The regime of Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, and was not building weapons of mass destruction. He was a tyrant, but not an Islamic extremist bent on terrorism against the west. In fact we supported him in his bloody war with Iran. It wasn't until he attacked Kuwait and threatened our "friends" the Saudis that he could no longer be tolerated.
The neocons who pretty much wrote the GW Bush foreign policy decided back in 1998 that regime change in Iraq was a key first step to implent their Project for a New American Century. They needed a pretext to gain public support, then 9/11 came along. Islamic revolutionaries like al Qaeda were a threat to Saddam Hussein's power, but that didn't stop the Bush administration from deliberately conflating the two and misreprenting the available intelligence on Iraq's defunct weapons programs. The UN inspectors were coming to the conclusion that the infrastructure necessary for a nuclear weapons program simply didn't exist in the country, but Bush forced them out before they could complete their work. Dick Cheney and his cohorts in the oil industry were already making plans for the petroleum resources.
The first principle for military intervention needs to be improving our own democracy at home before launching wars under the guise of promoting democracy abroad. Our history in Latin America is wicked with promoting corporate interests above democracy. General Smedley Butler called it a racket. In 1953 we helped Britain overthrow the democratically elected government in Iran after it nationalized its oil industry. After 25 years of tyranny under the Shah we installed, the Ayatollah Khomeni brought the Islamic revolution -- a prime example of unintended consequences.
To be sure, military intervention is sometimes needed for our own security and to defend against naked aggression and the spread of autocratic powers, World War 2 being the prime example. The future of human civilization is still very much at risk. America has at times and still could be the most essential champion for a better future. I fully support our military aid to Ukraine, though in this nuclear age we must avoid war with Russia.
Alarmingly, the greatest threat to our democracy comes from within. Nearly half the American electorate supports a would be dictator who already attempted a coup and is much more prepared this time around with the help of the Republican Party and a detailed plan from the Heritage Foundation (2025 Project) to make radical changes in our government that would vastly increase the power of the president. 2024 could possibly be our last legitimate election.
Our international allies see this more clearly than most Americans. The "indispensable nation" in protecting freedom and democracy is in danger of flipping sides.
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