BUSH is trying to shift his argument for IRAQ WAR, claiming that his mission was not to root out terrorism or destroy SADDAM HUSSEIN's WMD (as both proved to be false), but another "noble" goal: "promoting democracy in the Middle East", alleging that by placing a democratic government in IRAQ, the rest of the Arab world would follow the same model.
On January 29, 2002, President
BUSH, in his State of the Union Address, singled out three countries for his “axis of evil”; North Korea, Iran and
IRAQ.
The American President claimed that these countries posed real danger not only because they sought to develop weapons of mass destruction, but because these weapons could fall in the hands of terrorists. By stepping up his campaign against
IRAQ,
BUSH began pushing for
WAR, making the Americans believe that
IRAQ was their most serious threat.
As we approach another State of the Union address later this month, we know that
IRAQ wasn’t even close to developing weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were ever found in the war-torn country.
Also, we now know that
IRAQ wasn’t the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. A recent report by the
National Journal said that
BUSH was informed ten days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that there was no proof of ties between the Iraqi regime of
SADDAM HUSSEIN to
AL-QAEDA network.
An editorial on
The Los Angeles Times by political scientist Steven L. Spiegel states that the United States failed in getting any evidence to substantiate its claims that pre-war
IRAQ had any links to terror groups.
So what exactly made Baghdad the capital of evil in the world?
To make his case for war stronger,
BUSH could have said that his mission was to topple
SADDAM because he might attack his neighbors as he did with Iran and Kuwait. But instead, the U.S. President stressed that that the former Iraqi leader had been plotting to develop WMD for more than a decade. "This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world,"
BUSH said, unaware that
SADDAM actually was hiding the fact that he no longer possessed WMD.
If the Bush administration argued that
SADDAM would develop WMD if he could, or that the sanctions on his regime were becoming less effective, the case for
WAR might have been more convincing. But
BUSH declared
IRAQ evil based on
SADDAM intentions, not his capacity.
Of course terrorism pose a great threat to the world. But by the
INVASION, Washington strengthened
AL-QAEDA and other terrorist groups worldwide and turned the whole country into a terrorist victim.
Ironically, "axis of evil" member Iran appears to be the greatest beneficiary of the U.S.-led
INVASION. By toppling
SADDAM, the U.S. eliminated Tehran’s arch enemy, and made an ally for Iran by creating a Shia-dominated government in
IRAQ.
Because the Bush administration’s “goals” of destroying weapons of mass destruction and rooting out terrorism proved to be false, it had to shift its focus, claiming that the primary goal for invasion was to create a democratic movement in the Middle East. A claim that wasn’t even mentioned in the “axis of evil” speech.
However, the
INVASION didn’t even promote democracy in
IRAQ. The United States' military presence, and its political interference are the main impediments to a democratic and legitimate Iraqi government. Washington’s policy on promoting democracy in
IRAQ will fail as it is based on dividing society rather than ensuring its participation in governance. Despite high turnout in last month’s parliamentary elections, Sunni and secular groups reject Shia election gains, and analysts say that a civil war has already started in the violence-hit country.
"The Iraqi people are being treated as Shias, Sunnis and Kurds. This is not the way to build a democracy," Nobel laureate and poltical analyst Amartya Sen recently said in a lecture on "Democracy and its critics”.
“The occupation forces chose to focus on balloting alone. Democracy is not just about voting but about public discussion, but no thought has been given to this," he said, adding that the focus on “religion and ethnic identity led to foggy thinking on the part of those who did not find weapons of mass destruction and are now looking for a new cause (to stay on in
IRAQ).”
The U.S.-led
INVASION of Iraq only destroyed one person,
SADDAM, and it strengthened a more complex and powerful enemy - terrorism. The United States, now struggling to deal with the consequences of the
WAR, should debate the legality of the
INVASION in the first place.