Somewhere in the middle of the year 1990, Iraqis accused Kuwait of stealing their oil and selling it at low prices, thus damaging the Iraqi economy. Iraq then went on to invade Kuwait on August the 2nd, 1990. This most unlikely attack surprised the rest of the world, particularly America. America then sent their forces into Kuwaiti territory and chased troops away. The cease-fire was announced on February 28 1991. This was two days after the allied troops had taken control of Kuwait. On March 2 1991, the UN Security Council laid down a condition that Iraq had to destroy all weapons of mass destruction and paying back damages to Kuwait. The war aims of the US were achieved as Kuwait was liberated from Iraq and peace settled into the Kuwaiti region.
America started getting more curious on the disposal of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. In 1993, Iraq attempted to assassinate the former President George Bush in Kuwait. America then responded a month later by attacking Iraqi military headquarters in Baghdad. There was always a sign that Iraq were either having or developing these harmful weapons and that Saddam was always capable of using these weapons.
Although Iraq withdrew from Kuwait in 1991, the war between Iraq and America was always there. They call it the "war on terrorism". America wanted to get rid of Saddam Hussein's regime and restore Iraq to the people of Iraq. There were people who hated Saddam but were forced to respect him. Any one who goes against him would be slaughtered, buried alive or tortured in the meanest way. America was then worried about the safety of its people and world peace. "Would the world be safe with a regime like that in existence?"
Over the years, America developed this hatred for Iraq and the UN kept hunting down this suspicion of weapons of mass destruction. UN inspectors were sent to different parts of Iraq in order to search for these "terror" weapons. If Saddam Hussein was to get hold of these lethal weapons, the safety of the world and especially America would be threatened.
October 1998, this was the time where the Iraqis forced the UN weapons inspectors to leave. No sign of weapons of mass destruction was to be seen. "Were there actually any weapons of mass destruction?" This was the question that many people were thinking of. Some people claim that it was the false statement made by America to condemn Iraq as a "terrorist-based" country. It was not the people that were to be blamed, but Saddam Hussein and his evil regime. In 1999, Iraq rejected the UN resolution, thus not allowing any weapons inspectors to come into the country in search for these weapons.
It was a few years until it happened. September 11, 2001. This was the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York. This successful suicide attempt not only shocked America but the whole world. Many people perished in the rubbles of the huge building. This attack on America had terrible effects on the country's economy, and the people of America very felt more vulnerable. This was the attack that declared 'war' on America.
After the September 11 attacks, America became more cautious with their country's security. This affected foreign migration to the USA. America wanted to capture the leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, Osama bin Laden. They bombed Afghanistan to try and destroy any members of the terrorist network and take out any leaders. Until now, Osama bin Laden is still on the run.
Saddam Hussein continued to rule Iraq with his dictatorship. In 2002, the UN came up with resolution 1441. This resolution clearly stated that Iraq has to disarm any weapons of mass destruction in order to restore international peace and any threats to other countries. This was the final opportunity for Iraq to surrender their weapons and they will face serious consequences if they do not comply.
In February 2003, Colin Powell stated that intelligence reports showed that there was a slight indication that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. This was a few months after the UN came up with its resolution but the Iraqi government was not co-operating. A month later, the US planned an attack on Iraq. They already summed up an amount to be sent in the rebuilding of Iraq after the war. March 6, 2003, this was when president George Bush asked for UN backing military action on Iraq. It was eleven days later when President Bush said that "The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities, so we will rise to ours".
The Invasion of Iraq was from March 19-20. This was a coalition force consisting of US and UK forces. It beginned with air strikes to take out enemy structures and it was mainly to target members of the Iraqi regime. Later on, the troops started invading Iraq and Iraqis tried to defend their land by using any force available to them. The war went on until the regime was annihilated. There were many casualties of the war, some innocent civilians.
Until now, there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq. President Bush took drastic action on Iraq without any reason. There were not also complete backing from the international community to proceed in this war. Going to war is not a very democratic decision and America should have tried other civilised ways to deal with Iraq. America's plans were to go in and find weapons of mass destruction and to get rid of the Iraqi regime. They did not need to go to war to do this. The war claimed many lives of civilians and soldiers and over $93 billion spent. This money could be used for better purposes such as helping poor countries and funding useful projects. Fortunately, the leader of the regime, Saddam Hussien was finally captured later in early December 2003.
