Why did we Invade Iraq and should we have been better prepared to win the peace after the war?
Was it for oil or was it to rid Iraq of a tyrant ?

definitley to get rid of saddam hussein of course

it was for oil and territory, iran will be next.

if america want to rid the world of a tyrant, north korea's just waiting.

I agree.....oil was the main reason....and of course to keep the US military industry spinning....you can´t buy huge amounts of military HW unless you have a war once in a while.....so war makes profit.....

Well oil was probably a reason, but WMDs was most likely the biggest reason, but some would question that since we haven't found any, and we are still there, even after taking out Saddam Hussein, and holding elections. Well the U.S. simply wants to protect and spread democracy. Plus it is a bad political move to just pull troops out of their quickly, so...

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Peace is our profession
Bombing is only a hobby

'protect and spread democracy'... what a load of crap. As Islamic an state it is completely natural for the people of Iraq to reject a US presence.

as for the WMD's, that was crap aswell... a failed attempt at gaining world support, and particularly support for the UN, in order to justify an invasion.

of course, this doesnt neccesarily i disagree with the war. by all means we finally got Saddam, we knocked out a strong source of muslim extremists (or are about to, when the war finally finishes), and we created a democratic state in the middle east, an example which will hopefully teach the people of neighbouring nations that there IS an alternative to theocratic dictatorships.

as for the oil, that was a bonus.

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Who Dares Wins

the UN also thought Iraq had WMD, and could be buried in Syria still

The most legitimate reason I see for us having invaded Iraq was their continual resistance to the forth set guidelines of the UN. Why the UN, the most powerful accumulation of Nations and "Allies" in the world let a nation such as Iraq BS them for so long is beyond me.

That being said, we DID find Illegal SCUD Missiles and biological agents that have no use but as biological weapons, which needless to say were the WMD we were looking for. Being that no WMD were found but the capability to build such was a direct violation of UN restrictions put on Iraq after the Persian Gulf war

More importantly, the fact that the former Iraqi government was housing and supporting AlQuida Terrorist cells, which is, being that the TaliBan has been efficiently disrupted (Not yet destroyed) is currently the most dangerous terror organization in the world and as such posses the most powerful threat to civilian safety throughout the world. What is the Military if not to protect civi‘s?

On a personal note I think it is disgusting that there are parts of the world where women are still treated in the manner that was prewar Iraq and Afghanistan and as a Soldier, there is nothing more worthy of protection.

As for the oil claim that so many uninformed, ignorant, morons keep bringing up, this claim is not only entirely unsupported by any fact whatsoever, just blind speculation; there has been absolutely no oil gain or profit from this war, nor was there ever a possibility of such.

If I am to be deployed to Iraq, I know exactly what it is that I will be fighting for, I just think it is sad that the American public has no idea what it is that so many young American and British soldiers are selflessly giving their lives for.

I hope this has shone some light on the topic, and unlikely but hopefully gained some support for our troups serving their duty overseas.

Good reply .
We need the otherside of the arguement as well on here .Where are the lefty pacifists... are they all on holiday ?

Here is an interesting article from the washington post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Jun16.html
headline reads: "Al Qaeda-Hussein Link Is Dismissed".
As far as I have understood most of the Talebans run to Pakistan and other neighbouring countries after Afghanistan was overrun(That was a justified military operation in my opinion)....probably a few of them went to Iraq AFTER the country was shot to pieces.....good place to have training camps when there is no working government there....

Could you explain to the Iraqi civilians that have died because of US/UK military that you are there to protect them.....I think the latest unofficial count was approiximately 25000 civis killed.....of course not only by US/UK forces but in general because of their presence there.

And about the woman part.....I would assume that women are treated that way in most islamic countries.....so just go and punish them all for it......