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Iraq War Research Paper

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The United States aversion towards former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, began nearly thirty years ago after the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. Post-invasion there was international animosity towards the Hussein regime, causing the U.S to step in and take action in an attempt to control and restructure the Iraq government. In 2000, when George W. Bush took office, U.S foreign policy adopted a more aggressive stance with the overall goal being the removal of Saddam Hussein from any governmental position. Bush actively started moving forward with this plan post 9/11 when allegations were made of possible relations between Hussein and Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden as well as beliefs that Iraq was developing and planning to use weapons of mass destruction. …show more content…

When Bush and Cheney were running for office, they had unparalleled support from large oil companies, all of whom publicly voiced their desire to have access to Middle Eastern oil reserves. Dick Cheney himself had run the Halliburton oil company prior to becoming vice president, creating space for a valid assumption that the Bush administration and big oil tycoons were in cohorts. Prior to the 2003 invasion, there were meetings held between government representative and oil companies to discuss the potential for the oil industry in Iraq after the war was finished. While this idea was never publicized or marketed to the American people as a reason for the invasion, it is nearly impossible to dispute the relevance. It wasn’t until after the invasion and even after the war that this became recognized as a driving force for the violence and unrest that the United States inflicted upon Iraq. Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman, stated in his memoir, "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." During the year leading up to the war, the media focused heavily on the dangers of Saddam Hussein and the imminent threats towards the United States, all of which completely overshadowed and disguised the desire for financial and territorial greed within the oil

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