is written here is a grave reflection of several grave and obscene realities about what was done. I protested against the war in Iraq - especially as an idiotic response to 9/11-- but as I recall, could hardly get my 'liberal friends' to join such protests. It was all about patriotism, a Press-led daily bath in the trauma and 'victimhood' of 9/11 with ZERO real analysis or appreciation for what that moment might have meant for our species survival on this planet.
Who benefited from this arrogant, obscenely inhumane, wasteful crime against humanity and the Iraqi nation, against those who serve in the US military? Armaments makers, extranational (but US flag-waving) oil and gas corporations and the 1% who own them, the banks and the corporate Press, and that military-industrical sector and the Dark State that has led us to the current American demagogery, now 15 years about to 'climax' in American neo-fascism.
A million Iraqi's dead, Middle East in roiling, civilization-ending turmoil, countless American lives lost and negatively affected, trillions spent on the Treasury, and the blowback will keep on coming. I guess that is karma. But it's tragic, obscene and, yes, we use this word: a crime. Objectives not met on one level, but met for that military-industrial complex.
1
What I hate about myself is that I did nothing to stop this insanity. But what could I do when everyone on both sides of the isle drank the potent KoolAid 911?
We wrecked Iraq. The tail of this wreckage to our own country has brought us the wreckage of Trump. Saddam's revenge. Oh, the tails of the fall and rise of authoritarians.
We cannot blame the US even if its actions amounted to criminality. The real criminals are the Iraqis' that conspired with the US to bring destruction to their homeland.
Countries should head the warning of superpowers and avoid getting in the crosshairs. It's that simple. Saddam asked for it, defied the US and finally got the horns.
1, Electoral college appoints the loser "W", with treasonous manipulation by conservatives on Supreme Court. (The outrage and protests in the streets "Not my president" were quickly quelled by 9/11)
2, Bush-Cheney, then use every available lie to invade Iraq.
3, The pacification of American outrage over a "loser" being appointed President, leads the way for republicans in the electoral college to appoint another loser into the oval office.
We now have....The Putin/Trump coup.
4, Democracy, crushed in America..... again.
I for one havent forgotten what Bush did to Iraq by lying to the American people. Yet to this day, the Republican brainwashing of the American people continues- disguised as patriotism. Republicans arent the problem. People who continually vote Republican through gullible ignorance are the problem.
1
A naive, ill-informed George Bush, led by evil henchmen, opened Pandora's box in 2003 and all the horrors in the Middle East flowed out, spilling into Africa and Europe and Eurasia and Southeastern Asia. This was the abyss of over 50 years of America's aggressive militarism. It has ruined our country and much of the world with its brutal killing machine fed by falsified data and grasping capitalist global enterprise. Trump is an ironic outcome of this neo-con production.
Who knew or cared that Baghdad was a great Center of learning, preserving knowledge and texts from deep antiquity! Who if them cared for the tradition of great poetry and art and architecture? We destroyed their museums, their cultural heritage, and their ecumenical balance, we killed innocent citizens and raped their future. And we're still their sowing our sterile seeds in the fertile crescent of their ancient soil.
I, too, remember the cheerleading for War with Iraq which began in September 2002 and held sway in the public consciousness for the next 6 months. It sickened me because I was utterly convinced that G.W. Bush and his Administration were selling us a false bill of goods. Straight-up lies. Everyone else seemed to be in lockstep with what the Administration wanted. CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, NPR. On the airwaves via those media sources, people spoke in September, October and November 2002 as if War with Iraq had already started!!! It was DISGUSTING (!!!)
And the icing on the cake was when G.W. Bush appeared on TV on March 17, 2003 to say in so many words that, despite appeals for peace, war with Iraq had become inevitable. So, there was WAR two days later. And what a tragedy and waste it has been for Iraq and its people. The U.S. had committed itself to waging an illegal war. SHAME-SHAME-SHAME.
I don't know about the middle class, infrastructure, destabilization of the Middle East, all I know is tens of thousands of innocent, just getting-by, men, women and children are dead or injured for life. All because of a lie about WMD. Dead. Torn to pieces. Burned. Maimed. Yet Georgie paints, Cheney is propped up by his daughter like puppet while he rests comfortably and Rumsfeld tosses back drinks at his private clubs. We murder folks and, as someone noted, shrug. We're not alone, but we're in that club. When's that military parade?
2
The war achieved its goals: removal of a strong anti-American presence in the Middle East. The only other such country remaining is Iran, but it is needed as a red rag, so to speak; the Soudis and the Israelis will be in our pocket for as long as stron iran threatens them. The real tragedy of the war was that we knew EXACTLY what we were doing and did it anyway for our geopolitical gains, disregarding the locals as accidental casualties. Hundreds of thousands of them. Syria, Libya, Yemen... who s next? It won’t be Iran, as I have explained already. My guess: a small relatively defenseless one. Tunisia? Perhaps, quatar?
The rest of the civilized world recognizes this was a crime, but nobody has been willing to bring the criminals to justice. This is why this horrible crime continues to this day.
125
The winners of wars are never charged with war crimes, even if starting the war was the war crime.
3
The terms "war" and "crime" are used in a lot of different ways.
In the context of Mr. Antoon's op-ed piece, it seems to me that "war" is being used in its core sense of combat between national military units. Mr. Antoon is right that there was no "war" of that kind in Iraq in 2003, as there was barely any organized military resistance. Iraqi military learned in 1991 that, if it took the field, it would be incinerated by weapons fired from over the horizon that they would never even see. Residual defensive abilities were chipped away by a long series of aerial attacks, mainly after 1991 under President Clinton. Iraqi military personnel, along with Iraqi women and children, did snipe at U.S. soldiers as they passed through city streets, but this is not "war" in its core sense.
"Crime" covers a huge number of different acts and is used in a legal sense and in figurative senses. To call the 2003 U.S. operation in Iraq a "crime," one should perhaps be more specific and identify a legal statute that proscribes unprovoked use of overwhelming power to have one's way with a helpless victim.
The rehabilitation of George W Bush and his murderous regime speaks to the total disregard Americans have for their victims. It was the same in Vietnam--the US government murdered millions, and all Americans could do was weep over their own "loss of innocence". Bush, Cheney, Condie Rice, Rumsfeld, Powell, et al, should have faced war crimes and crimes against humanity. But they are helped by an indifferent world and a navel gazing American citizenry indifferent to the suffering they inflict on others.
Beyond the catastrophic destruction and loss of life visited upon Iraq, a country every American president has bombed since the first Bush (who happily destroyed Iraqi's infrastructure and applied the most comprehensive economic embargo on a civilian population in modern history), the 2003 invasion set the stage for the disintegration of the Iraqi state, the rise of ISIS, the Syrian civil war, and the Middle East's vast refugee crisis. Such a scale of human carnage is incomprehensible. And the masterminds walk free, respected and even celebrated by American liberals today. THAT is the face of American Empire.
195
Oh, man, you hit the nail on the head. Everyone talks about American exceptionalism but it is really the American Empire aided by hubris, a culture of violence, and the shield of oceans on either side. Trump doesn't have the intelligence to understand this. Better men (let's say, Obama) had the intelligence but carried on anyway for reasons I will never understand. Eisenhower was right -- the military industrial complex reigns. Corporations rule this county.
10
Many American liberals marched and protested these wars, to no avail.
8
Which liberals are you referring to? All the ones I know opposed the war and knew it was a setup. We believe that the Supreme Court is also to blame for anointing Bush and Cheney, setting the stage for the destruction of Iraq and of any hopes of Middle East progress through to today.
9
Finally, someone has said what I have felt all along - the U.S. has blood on its hands. The article only touches on Iraq following the war. When we look at the whole picture, starting from the false justification for the war to the effect on the effect on the region ranging from ISIS, Syria etc., the picture is far worse than described. Frankly, it is incumbent on the US to make reparations to the region at large. Regrettably, our actions indicate anything but compassion. Just look at the paltry number of Syrian refugees we have accepted. We have to realize - it is not just we desire security. The whole world does.
4
The War in Iraq is many things, starting with "ill-advised, literally" and continuing into "a horrible, drawn out, tragedy, with no end in sight."
But is it a crime? That depends...
Is it a violation of the Geneva Conventions or the Hague Convention?
A violation of the U.N. Charter?
A violation of another country's laws?
Are there counter-arguments to be made that show it was justified?
Or is the author simply using the word "crime" in a non-legal, colloquial sense?
The author provides no further guidance, and so we are left with an emotional debate starter rather than a true attempt at rendering concrete justice. Call out the tragedies, work to fix the destruction of war, struggle to make the world a better place.
But leave legal conclusions like "this war is a crime" out of the discussion until you are prepared to actually back them up with substantive argument beyond examples of the hellish nature that accompanies all armed conflict.
3
The US had no plan for rebuilding Iraq after the invasion. They only had people in place to secure the oil ministry; all the other government building and records contained therein were left unguarded and we're destroyed in the looting and rioting that followed the fall of Baghdad. We were there to secure oil, regime change was convenient cover. It was a grossly unjust war based on false pretenses; it was a crime
2
The fact that there was no investigation into these crimes- similar to the aftermath of the financial crisis- explains a lot about our current state of affairs
6
It was an unjust war of aggression based on lies. The futility and dishonesty of it has done much to poison the public life of the United States.
7
We are unable to view the world as a free place. It was dominated by Europe for centuries. The US continued the system after WWII replacing occupation with indebtedness as a means of control, but to residents of places like Iraq the domination is the same as before. The idea of occupation and war against innocent countries is one of empire. Empires fall of their own hubris. I support this writer entirely, and am willing to take the risk of unraveling the world order which has caused so much injustice, rather than live under a Pax Americana.
The invasion of Iraqi (implemented and planned through the CIA and a standard government replacement procedure of theirs) is the main reason countries like north Korea, and Iran attempt to to acquire nuclear weapons status. The threat of a nuclear retaliation (even a single one) is sufficient to ward off a standard US contrived government change. If Saddam had a single deliverable nuclear weapon our government would never would have committed the crime it did. (we still have a program at the CIA of foreign regime change despite our hypocritical baying at Russia).
2
If we did that to Iraq, what are we doing to Afghanistan?
4
“The signs were already there: the typical arrogance and violence of a colonial occupying power.”
There will never be another attempt to repeat the folly of attempting to topple a government by force, and rebuild a nation’s institutions from scratch—especially when the invaders have a history of being colonial occupiers. Foreign occupiers will always be hated and resisted,whether it’s the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, China’s attempt to punish Vietnam or Japan in Korea or the Russians in Chechnya, Ukraine or Georgia.
We should have but didn’t learn from the lesson of the US in Vietnam, and repeated it in Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter what the noble cause is, armies are manned by killers, not social workers. They are humans who are afraid of strange-looking people who don’t speak their language and don’t like having their country and their family members killed.
The tragedy of Iraq is that the lying, bumbling incompetents stupidly believed that this time it would be easy. And lazily didn’t even try to nation-build, fobbing off that work toprivate contractors looking for a payday.
Now Trump doesn’t even go through the motions of talking about freedom and democracy—it’s all about fear and “getting a lot tougher”.
3
Somehow, this whole thing is summed up, for me, by what happened to Phil Donahue and the Dixie Chicks. Our nation is so impulsively supportive of war, any war, any time, any place, and for whatever reason, that early critics of impending war can be branded for life. Regardless of how the war turns out, and how it is viewed in retrospect, the warriors are lauded as heroes and the critics are vilified.
Our pretext for war in Iraq, weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi responsibility for the 9-11 attacks, was patently absurd. It didn't matter. It was time to have a war, for the sake of war. When inspectors found no trace of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, Bush II had to hurry up and start the war before half his pretext evaporated.
The destruction and chaos we sowed in Iraq was not about Iraq. It was about us.
5
Fifteen years ago, my brothers in arms, let's call it what it was, saved Iraq.
Fifteen years ago, Iraqis were enslaved to a dictator who murdered Shi'ites at will, and committed genocide against the Kurds in northern Iraq, without Iraqi home opposition because none was allowed.
Fifteen years ago, the USA made it possible for Iraqis to vote in the first free elections ever held in that country (the photos of the Arab women proudly displaying their purple thumb from the ID verification at the voting booths are proof of freedom's enduring price and promise).
Fifteen years ago, the USA removed a regime which didn't hesitate to do what Bashir Assad is doing now in Syria, using chemical weapons on its own people.
Fifteen years ago, the USA created the conditions for the nascent "Arab Spring" to evolve and express itself in Tunisia and then across the Arab world.
Fifteen years ago, Iraqis came to terms with themselves and their neighbor Iran, who used Iraqi freedom as an excuse to inflame sectarian tensions and encourage Sunni-Shi'ite civil war, and the deaths of many, many US soldiers by Iranian IEDs and other investments in death and destruction.
Fifteen years ago, the USA made possible the Iraqi democracy which just defeated Islamic fascism in Ramadi, and now must contend with Iranian Shi'ite fascism to be truly free.
You can call US-provided freedom a "crime," if you wish, while giving Iran a pass.
But I would prefer you just said, "thank you," and went on your way.
7
What arrogance! What right does the US have to destroy any country? There are plenty of problems and injustices we need to solve right here at home. Would we want another country invading us to do it for us? As an American I'm beyond sick of paying for our bloated military. We need to cut it back to no more than is needed to DEFEND ourselves, not meddle endlessly everywhere. No wonder the whole world hates us.
1
15 years ago you initiated your cognitive dissonance. As the author says, “read that number again.” You sir, are an American hammer who sent in search of a Middle-Eastern nail. Complete destruction was/is not a solution to the problems you perceive/d.
I don't recall the Iraqi people asking us for our help. Who are you to decide to kill a million people in order to provide them with something they didn't ask for?
I still get angry when I think about what the US did in Iraq back then.
3
"mostly amnesiac citizenry" Sums up a lot of the reason we are where we are today
3
Yeah--I get it. Your Opinion piece rings true--but now what? Does the US "declare victory" and pull out? Seriously, how do you suggest we end this seemingly endless forfeiture of blood and treasure?
The title is unfair and misleading. I, for instance, played no part in the war and vehemently opposed it. I don’t care and i don’t mind when Iraqis kill each other but I was against spilling any Judeo-Christian blood, so to speak.
Once again, American hubris, and exceptional self-confidence, continue to wreak havoc on humanity.
1
Thank you for this well-written account of how America destroyed Your Country. You “left Iraq a few months after the 1991 Gulf War and went to graduate school in the United States,” where you’ve been ever since. At what point does America become Your Country? If this is not your country after 26 years, will it ever be?
2
What's your point? The author was born and spent his formative years in Iraq and is therefore entitled to refer to Iraq as "my country". Maybe he considers America his adoptive country but he didn't explicitly say so because it is irrelevant to the point he is making.
If you left the US as a late teen and saw it destroyed from afar would you be so cavalier in your assumptions about another person’s feelings?
The USA under Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and company is the era that Donald Trump and his followers speak of when they long to “make America great again.”
1
Thank you for writing this thoughtful piece! The same brutality that the US visited upon your country was visited upon my ancestors (e.g., Africans, African Americans) for centuries and is ongoing. Prayerfully, the greed and brutality of White male supremacy will soon end.
1
Like Vietnam Iraq was invaded to help a politician. In the Iraq invasion W Bush; in Vietnam LBJ.
Bush's popularity was falling and the mid term elections were looming.
The neocons in W's administration saw this as not only politically expedient but also as a means to safeguard Israel.
In the end W left office in disgrace and Israel was less safe because the distruction of Iraq left Iran without its principal foe.
Evil means make evil ends.
1
Thank you for your well-focused and well-expressed perspective. Many of we Americans have agreed with you since even the misbegotten Operation Desert Storm. But the relentless descent of the United States into an autocratic, undemocratic power continues. We must continue to resist.
1
I am 63 yrs old and have watched us destroy Vietnam, Iraq and assorted other countries.
How we can long for George W Bush is really incredible with the war crimes he & Cheney are responsible for. Obama tried to get out but the Military Industrial complex runs this country and under Trump another stupid war is right around the corner.
It seems like a human trait we cannot break away from - fear of others.
I would like to apologize for the mess WE have helped create in the Middle East!!
Besides above US has left messes in Iran, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Afghanistan, - goes on & on.
We are overextended and in massive debt for all our Colonialism and not going to get better.
5
I believe we lost an amazing opportunity after 9/11 to use the support we had from the international community at that time to help stop the spread of extremism. Instead we resorted to extremism ourselves and here we are now. When I spoke out against the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, most Americans said that I was insane or unpatriotic. Now we have blood on our hands, a wrecked economy, widespread corruption and a fascist President. The world has nothing to look up to in America.
3
Saddam was a cruel man who gassed his own people, invaded a neighbor and fought a war with Iran which killed hundreds of thousands on both sides, and he was spared by George HW Bush. The younger W and his handlers felt the need to get somebody after 9/11, and Iraq was an easy target for a boy wishing to finish the job his daddy started. What followed was the opening of Pandora’s Box and the destabilization of the Middle East, and possibly the world. An overwhelming waste of lives and security for mankind.
7
Kuwait was a part of Iraq until UK decided to dismember it: easier to colonize and enrich a few local leaders hugely who then do the work for your benefit.
e.g.The British enriched or gave a few low titles mockingly to the Parsees who (willingly) trafficked opium into China.
Yes, the war WAS a crime. Former President Jimmy Carter publicly warned it would be a disaster. Army COS Gen. Shinseki warned that it was ill-conceived and undermanned--and was fired! And the American People were deliberately lied to by the Bush administration, where the President himself was fed easily digestible lies that fed his world view, and that were ultimately proven wrong.
My theory has long been what I call the "Death Star Plan"--Rumsfeld, Cheney and their thralls cooked up a plan to take down the Saddam regime, install a puppet regime, build the largest and most advanced bases in the world in Iraq, in the heart of the Middle East, and pay for it by stealing Iraq's oil.
This would lead to the Iraqi people welcoming us for "freeing" them from Saddam, and would put our "Death Star" force right where IT would be the deciding and controlling factor in Middle East conflicts, protecting Israel and Saudi Arabia, and a continual force capable of opposing Iran. As an added bonus, by controlling Iraqi oil, the US would break the back of the OPEC.
Yes, it was a crime, absolutely, and hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million "wrongful deaths" have been the result. But it was still a colossal blunder because for all those deaths, it didn't even achieve the goal! The "Death Star Plan" didn't work in ANY way!
Because it was based on ego, arrogance, ignorance, lies, and a profound disdain for people who, to that administration, were "the Other".
6
DONALD RUMSFELD shaking hands with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in Michael Moores FAHRENHEIT 911 shows how the great game played in IRAN-IRAQ 1979 war. Any justification for 2003 US / UK invasion of Iraq needs to be analysed by reading books by HANS BLIX Jeremy Greenstock who actually apologizes to the people of IRAQ and ANDREW BACEVICH in THE LIMITS OF POWER who lost his son in Iraq in 2007. As for the legitimacy of the Iraq war (or preemptive war) we must acknowledge Iraq (borders) no longer exist. Maybe US has no time for soul-searching as Trump getting ready for new preemptive wars. Syria and IRAN next for the chop? The blame shared with TONY BLAIR who sold the war on his dodgy dossiers and denounced Germany and France who totally rejected the logic for war.
1
Yes, the Iraq War was a crime, plain and simple.
Harnessing American rage after 9/11, Bush and his cronies fabricated the truth to convince Congress to get us into the war. I was in college at the time, still clinging to my conservative roots, yet remember being confused over why we were shifting from Afghanistan to Iraq so quickly. What did Iraq have to do with 9/11? Weren't the majority of the hijackers from Saudia Arabia anyway? Were we heading there next?
I was naïve enough to trust that Bush knew things I didn't, things he couldn't tell us at the time. But I was wrong. It was the beginning of my education into America: the bull in a china shop.
We set the stage for Al Qaeda and 9/11 by abandoning our promises to Afghanistan after the Russian war in the 80's. Then, we helped create ISIS by abandoning them a second time as we shifted our resources to Iraq. We've raised a generation of Iraqi citizens to hate us, as we've decimated their country and killed civilians by the hundreds of thousands in our ill-advised war. We never, never learn.
Yes, those responsible should be held accountable. We can't just wage war in other countries, kill civilians, and then slink away, hoping to forget our little mistake. Among so many other things, this is a black eye for America. We must do better.
5
What is the point of making bombs if you cannot use them? War is a business.
Pretty sad that Trump came along and made W look acceptable. But if we wind up with a smoking ruin where South Korea used to be...Bush will be looking better than ever.
I remember when the proposed name of the Operation right after the Shock and Awe portion was Operation Iraqi Liberation...until somebody saw what the acronym was and it became, in the space of hours, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
It was way too much, the lies brazen and the march to war steady and grim.
And I saw it for what it was at the time as well, a pack of lies that were tissue thin, and damp still.
We need a war crimes commission over the Iraq Invasion, the torture and the profiteering and use of mercenaries to conduct our Diplomats, rather than our own Military. Our 'Embassy' there was a travesty in and of itself, in a place well known for overdone buildings and Mansins, it topped most of them.
We need to remove our military and our corporations from Iraq and let them make their own decisions. The Kurds need their own lands and security, since Iraq and Iran as well as Turkey and Syria have all been against them at times and places, they and the Palestinians need their own Homes, under their own rule, instead of having it dictated by Colonialist Nations yet again.
The Military, Intel/State Depts and War Industrialists, along with their profit taking Congress Critters are the ones who control it all, and it is only for the money and the power. They think that with the money they can buy power, mostly right, but there is no time limit on war crimes. Too much hard truth has come out for it to go back into the box ever again.
End All Congressional War Profiteering Scams!
4
The rebuilding of Iraq could not be accomplished while the Sunni/Shi’a battled it out for control.
My nephew fought in DS. He’s not the same guy. We all took a good beating in this war.
1
Bush and Cheney should have been taken from the White House in chains. They should be serving life sentences. Most who watch Fox Newz believe to this day that there were WMDs. So long as so many are poisoned by propaganda the US will continue its decline. Facts matter. The invasion and occupation of Iraq was sold on cherry-picked bad intelligence. American media counted up the American dead and maimed, but not the Iraqi casualties. Shameful.
4
There is no excuse American can ever offer for what we did to Iraq. It's not a 'disgrace' or a 'blunder'. It's an atrocity in the name of greed. Crime is an excellent word. Lying about some pretext to steal a countries oil by force, the result of which is enduring widespread devastation, death and chaos in that country, is a stupendous crime.
We have the same sort of lying greedy killers in power today. Watch out. America is in peril of adding to it's list of unforgivable sins.
4
Americans need to hear this every day - no, every hour of every day. Whether it is killing Italian skiers with a hot-dogging warplane, or killing 2,000,000 Vietnamese, or destabilizing the entire Middle East, Americans are never guilty. We just make “mistakes.” It is way past time for us to grow up, develop some humility, and own up to our many sins. We can never cure the disease if we don’t call it by its proper name.
1
In reaction to 9/11 we unleashed all the world's chaos now at our feet. The destruction of Iraq will come to be regarded as one of the Great historic crimes of all time.
It's purpose was to enrich those who had invested in war & to stir the anti-immigrant pot here in America. Anything else we were told was a lie.
And if we're not careful, we're going to find ourselves in the same position with the current administration. It may already be too late.
One also can imagine part of the motive was Iraqi oil.
A picture is worth a thousand words. The picture the US painted upon entering Iraq was more than degrading. We bi-passed every hospital, school, museum in need of protection against looting and we went straight for the oil fields. We've been degrading ourselves ever since.
If you find solace, or at least understanding, in fiction (and you must, by definition), please read The Great Gatsby again. This country is an oligarchy and the Buchanans who run it will never admit, or even consider, that they did something that was as deeply wrong as it was casually done. As a living example of their wholly witting error you will be denied your basic humanity and will never be forgiven for not presenting us with those sweets and flowers. Expect to be hated forever just as the Vietnamese are. If it's any consolation the U.S. citizens who protested both those "undeclared" wars are perhaps hated even more than you are. I am very sorry and deeply ashamed that we destroyed your country and killed so many of your people. But I can only apologize for myself. I mean, it's not like we're Germans.
1
Slaughtering thousands upon thousands of innocents for the sake of private profits -- that's what American warmongers do. Incessantly. And they can't wait to start up again prior to November.
A lot of us were against the war. And the majority of us voted against Bush, which shows you that the US citizen has no power, either. I think the only justice would be to have the Iraqi people execute Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.
I still think this triumvirate of evil was a hundred times worse than Trump. Sadly, Americans have forgotten the havoc wreaked by these war criminals.
1
Bush and company lied us into a pointless war, killing innocents. They should be arrested, read their rights, tried, and convicted of crimes against humanity.
A serious country would have done this years ago.
3
Trump is convinced he is free and clear of any justice in this world. Since Dick Cheney is STILL running around loose, how could the Trumpster expect justice to be served?
How could Cheney even begin to atone for the 100k (lower estimate) Iraqis killed during the invasion and "occupation"? It would require public torture (using methods he approved) for thousands of years. The so-called civilized world simply cannot fathom a fitting punishment.
1
So true. Those who took us into that criminal war are war criminals and they remain free.
1
thanks for this article. bush, cheney, rumsfeld, wolfawitz and rice belong in prison. the fact that they were not even tried is a stain on the US similar and equal to slavery and the native american genocide.
Those who sit here and disparage your own country should be ashamed of yourselves. Many of your country men and women went to Iraq and broke the chains that Saddam Hussein had on this guys country and many gave their lives for the cause. We gave them a chance, a real chance to change for the better. We gave them Saddam once he was captured and when that should of been a time for a National Reconciliation they decided to go with total anarchy. Don't sit there and spout off about how America was bad in doing what they did and not appreciate the chance we gave you. We didn't destroy Iraq, the Iraqi's did by their lack of appreciation. The writer has been to Basra recently and says it's still depilated, run down and exhausted. We haven't been there since 2011 (Except for a small contingent in the North fighting ISIS), almost 7 years. What has his fellow countrymen done since to try to rebuild their country? Why is he still here living in Freedom when he should be over there trying to make a difference. No, he lives here in the USA, with Freedom and protection. If you hate this country, pack up your belongings and get out. Go back to Iraq and rebuild your country, The country you so hated when Saddam was in power, but I got a news flash for you, Saddam is dead and gone thanks to us. So instead of reading poetry and writing novels in the safety of your nice home here in the USA, go make a difference in your homeland and help them get on their feet again.
1
The invasion was American, but the destruction was Iraqi all the way. It is just as shocking that the Iraqis had that much hatred for each other and their own land. Blaming everyone else but them selves seems typical of them. The invasion opened a door into the false narratives of the 'noble cultures' there and revealed that the culture of the Arabian middle east are simply primitive and blood thirsty. It tells much of a culture that the mere removal of a single layer of law enforcement would result in neighbors attacking neighbors and causing such mayhem. Mr. Antoon should look at his culture with embarrassment and shame first.
1
Don't worry Mr. Antoon:
We'll do better in:
North Korea, Iran, Syria, you name it.
You see, maybe we didn't learn enough in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Niger, Libya, Yemen, Panama, Grenada, Cuba, Iran (yes it does come up a few times), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Saudi Arabia...
Well, the list does seem to go on quite a bit...
But, trust me here. We have learned. We have a variety of Ivy Leaguers on the job (did I mention Bush went to Yale?). And where once (okay, more than once, quite a bit more than once) we failed, we will now succeed.
Be patient my friend. You talk of a million dead. May I remind you, there are billions on our planet earth. It is all relative. Many of your relatives may be dead or maimed or homeless. But it is in fact relative. Remember, America may not listen to you, may not pay attention to what you know and can teach it, but it is there for you. That's a place you can call home. Maybe a sometimes dangerous home. Maybe a sometimes cold home. But there's no place like home!
2
Naive as I am, I could never help wondering about this:
In 1993, while George Bush, the father was visiting Kuwait, there was a foiled assassination attempt against him, which was pinned on the Iraqis. Clinton sent a cruise missile to Baghdad, in response.
In the run-up to Dubya's war on Iraq, I always wondered how much of a part that played in his basic mindset -- personal vendetta and score-settling, against the man who supposedly tried to assassinate his father.
It always seemed too much that they had already decided they would go after Saddam and needed to concoct a reason. It seemed so mis-directed to link Hussein with 9-11.
Wow! Novelists have it easier than the rest of us. We are constrained by reality -- they get to make it up.
Notice how Sinan Antoon tries to have it both ways. Yes, Saddam Hussein was a dictator, but no the US should not have removed him. Logically that means that Antoon believes Saddam should have been left in place to tyrannize over his countrymen. Then why doesn't he come out and admit it? His silence leaves the unspoken implication that there was a softer, less painful third way -- that is false, and Antoon does not bother to defend such a claim.
Antoon also blames the US for aggravating sectarian tensions in Iraq. Sorry, but Saddam's Iraq was built on religious oppression -- with the minority Sunnis oppressing the majority Shiites. The idea that the Shiites could ever throw off the Sunni yoke bloodlessly and without aggravating sectarian tensions is absurd. In light of the subsequent destruction, maybe even Shiites (had they the choice over) might have preferred their continued servitude, but that's easy for Antoon to say.
Amazingly, Antoon gets it exactly wrong. The US invasion was not a crime. It was worse than a crime -- it was a blunder. (Just think of the folly of Bremer's decision to disband the Iraqi Republican Guard! I cried at the time).
Antoon should stick to writing fiction -- and not passing it off as fact.
1
Watch History Repeat Itself
Millions marched in the US, UK and Europe against the proposed invasion of Iraq.
The one country that was baying for the invasion of Iraq was Israel – which was tired of Saddam paying money to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers whose houses were bulldozed.
Netanyahu wants Iran out of the way. Taking out Iraq was not enough for him. Given that Trump has effectively contracted out Middle East policy to Netanyahu, the next disaster is on the way.
I apologize for our country Mr. Antoon.
Hope we treat you and yours here, better than we did over there.
1
Yes, it is unfortunate that the winners of a war are never charged with War Crimes. Invading another country under false pretenses is a War Crime. Bush and his cronies all lied to get their invasion. All are war criminals.
I was a trainer of young physicians. Once during the early stages of our liberation of Iraq, I was visited by a graduate of my program, an Iraqi expatriate, a Christian. As we discussed the War, he shared his family’s opinion: “Dr Jones, Iraqi needs Saddam Hussein”. I can’t help but feel that he was right.
Too little and far too late. This newspaper, if not complicit with the Bush administration's rush to war, was derelict in its coverage of the willful ignorance
by that administration of the IAEA's reports over ten years concerning the
UN Security Council mandated dismantling of Iraq's nuclear-weapons program.
The fact that this vicious anniversary can pass by virtually ignored in American media says it all. The viciousness, arrogance and stupidity of the Trump era has a long pedigree in the US. In the 21st century, the United States has been, by far, the most dangerous country on Earth. It is the true "rogue nation"; it has done far more to destabilize world order than anything done by Russia or, certainly, China. The Iraq war is exhibit A, of course. As the author notes, however, the US has a long, dismal history of supporting dictators in the Arab world. Its coddling of Israel has led to the endless suffering of the Palestinians. Its disregard for international law and norms has damaged the entire structure of the world's multilateral system. The Iraq war was the start of all this, but also a culmination of the attitude that, as the "victor" of the Cold War, the US should not "allow" itself to be contained by any outside rules or actors.
This is a very humbling article. Thank you.
Speaking for myself I never believed any of the GWB administration's claims that Saddam Hussein had any conceivable connection to 9/11. He was so clearly the sort that Al Qaeda despised. And I remember thinking "gee, I don't think people ever appreciate being invaded by an outside country." But that was it, just a passive disbelief. No action.
I never approved of the Iraq war. I detested George W. Bush, and suspected his waged war in Iraq…for no reason. I loathe Donald Trump. I wonder if the Republicans are capable of finding an an intelligent, thoughtful candidate - ever. Booo.
Americans are insulated from the horrors that their government commits abroad. Our wars have decimated the worlds population's, from Vietnam to the Middle East. Why is the US committing such atrocities? Is it in the pursuit of something noble? Is it some concern for the welfare of people in other countries? I doubt it. It seems more like US wars are driven by a hunger for corporate profits In the oil and defense sectors, and not just by acquisition, as disturbances in the Middle East benefit US oils and gas producers.
What happened to the idea nation building? Where has diplomacy gone? Again, it seems lost to craven greed and the impulses of autocratic fools.
1
Mr. Antoon has experienced in gruesome detail the effects of the heralded "Pax Americana". When will the brain dead of this nation wake to the reality of our sick foreign policy.
This is not to detract in any way from the exemplary response of the USA to natural disasters & health crisis throughout the world in offering help. Unfortunately, killing people & creating refugees through foolhardy, ignorant response to unrelated events, often at the behest of neo-colonial profiteers, is a much greater problem for all.
1
Well meaning words do not suffice for the misery that we have caused your people and your once beautiful country. There were many of us protesting the build up to the war in Iraq, it fell on deaf ears and for an obvious reason, the ones who would benefit from the invasion and chaos in the Middle East were just too powerful, they got their war. I should think there would be charges of war crimes against those responsible and retribution from those who would benefit from the removal of dictators or leaders not deemed friendly enough to their country, where is it written that everyone in the M.E. has to love one another, the hatred has gone on for millennia, what gives us the right to determine who lives and who dies. Anerican media is now beating the drums daily for war with Iran and Russia, what gives us the right, why aren’t we in the streets protesting, who is the real terrorist, who made us God? Baghdad was so beautiful and charming at one time that my hometown of San Francisco was referred to as “ Baghdad by the Bay” by our most famous columnist Herb Caen, hardly appropriate anymore. Thank you George, Dick, Rummy, Wolfie and Tony. BTW, there is certainly precedent for attaining retribution, those most effected by W.W.II are still collecting, I’m sure there are billions in Swiss and American bank accounts looted by the “liberators”, those supporting regime change and those that filled the vacuum.
1
I’ve said the same for years. The deaths of several hundred thousand people are a war crime. The seventy seven senators who signed the funding for this crime are complicit, as well as the White House neocons. Americans who went along reluctantly, or enthusiastically, all implicated, as well as we who shook our heads in disgust and disillusionment, and pay our taxes and move along. The Iraq war, and progressives’ excitement in 2016 for Hillary, -one of those 77 senators who enabled the killing machine and set it forth to do its work- has been a final disillusioning. Confederate bronze statues in a park easily compell protests, bathroom laws elicit outrage and boycotts, but a large scale human rights crime,- women and children’s corpses by the tens of thousands... nothing.
1
I’m profoundly sorry.
1
Yes. The war was illegal, and criminal. We would do well to send the criminals to the Hague. I suggest we start with the Bush administration officials who adopted the policy of using torture as an interrogation technique.
Yes, the invasion was a crime against humanity, and the perpetrators are still at large. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld ("stuff happens") are still at large. And their news-media cheerleaders (e.g., Lester Holt) have since risen in the ranks of their broadcasting organizations -- all thanks to "a mostly amnesiac citizenry." How totally disgusting.
Too many people thought a post Saddam Iraq would become like post WWII Japan, Germany and Italy. After all, if they could do it why not the Iraqis, When it was suggested that a Muslim nation is incapable of such reform, they were denounced as racist. Unfortunately, the racists were right. The US did not destroy Iraq, the Iraqis did. Same in every other Muslim nation that has ruined it's chance at peace and prosperity.
The moral position of the US in the world has not been destroyed by the crude, crass buffoonery of Donald Trump, but rather by the malignant war crimes of GWBush and his administration.
Thank you for your brilliant words Mr. Antoon. As a Black American I can never reconcile with our amnesiac citzenry that seems at this poinr willingly accepts the destruction of life (whether in Iraq or even in a child's classroom in their own country) as a "normal" function of democracy.
1
Excellent, and very, very true editorial. 100's of thousands are killed (in Iraq). To us, it's just a little hiccup in the annals of American history. To Iraq, it's the permanent destruction of their entire nation. Insane.
An utter fiasco that will haunt this country for another 50-100 years.
1
A nation works with the best intelligence it can obtain. That same nation then consults with its allies as to the viability of that intelligence. At that time the intelligence pointed to the fact that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Action was taken to save lives based on that shared intelligence.
You are certainly entitled to your oun emotional opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts.
Perhaps the worst crime is that we appear to have learned nothing from our actions regarding Iraq, as we now saber rattle about Iran and North Korea.
1
This is probably one of the worst comment sections I've seen on the Times.
It's like YouTube.
All sorts of deflections, fallacies, and whataboutisms thrown about.
Thanks for sharing this article. It's very important for American citizens to actually come to terms with the cost of the wars that they do their best to ignore day to day.
The cognitive dissonance is strong when one tries to come to grips with America causing so much harm with so little good done, when we were taught to believe that the ends would justify the means.
So, instead they need to say "well Saddam did X, Y, and Z", as if they somehow means that the invasion HAD to happen and also that the occupation HAD to go that way.
Or we need to say "maybe if the Iraqi people didnt have a civil war/terrorism it would have gone well", as if anything is actually that simple.
Basically, most folks have evolved past where President Bush's thinking was 15 years ago.
The world is still binary to them.
2
As a foreigner living in the US, from a country previously colonized, I observed with horror the total emotional detachment Americans had from the people of Iraq during the invasion and occupation of that country by their forces. The news reported only the numbers of Americans killed, never the infinitely more numerous Iraqi casualties. Even some American politicians and intellectuals whom I had previously regarded as somewhat altruistic did not ever discuss the Iraqis at all when commenting in the media.
The monumental travesty of colonialism was tragically played out: a few men and women of indeterminate talent and indifferent morals ,using the resources of their powerful nation were casually determining the fates and futures of millions of people whom neither they nor their countrymen knew or cared much about.
4
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom, Sinan. I am saddened by our role in reducing your country to ruin.
Unexamined, our foreign/military policy, which now seems reduced to asymmetrical warfare with terrorists, continues to result in widespread ruin. Libya, Syria, and much of Afghanistan. Where next, Iran? North Korea? Venezuela? Niger? Somalia?
Years of engagement w/o breakthroughs is frustrating. But, as Syria is demonstrating to the Russians and Iranians, the power it takes to crush the JV, as Obama memorably branded them, will necessarily cause massive civilian suffering and reduce a country to regional hotspots and its people to warring clans.
"The actual objectives of war are always camouflaged by well-designed lies that exploit collective fear and perpetuate national myths." Boy, is that ever the truth. The American government has a long and sordid history of inserting and propping up dictators in the name of so called democracy, with disastrous results. As American citizens, we need to discern the truth from propaganda, and take accountability for the actions of our "leaders."
4
The crime for those unable to see it in the article or are too young to remember what lead us into the war is the war itself. There was never any connection between Sadam or Iraq and the September 11 attacks. The crime was the propaganda and the atmosphere of threat/intimidation against American Citizens who questioned this idea promoted by the Bush admin who had even the NYT owners & staff afraid of questioning their obviously flawed justifications. There was nothing to justify the war until Tony Blair and the British gov machine that works so closely with the GOP machine to keep regulation at bay provided us with a "source" tellingly called Curveball. It turns out it was a former taxi driver from Bahgdad who claimed to somehow have knowledge of mobile chem labs. No one asked any appropriate questions and Colin Powell shamefully & willingly spent his now long gone gravitas to promote this British story. The Crime is everything from the start to this day all done by the W admin in cahoots with the British all of whom have personally profited from their actions.
IDK that we can do much about that. What we can do is hold to account Bush and his administration and all of the people who helped him run the kidnap and torture program that for all we know the CIA is still secretly running to this day. Crimes Against Humanity can never be legalized. The lies that people keep promoting about legal cover are no different that Trumps lies to keep folks distracted.
3
Hillary's support to that war and her Neo-Con instincts for more interventions under the guise of moral pretenses is why I couldn't vote for her. Glad we had Obama from 2008 till 2016.
1
The conflict of Iraqi incursion into Kuwait was countered by George H.W. Bush, who saw no path forward to force Iraq into a surrender, thus Hussain was left intact. As George W Bush conveniently entered the national guard, a sure way to keep out of harm’s way and the risk of being shot or killed in the jungles of South Vietnam, he knew nothing of war. As president, could W have wanted to prove something to his father, or did he finally find the courage he lacked during Vietnam by sending thousands of American soldiers into Iraq in his place. W and Cheney’s calling out of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as reasons justifying a war against Iraq created Islamic Caliphate, which went on to the slaughters of hundreds of Iraqis and Syrians, and the horrors of annihilation of Yazidi men and boys and sexual enslavement of young Yazidi girls. And W sits there painting his lovely pictures seemingly oblivious of the tragedy he single-handedly inflicted on the world.
2
the way we got there was also a crime, both literally and metaphorically. It included lying to Congress. But for me, the most egregious pre-war crime was the disgusting exploitation of 9/11 by the Bush Admin. to justify a war Bush and Cheney and the Neocons had wanted for long before 9/11.
2
It is said that Abrahamic religions believe in retribution. Today Billy Graham's daughter prayed for a nuclear attack on America because of our "immorality" but I doubt she would agree with mine or Sinan's view on what constitutes immoral actions: I, personally, believe in Karma.
Some things are written on water and can be paid for easily. Others are written on paper and to remove the atrocity destroys the medium but they are still paid for. Then others are written in stone and require many generations before the sins are atoned. I doubt that Abrahamic religions consider Karmic law, however, by the simple laws of cause and effect, I see Karma all around me and it destroys our unity and taints our ability for consensus.
As an American I was against the Iraq War but as an America I ask Sinan Antoon for forgiveness for this atrocity. I can't bring the war criminals to justice but I can say that if I could, I would. But I can't even get justice for my own people who were here before America was born.
3
Thank you for sharing your experience. You are right. It is a horrible crime.
1
Canada was vilified by the Bush administration and the US press for refusing to participate in the invasion of Iraq. I'm so glad our Prime Minister of the day, Jean Chrétien, saw the folly of what the US was going to do. Iraq is far worse off now than it was under Saddam Hussein and, despite the deaths of so many Iraqis. Bush, Tony Blair and others have not let that bother their consciences.
1
In the 2008-2009 timeframe, after much fighting and many mistakes, the US and Iraqi forces handed the Maliki regime a largely pacified and generally peaceful (by recent history's standards, anyway) state. The Sunni had joined the awakening and purged AQ and ISI, and the Shia militia had been largely defanged. The US then, unable to negotiate a Status of Forces agreement with the gov't of Iraq, withdrew. And Maliki returned to a sectarian, corrupt manner of governance, acting as an agent of Tehran. He purged Sunnis, politicized the military, and drove the Sunni minority back into the arms of extremism. After so much pain and bloodshed on all sides, Maliki willfully passed on an opportunity to become his country's savior. No, we shouldn't have invaded. But Iraq had ample opportunity to fix itself. It didn't.
A phrase I often heard whille in Iraq during the surge was that "the Sunni couldn't accept that they'd been defeated, and the Shia couldn't recognize that they'd won." With the Sunni Awakening, they showed their acceptance of defeat. Maliki never figured out how to deal with it. That's on him.
1
I remember vividly marching in a protest march here in Seattle to protest the impending invasion of Iraq. I knew it was hopeless, war was a forgone conclusion.
Yes Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their collaborators are war criminals. Will they ever be punished for their crimes highly unlikely.
5
I am extremely sorry for what happened to your country in the last Iraq war. That start of the war was probably a war crime by any objective reading of international law. But don’t expect to get very far in the present political climate of the US. The US has currently has a president that makes the intellect of Bush (who “masterminded” the Iraq war) seem like it came from some super advanced space alien civilization. We destroyed your country but we will destroy ours soon.
2
Pair this horrific account with what has recently been disclosed about Cambridge Analytica. The push for the Invasion of Iraq by pundits and our government could be even more effective if CA type tools were put into use.
Publishing this piece does not exculpate the Times, which promoted the US aggression against Iraq. Or its demurring on the deadly sanctions that the Clinton administration assured. Or how it cheered so many other wars, assassinations and overthrows. Since Iraq we've seen the overthrow of Libya and Honduras, to mention two obvious aggressions, with the murders that follow. Of course the Times is not alone. Nor is the past past. Who cheerleads the demonization of Venezuela's government, Russia's government, North Korea's government and attendant policies that encourage war? It's obviously not just the Middle East. For the US to be the world's master oppressor there are costs. It is expensive for taxpayers and the bloodied victims at home and abroad. Violence is the largest part of the US's discretionary budget.
2
" I never thought that Iraq could ever be worse than it was during Saddam’s reign"
No one did either, but stuff happens despite the best intentions. Unfortunately Iraqis are unable to self-govern peacefully without a dictator in charge.
4
The invasion of Iraq by the US was justified by a lie from Bush and his cronies about the presence of weapons of mass destruction, based on an aerial photo of something that was not a weapons depot. The lie did not convince the UN but the invasion became a fact and its consequences for all sides also became the facts in Antoon's tragic story.
1
When I listened to the call to arms by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, and Wolfowitz during the lead-up to the Iraq invasion, I head the echoes of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that was used to justify our expanding war in Vietnam.
Uncritical Americans are ignorant of our own history. And so we repeat it. Time and again.
1
Amnesiac citizenry indeed. The latest conventional wisdom is that the “intelligence was wrong”. It was nothing of the sort. WMD was a manufactured excuse for settling a personal vendetta by the Bush family. Apparently everyone has “forgotten” that George W Bush and his gang of warmongers rushed to kick out all UN inspectors when after months of searching for WMD nothing was turning up. Their rationale for the war was quickly fading away, so they decided to start bombing right away. But why bother with facts? Why should Americans learn anything after decades of ruinous and perpetual wars? They are too busy watching the Kardashians and Fox News. And History keeps repeating itself.
4
Absolutely on point. The personal side of this for W included wanting an in-and-out war like his father’s Desert Storm. Yet even his father, George H.W., was against the Iraq invasion and knew it would not be a hit-and-run event. W didn't listen, he needed a "war star" on his wall.
Instead, nearly 4,500 Americans died in Iraq, Iraq has lost as many as one million people, tens of thousands of our troops were injured, many with catastrophic injuries and sentenced to lifetimes of PTSD, and the U.S. cost of the war in Iraq, which will be paid over the next 40 years, is estimated to be $6 TRILLION.
America could have done a staggering lot of good with that amount of money. But we didn't.
Sinan Antoon, I cannot get my arms around losing a country, as you did. It can't be of any comfort to you to know that legions of us opposed the strike and will never forgive the powers that launched it. I hope you, one day, will have some peace in your life.
1
The United States, per se, did not do this. It was done by the oil moguls and weapons merchant who profited thereby. They destroyed this country before they destroyed yours.
1
So many painful truths about the war in Iraq are written here. Being sorry and remorseful does nothing to change what happened.
In a just world the American war criminals behind this atrocity would face justice. But that did not and will not happen.
American arrogance, hubris and ignorance about the ethnic sectarian history of a nation once again brings immoral inhumane disaster. There have got to be better more effective choices than American alliances with tyrannical autocrats and American nation building.
Today American 'allies' Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia are pushing America into war with Iran. Since 9/11/01 a mere 0.75% of Americans have volunteered to serve in the military uniform of any American armed force. And they have been ground to emotional, mental and physical dust by repeated deployments in ethnic sectarian civil wars that have no military solution.
3
Reading this, I’m ashamed of my country. It seems rather than great responsibility, with great power comes great arrogance and recklessness.
No contest. War is beyond repugnancy. Nonetheless,
The 'official' pretext for the war was Saddam weapons of mass destruction and his refusal to let UN inspectors to do their job.
Saddam had used weapons of mass destruction before. Remember Halabja? Chances he has had them then but as the war became imminent , he transferred them to Syria, as he has done with his air force planes transferred to Iran (!) just before the Gulf war of 1991. My words are not to justify the war or its conduct, only to clarify the background.
1
It should be remembered that the weekend prior to the war’s start, the White House changed the narrative from WMD to regime change as justification. Cheney knew there was no longer any cause to pin an invasion on WMD. So he changed the position. Saddam used WMD in years past, but there was nothing in 2002
What's happening in Iraq is a disaster born of ignorance and the stubborn refusal of leading politicians like Bush and Cheney to pay attention to history and to listen to clear warnings against invasion. But the tragedy of Iraq was underway before the first American soldier crossed the border. Saddam Hussein (and his probable successor, his late son) would not have morphed into different people; nor would their supporters. Right across the Muslim world, Sunni-Shia intolerance continues to rack up the death toll, with or without American intervention. Did the invasion make things worse ? Yes. Did it alone destroy Iraq ? No. Iraqis had a major role to play - and continue to.
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Every war is a crime.
I spent time in Iraq in 2006. I recall a colleague at that time stating that to the U.S. military, the Iraq invasion was "a one-year hunting trip." The war's architects, Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld, never doubted that war with Iraq would be easy, would pay for itself, and would bring peace to the Middle East. 0-3.
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The conquest of Iraq was a crime. It wasn't just a "disgrace". It wasn't just poor judgment. It was a war of choice against a country that had not attacked the United States. That is the war crime that comprehends all other war crimes, and it's what we hanged Tojo for.
The leaders of the Bush II administration should have been prosecuted, and should still be prosecuted. They sowed the wind, and the people of the Middle East have reaped the whirlwind.
Congress should apologize, and make amends by allocating as much money to the rebuilding of Iraq as it allocated to its destruction.
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The proximal cause of the Iraq War was Dick Cheney whose overriding concern was to fill his and Halliburton's coffers by seizing control of the Iraq oil fields and to reap the no-strings-attached defense contracting rewards worth millions, and then smirk about it. He belongs behind bars awaiting a death sentence for his treachery which cost untold lives of Iraqis, Americans and our allies.
The unsuspecting W was simply his patsy in achieving this, though he too deserves his tarnished reputation for blindly licking at Cheney's heels and stoking his own hubris in the Mission Accomplished farce.
Rumsfeld knew from the start that WMD was a lie, and for that he deserves an orange jumpsuit too along with some waterboarding.
Compare this whole lot of sickening cast of characters to the present Administration and what do you get: another cast of characters becoming more sickening by the minute, with all of them in it for the money not for the country.
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