One Theory on the Invasion of Iraq

For some time now I have been kicking around a theory of why the U.S. invaded Iraq in my head. As you know, I don't normally write about too many political topics. Even though I follow them closely, I generally feel inadequate in articulating and formating my thoughts to some of the more complex issues that our country faces. In light of this realization, I feel I need to articulate some of my ideas to sharpen the various facets of my critical thinking and allow public scrutiny in areas where my thoughts may be deficient.

I believe that the United States invaded Iraq in an effort to prevent a nuclear threat upon the United States and our allies. Before you write me off by pointing out the apparent disassociation between our national security and the events in Iraq let me explain:

I believe the United States government knew a lot more about Iran and North Korea's plans for developing nuclear war heads than the national media lets on. I also believe the U.S. government saw Iraq in the process of making their own weapons but fully knew they were a distant third in the new arms race (hence why we have only seen the signs of weapons of mass destruction and no actual WMDs).

We all know that the advent of nuclear weapons in North Korea and Iran is a scary scenario that may change the world as we know it. I believe the U.S. saw the threats in all three of nations 3 years ago due to President Bush's labeling of these three entities as the "Axis of Evil". I believe that this one nuance shows the President and the other heads of state saw each of these powers in the same line of thinking. This does not mean that they have a common coalition or any kind of agreement of allocation. It merely means that this "Axis of Evil" all have a common goal of developing a nuclear bomb in order to cause mass destruction and threaten the way of life of our country and allies. In order to contain Iran and North Korea in this onsuing threat, the U.S. felt compelled to show these powers the fall out of insubordination to the U.N.'s declaration of discontinuing nuclear exploration by attacking Iraq.

If one were to analyze the three military options one could possibly see one would come to the realization that the U.S. could not invade Iran due to their close Muslim ties with most of the middle east--which would have resulted in a massive jiihad by all Muslim nations in the region. While it is true that Iraq was a Moslem state as well, the Iraqis did not have unilateral support from too many of the other countries with Muslim leaders. Iraq was seen as a common nuisance to the region. The U.S. would not attack North Korea due to their strong political relationship with China.

As the U.S. looked at options to avoid direct attacks upon U.S. soil in the future, I believe they felt that they needed to invade Iraq so to establish another ally in the region for future confrontations with Iran and to show North Korea that the U.S. is fully capable of carrying out a military conquest in the face of confrontation.

I have no idea whether or not this theory holds any water. I know there are a ton of other factors that went into our decision that was accurate and flawed. I feel that when faced with the various options, our government felt this invasion would be the most practical of solutions to fight the bigger war on terror. Even though it has turned a lot harder than anyone ever would have imagined, I believe our military conquest was made with the intention of fighting world terrorism.

I probably should stick to my day job (see below).