From NOTICE News Daily for March 20, 2023
The United States invaded Iraq 20 years ago Monday, March 20, due to fears of the country’s then-leader Saddam Hussein obtaining weapons of mass destruction. Despite not finding any, the war led to Hussein’s removal from power and Iraq’s descent into violence and chaos. The war resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 American troops and an estimated 300,000 Iraqis.
MORE INFO:
- Go deeper: U.S. Grapples With Forces Unleashed By Iraq Invasion 20 Years Later (Reuters)
- More: 3 takeaways 20 years after the invasion of Iraq (NPR)
- Costs of war: Breakdown of American military personnel killed (Brown University)
- Costs of war: Breakdown of Iraqi civilians killed in war (Brown University)
- A glimmer of hope: 20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope (AP)
TRANSCRIPT
Angie: It’s now been 20 years since the United States invaded the Middle Eastern country of Iraq.
At the time, the oil-rich nation was run by this man, dictator Saddam Hussein. Hussein was a bad guy – even known for using chemical weapons against his own people at one point.
After 9/11, a newly-aggressive United States led by President George W. Bush feared Hussein getting nuclear weapons – weapons of mass destruction – and laid out the case for military action.
SOT: “We have very convincing evidence that Iraq maintains an extensive program for the production and weaponization of weapons of mass destruction and long range ballistic missiles.”
On March 20, 2003, America and its allies invaded Iraq – chasing Hussein out of power— but never found those “weapons of mass destruction.” Iraq, however, fell into violence and chaos – with rival groups vying for power.
In 2011, President Barack Obama pulled most troops out of the country – but was forced to send more back in 2014 after the terrorist group ISIS made gains in the northern part of the country.
Reuters recently interviewed then Under-Secretary of State, John Bolton, who you saw in the previous clip. He said despite the mistakes, the war was worth it.
SOT: “It was worth it because the decision was not simply: ‘Does Saddam pose a WMD threat in 2003? Another question was: ‘Would he pose a WMD threat five years later?’ To which I think the answer clearly was ‘yes.’”
Over 4,000 American troops died in the war – while experts put the number of Iraqis dead at over 300,000.
