Existing comment:
Iraqi War:
Iraq and the Road To War:
Following the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq was subjected to United Nations restrictions. No-fly zones were established in the northern and southern areas of the country, and efforts undertaken to prevent Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. The sale of oil, Iraq's principal export, was limited to levels sufficient to provide food and medicine for the Iraqi population. These measures sought to reduce the threat to regional stability posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Instead of abiding by these UN mandates, however, Iraq routinely violated them and encouraged the perception that it possessed weapons of mass destruction. Iraq provided moral and financial support to Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. Brutal suppression of Shiites and Kurds occurred within Iraq, while UN efforts to inspect potential biological and chemical production sites met with interference. After the September 2001 terrorist attacks upon the United States, President Bush declared a global war on terror and identified Iraq as part of an "axis of evil" believed to support and sponsor terrorism. In 2003, the US-led military alliance invaded Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein and guarantee the absence of weapons of mass destruction. |