US discusses war mandate for president on 20th anniversary of Iraq invasion
While ethnic and sectarian tensions, as well as terrorist activities, have risen in the 20 years since the US invasion of Iraq, which the US justified with false claims of weapons of mass destruction, the US Congress is discussing the authorization law that led to the invasion.
The United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003 and began the process that would lead to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The most controversial issue in the US-British led invasion process dubbed “Operation Iraqi Freedom” was the US administration’s claim that Saddam Hussein had developed weapons of mass destruction and could share them with terrorist organizations as justification. for the invasion.
In his speech to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2002, then-US President George W. Bush claimed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and threatened to hand these weapons over to terrorist groups. . This claim, which was used as a justification for the war, was disputed during the first year of the occupation, but after Saddam’s regime was overthrown, evidence of weapons of mass destruction in the country never surfaced.
ALLEGED LAUNCH OF WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION
A year later, in 2004, the US Senate Intelligence Committee admitted that the allegations of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were false. However, this statement did not receive enough public attention and continued to be one of the reasons that led the United States to intervene in Iraq.
Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was executed on December 30, 2006.
A commission established in Iraq concluded in 2005 that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.
Bush, who misled the world with this unsubstantiated information, admitted that it was only in 2011 that the allegations of weapons of mass destruction were not true.
The invasion of Iraq happened faster than expected and Baghdad fell within a short time, but after the invasion violent clashes broke out between insurgents and US forces in Iraq, and political and ethnic tensions in the country increased.
In the study carried out by Brown University for the UN, it is stated that civilian casualties in the occupation range from 275,000 to 306,000, but according to unofficial figures, the number of civilians who lost their lives in the war is estimated at close to 500. thousand.
4 thousand 431 US soldiers died in the war, 31 thousand 994 soldiers were wounded. The US military’s 8-year active war cost to the treasury is claimed to be over $1.5 trillion.
In the US, 2017 National Security Strategy Paper and 2018 National Defense Strategy Papers, it was emphasized that the fight against terrorism is no longer a priority, and that “great power” competition with China and Russia is a priority for Washington.
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However, the US still conducts individual operations in Iraq as part of the fight against ISIS and provides tactical support and training to the Iraqi military. The Biden administration, like the Obama and Trump administrations, uses the “Authorization for the Use of Military Force” (AUMF) law, which gave Bush the opportunity to invade Iraq in 2002, as a legal basis for its activities. military in Iraq and Syria.
Two names leading the invasion of Iraq: former US President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
This law is seen by the American public as the cause of endless wars in the Middle East, and its repeal has been debated in Congress for years. On March 16, 2023, a bill revoking the authority granted to the President of the United States by applicable law was introduced before the Senate General Assembly.
The bill passed by a vote of 68-27 in the pre-vote, and the final vote on the bill will take place in the Senate this week.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has voted to revoke the mandate twice in the past three years. To repeal the mandate, it must also be approved by the House of Representatives and President Joe Biden.
Supporters of the bill argue that the decision made in 2002 is no longer valid and that the US military presence in Iraq should end. However, it is still a matter of debate whether the Iraqi army can guarantee the security of the country without US military support. (BRITISH AUTOMOBILE CLUB)