The 20 year anniversary of the United States invasion of Iraq. What are your thoughts all these years later?

[surada]

What are your thoughts all these years later?​

Yeah, I wonder how we didn't end up controlling the country, routing terrorism there and owning all of the oil?

Iraq's oil business was n terrible shape after 2 decades of war with Iran and sanctions for lack of reserve management. Saddam Hussein begged the US to allow Haliburton to be allowed to come in and fix that in 1998. But, Operation Mass Appeal was already in full swing. Our decisions were unnecessary, arbitrary and punitive. Huge wasteful foreign policy blunder.. I quit the Republican party in the fall before the invasion. There was just no stopping it.

Between Clean Break Strategy and the PNAC the scenario was set in stone. They would have their war.

 

[surada]

The invasion by Bush II was necessary because Bush I failed to finish what he should have done. As for Iran, that belonged to Saint Ronald and his feckless dealing with them. Terrorists have seen us as an easy mark ever since. The failure in Iraq was in the aftermath of the invasion.

Papa Bush was correct to chase Saddam out of Kuwait and stop there. Dubya was either dumb as hell or under the influence of Dick Cheney.

 

[surada]

He kept claiming he had them, as well as threatening to assassinate Bush Senior. Either alone was enough cause. Throw in attacking other states we had defense agreements with and both Bushes was more than justified. Botching the aftermath is a different issue.

Saddam's threats were bluster. He was no threat to the US or any of the his neighbors. Iraq was crippled by 2 decades of war and sanctions.

 

[DudleySmith]

Saddam's threats were bluster. He was no threat to the US or any of the his neighbors. Iraq was crippled by 2 decades of war and sanctions.

And we were supposed to know this because you said so. Sorry but heads of state making such threats are to be taken at face value and dealt with accordingly.

 

[surada]

Iraqi Shi'ites were probably Persian or mostly of Persian descent. Lot of mixed Persian and Arab mutts in Iraq. Hussein conducted a Sunni Muslim civil war against Shi'ites in Iraq, and in the southern swamps, part of which triggered the invasion. So yes, there were probably Farsi speakers running around, and not just in the south but all over Iraq; not a big demographic but not particularly rare either.

The Marsh Arabs speak Gulf Arabic. Read Theisinger. He spent 20 years with them. Use to lecture in KSA.

 

[surada]

Malarkey.

 

[DudleySmith]

The Marsh Arabs speak Gulf Arabic. Read Theisinger. He spent 20 years with them. Use to lecture in KSA.

They are Shia. Nobody cares about what they speak.

 

[Mr Natural]

It was nothing more than yet another military escapade.

Thank God (and us Boomers) there’s no more draft

 

[leftwinger]

55 years of non-stop Arabic muslim terrorism deserved complete destructive payback anyway anywhere anytime.

Nobody cared who or how or when, as long as muslim terrorism gets slapped back. If they give an opportunity for payback we should have hit the savages even harder. The only thing a lowIQ savage understands is overwhelming force. They burn children alive we drop MOAB on brown heads.

 

[surada]

They are Shia. Nobody cares about what they speak.

They are also Marsh Arabs for the past 6000 years. Not involved with Iraqis.. separate. You assume you know Shia and Sunni.

 

[DudleySmith]

They are also Marsh Arabs for the past 6000 years. Not involved with Iraqis.. separate. You assume you know Shia and Sunni.

You're confused again on what narrative you're trying to sell. Wait til the relief posters for your account show up on Monday.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

I was too critical of President Bush at the time when I was a student of international relations. Looking back now, America rightly policed a former client state which defied its master. The world was safer without Saddam even though Iraq did not possess WMDs, which was cited by the United States as the primary motivation instigating the Iraq War. The war in Ukraine is Russia's Iraq War. Removing Zelensky will make the world safer and only few hundred Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war. There have been between 280,771-315,190 Iraqi civilians killed by direct violence since the U.S. invasion.

Say no to drugs!

 

[surada]

55 years of non-stop Arabic muslim terrorism deserved complete destructive payback anyway anywhere anytime.

Nobody cared who or how or when, as long as muslim terrorism gets slapped back. If they give an opportunity for payback we should have hit the savages even harder. The only thing a lowIQ savage understands is overwhelming force. They burn children alive we drop MOAB on brown heads.

What happened 55 years ago?