Not true. Bush knew there were no WMD’s. It was actually quite obvious that they didn’t due to lack of evidence. Bush junior and senior had a personal vendetta towards Saddam which is why they wanted the invasion.
Whats outrageous is the IDF not participating in the invasion considering how the Israeli government lobbied hard for the invasion. Sadam was a secular Muslim a socialist who fought extremists his entire life and the audacity to claim he was associated with Al Qaeda is nonsense.
Why would the IDF fight when they have their puppets sending our kids go fight for them? Isn’t funny how the Democrats & Republicans disagree on everything, even the color of the sky, but the 1 thing they both absolutely BLINDLY support is anything Israe| does, & unconditionally sends a blank check to Israel no questions asked. They rather send cops and threaten college protesters in the most liberal cities to suppress their freedom of speech. And the mainstream media and social media silencing critics and omitting any coverage on the war crimes. It’s horrifying to see how our countries have become puppets of |sr*el. It’s never been about oil as we were initially told, it’s always been about doing the bidding of the war criminals - at our expense and our children’s lives.
I agree he had nothing to do with 9 11 and he got The blame But also think about This Other middle eastern countries were scared to do anything when he was still in Iraq getting rid of him made other m.e countries think they can do what they want. Like Iran
@@jasondh4777 He wanted the price of Oil to remain high as the sale of oil was Iraqs primary source of income. He wanted other oil producing countries to do the same. Kuwait refused and increased production they were acting in the best interest of the US. What I find hilarious is the Saudis are literally doing the same thing right now.
@@AalliiiqIsn't Idsrael really in Gaza in order to lift the trillions of barrels of OIL identified below and offshore same - for free, once that neighbour has become depopulated ?
I think it’s worth mentioning that Sadaams army was still reeling from the first gulf war, the events of the highway of death was conducted to limit Sadaams capabilities in future wars, this without a doubt played a big part in the coalitions success in the invasion Great Video!!
Also, Sadaam's paranoia limited cooperation between different branches of the Iraqi military. This meant the Army, the Republican Guard, and the Fellahin Sadaam all distrusted each other.
@Man77772 it's not an excuse it's fact. First Iraqs economy never recovered after the war with Iran. Then after the first gulf war Iraqs military couldn't rebuild because of sanctions. And like they said strikes like the highway of death as well as the constant air campaign between the two wars degraded Iraqi military capabilities further.
The chewing gum was brought in by an endless supply of private military companies, logistics contractors, and anyone else who could soak up all the money meant to actually rebuild the countries infrastructure.
@@Optimaloptimus The US supporting Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war allowed the newly formed Islamic government in Iran to establish power. They weren't popular at the start but nothing brings a country together like an invasion by an outside enemy. US then removing Saddam allowed Iran to gain more influence throughout the middle-east and establish a bigger presence. US may be Iran's biggest hater but they sure helped them many times.
I'm a reservist. Several senior members of my squadron fought in Iraq and stormed Saddam's palace. One obtained a container of instant coffee, the best instant coffee he had ever tasted and has yet to find another like it in any UK supermarket. Another friend, now a retired WO1, found Saddam's Field Marshal rank slide. He considered taking it to the antique roadshow but kept it as a reminder of the war.
Both leaders lied and led a "coalition" into an unecessary war against an already weak and beaten leader costing the lives of mostly innocent civilians.
George Bush and Dick Cheney should be in prison, at the least. There is no punishment harsh enough for what they two were guilty of. Not only did they lead us into war with a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, they failed to allocate the US forces to the country where the actual perpetrators were living in. They had to leave it to the president who voted against the Iraq invasion. George Bush was the worst president in my lifetime. I hope you rot in hell for the lives you wasted.
No evidence that they lied about anything, as this video makes explicitly clear. And lots of innocent civilians were killed by Saddam Hussein's régime, and would have continued to be killed had he not been overthrown.
Not even close. While the insurgency civil war was awful, it's a simple matter of fact that it was inevitable. Whether Saddam left power peacefully or not, there was GOING to be a civil war. Decades and decades and decades, fuck it, HUNDREDS OF YEARS or conflict between Shia and Sunni Islam don't disappear just because democracy now exists. The civil war was a ticking time bomb that was going to go off Coalition invasion or not. Saddam had tortured the shit out of the Shia and Kurd populations. Saddam's reign went on for decades, the civil war only lasted years. Now Iraq, while imperfect, is a free and democratic country. Not a modern, western liberal-democracy, but a country that is developing and has the power to determine its own future instead of having it dictated to them. Even for the Iraqis who say "Iraq was better under Saddam". Well consider the following irony: you couldn't say the same while Saddam was in power unless you wanted to be killed or jailed. You couldn't have said about Saddam, "well yeah but how it was before was better". That's all you need to know for you to know that you must START from that position for any other reality to be meaningful. If you cannot say how you feel in public, then you do not have a nation.
@@hitan2005 Same with Yugoslavia, it fell quickly after Titos death. It fell quickly after his death with a Leader who stood against everything Titos standed for by pushing Serbian Nationalism.
Disbanding the Iraqi army was a dumb move. Could have used 500K relatively happy (still getting a steady pay cheque) soldiers to help keep the peace. Instead, they instantly created 500K angry young unemployed men with training and nothing to do
As a veteran of this war and a veteran of the invasion we all ask, WHY? Went to iraq multiple times and for no reason at all. People have no clue what it’s like to go to war just cause reason by rich republicans and rich democrats. None have helped us at all since. Illegals get more help than us veterans
@@dragon888193ftw I'm going to class that question as a 'look at me' exercise in virtue signalling rather than a serious question. I realise trying to rewrite history is a popular pastime in this day and age but I try not to pander to this trying to do it.
@@muhammadafg1126 They disarmed their effective ballistic missiles as per UN resolutions. Also demobilized hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Go learn some history then come back here.
I was just a kid in third grade when this started, but I vividly remember all of the footage being shown on TV. It's interesting how dominating the presentation of the war was in the media of the time. Games focused on modern warfare instead of WWII started popping up, and often had a US/Coalition vs. "Middle East" aspect to them. Early UA-cam at the time was also filled with videos of American soldiers fooling around etc. Haven't given it a deep thought before, but a good portion of my childhood was spent consuming media related to this conflict. For better or for worse.
The TV went all out pitching how cool war was and all our fancy toys. They completely dropped the "weapons of mass destruction" narrative and switched to "spreading democracy" and "anti-terror". The same TV channels now tell you orangeman bad
Saddam was doomed either way. If he said he had WMD's the U.S. would invade. If he said he didn't have them he would be seen as weak by Iran. “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know.” -Don Rumsfeld...we didn't know A LOT.
The public statement on Iraqi WMD and their delivery systems was laughable for anyone with knowledge of the region. But it must be remembered that Saddam had previously had chemical weapons and had used them against his own people. So it was reasonable that some might still exist. But they didn't.
Excuse for a war crimes invading of another country, no different then the others but for US it is forgiven and of course for Bush and Tony Blair that should be long time ago in prison.
Rumsfeld has a lot to answer for because of the aftermath of the invasion. The sacking of Iraqi civil servants and security forces was so incompetent to this day it's hard to believe. Yes remove the leadership of those organisations but removing those working on the ground was insane. History could have been very different and will not judge us kindly.
The winners write history / decide on the prosecutions. Should Bush & Blair be in gaol yes absolutely same as Trump for different reason. Not happening sadly.
Ever heard of two things can be true at the same time? Well… 1. I served in the military and was apart of 82nd airborne division that originally closed down Iraq in 2011. 2. I don’t know the exact intelligence we had that caused for us to invade Iraq but strongly feel that “this war should’ve never occurred.” 3. I didn’t like Saddam Hussein for what “they told us about him.” 4. However, when I worked with local Iraqis, they were actually cool. They used to call me “air head” because they said I always talked like I knew everything but didn’t know anything (didn’t know what they meant at the time…. Anyway). 5. One particular story one of the local Iraqis talked to me about was during “The Days of the Dam” (referring to Suddam Hussein’s reign), he stated that Saddam’s leadership involved “fear and intimidation” because he had no other choice. And, that sometimes leadership required doing “some harsh/evil things to some to keep the majority from acting a certain way.” Furthermore, that Americans didn’t understand his leadership because we have a completely different worldview. 6. Also, that in the Days of the Dam, Iraq was a peaceful place as anyone could walk around with no problem from different countries. 7. While I couldn’t believe it at the time because of the amount of disarray, condolences to my fallen comrades, Iraqi military, civilians and those who’ve lost loved ones.
Beating a third rate foe is not something you "beat your chest" about. With the exception of the Republic Guard the army was under trained and under equipped. The U.S. was technlogically superior in aircraft and aerial intelligence gathering. One young Iraqi soldier that was captured still wore his patent leather dancing shoes. He had been pulled off the dance floor, handed and uniform and gun, and sent to war. Some Iraqui soldiers surrendered to passing American helicopters.
@@warhead160 By independently I mean without joining a war late when others have already started it. So countries that have would be nations like Russia, Vietnam, Israel, etc. etc.
@@lmaolollmao Winston Churchill had his 1st good night's sleep in years after pearl harbor because he knew that he US would bring its military might into WW2 ensuring allied victory. We were already sustaining them with the lend lease act. The US military isn't to be played with. And don't mention Vietnam in which US won every major battle and pulled out because of political pressure from the American public and suffered zero consequences.
That was the dumbest war fought in my lifetime. 2003 I was a soldier and I went to a huge demonstration against the war on my city. Everyone knew full well it was all absolute madness and lies.
I'd be interested for IWM to make a video about Britain's invasion of Iraq in 1941 -- a remarkable campaign & underrated in terms of its effects on the Second World War.
My Dad fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom he was part of the 3rd Infantry division and was a tanker he hasn’t talked about it all that much but he told me he was a sort of scout for his tank crew and would frequently travel on foot when in combat thanks to all the veterans out there for your sacrifice, one thing I forgot to mention is he was in Saddams main palace in Baghdad he has a crystal ashtray from his desk. he also took a giant like 30 foot long flag but he lost it in transit back to the states. Thought that was interesting 🙂
He ain’t fight for no freedom. He fought for Bush and his imperialists. He hasn’t talked about it much because he knows all the horrific things he did to those innocent Iraqi people. He will answer for it tho on judgement day when he stands before God 🤞
@@Blastoice Who acquired oil? Oil exports from Iraq to the US fell after the invasion. If you look at the mandates awarded for oil drilling sites, none were given to the US oil majors.
Yeah. Let’s not talk about the fact that Iraq and other nations were working on centralizing currency and pushing out the dollar in regards to oil money. They knew exactly why they attacked Iraq.
1:21 "... public knowledge that he no longer had WMDs" 100% he had, and used chemical weapons on Iran, and his own population. Don't forget that fact when talking about Iraqi WMDs
That's criminal incompetence. Regardless of whenever the war was justified or not, complete lack of thinking about what's next is just inexcusable. I remember that when I heard about the idea of the invasion, it was obvious to me that there will be guerilla resistance and that IEDs will be used.
Sure, but they knew that also, but it was more about "what could be done to stop/prevent said thing"? They had plans for what to do next, just not plans that could actually stop it all.
The Iraqi Military suffered the same rapid collapse in the Gulf War, lasting only 4 days of fighting before they completely routed. Both times, the Iraqi military was considered the 4th largest military in the world... Both times, numbers meant nothing if you don't have quality and training behind it, with competence to lead it, and motivation to move it.
The Iraqi army of 21st century suffered enormous damage to the Brutal Sanctions, Operation Desert Storm, and the Shiite Uprising in the 90's. The Shiites/Kurds offered little to no resistance. Forget weapons or technology, there was no cohesion among his people. Ironically the exact same thing happened to Bashar Al Assad of Syria against the Rebels (who hardly have the power of America). We haven't fought someone who could meet the U.N definition of "war" and not "occupation" (in other words defend themselves) since Iraq/Serbia in the 90's.
The Comand you’re talking about is the order called broken arrow. I know that because I was there we only called that when all lines are overrun calling all available artillery and air acid
سمعت قصه ذات مره شخص في امريكا كان يمشي في شارع وسمع عائله أمريكيه تتكلم عن صدام وينظرون اللي الخريطه ويلعنو صدام ثم قام الرجل بالتوقف فوجدهم ينظرون اللي الخريطه مقلوبه ويعتقدون ان صدام حسين كان في خليج المكسيك صم قام الرجل بتعديل الخريطه فوجدت العائله الامريكه ان العراق في قاره اخري وراء البحار ثم شكرو الرجل واصبحو يتسألو لماذا بوش اخذ أبناءنا اللي بلاد بعيده وقامو بلعن بوش باختصار هذا هو الشعب الامريكي لايعرفون أسماء الدول علي الخريطه او ما يحدث او السبب ليس لديهم ثقافه أو معرفه فقط يعرف التعصب بدون سبب وحكوماتهم تفعل ما تريد فقط الشعب يدفع الضرائب ويتعصب
@@brucepoole8552 No, but was responsible for Iraq failing to comply with the conditions set down by the victors of Desert Storm and constant niggling. Of course that was tolerated at the time. Until 9/11 meant the US wasn't in the mood to put up with it. Sucked to be Saddam at that point.
I had a dream that I was a Storm Trouper on the deathstar. I just sat and looked at the helmet. The other troupers left the locker room and did not really wish to leave. I did not understand the dream as a small boy. But as an adult, it makes so much sense. Some dreams are vivid, and you can not forget them. This was whey before the prequel films.
I m sorry to say but the result was that so many coalition soldiers and iraqians died for and that so called nuke arms or others doesn t exist anywhere in Iraq.
2:20 - This was one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history. My cousin and college roommate received his honorable discharge papers from the Marines two days after 9/11. I was nearing the end of college and student teaching. The Bush Administration kept talking about Iraq, not Afghanistan. And I realized that they needed tanks rolling and planes flying because the American people needed to know something was being done - and intelligence and drone spies cannot be shared with the media. So the Bush administration starts talking about Iraq and I'm like wtf? Our state rep came to talk to the kids and I asked him if he would vote for a war with Iraq and he said, 'oh I see that you are a liberal', (I am a libertarian, probably considered myself liberal at the time) I will support the president in any military action". State reps dont vote on war, but hypothetical hell yes, and I knew we were screwed. The best people from my generation (tail end of X, early millennial) died, or came home physically or mentally damaged for Bush's war in Iraq and godawful regimw change in Afghanistan. I vote republican now, but wouldn't have dreamed of it in 2004. The paradigm has shifted massively
This information has been out for decades. There are several movies, documentaries, books, and freedom of information sources out for millions to see. Great video, though.
I've always understood that the Brits advised their US comrades to NOT disband Iraqi existing sec serv's. Problematically they did just that, by virtue of their religious branch they found themselves unemployable - with families to support and turned to gangster ism for income and, effectively, the kernel which became eventually ISIS. If I'm wrong in this assumption please put me right. Notwithstanding the iffyness of the claimed reason for going in anyway, being more to do with grabbing oil than taking hold of mythical WMD, the whole concept seemed to be a mistake, as with Lybia.
America won this war but the question is at what cost since we know sadam Hussein was allied with USA so why they defeated own allies?the answer is oil ithink
Why does every other video uploaded here have the title and thumbnail changed after they are published? Sometimes multiple times (eg. F15 video). Bizarre.
If they had faced the Iraqi Army from the pre Iran-Iraq War and sanctions... The US army would've faced 5 × more the number of casualties and losses ...
Maybe definitely not technology wise. After the Iran war Iraq had better equipment. But manpower wise yes the Iraqi army would of been more willing to fight had they not already been fighting for a decade.
The Americans killed, wounded or captured 200,000 of Saddam Hussein's men in 100 hours during the Gulf War with fewer men and fewer tanks. It was one of the most lopsided victories in the history of war. The massive technological and equipment gap would not have been closed if that had twice as many men.
Yeah but here's the difference: Ukraine is a democracy and is defending it's territory from senseless aggression and Poo-tin, Putler, Pooty-boy trying to TAKE Ukrainian land and say it's Russia. The USA did nothing like that. The USA wanted to take out Saddam who had cruelly, brutally ruled Iraq for 30 years and bring democracy to Iraq (and we succeeded). Our aims were true and pure, Russia's are selfish, imperial, and destructive. Ukraine is more democratic than Russia. That's all you need to know. So OF COURSE people are going to aid Ukraine, because it's the right thing to do. Whereas with Saddam's regime, we had seen for 30 years how he treated his neighbors...he attacked Israel. He attacked Iran. He gassed his own people. He subjugated the Shia populations. He invaded and annexed Kuwait. And so on. Name one time where Ukraine invaded its neighbor or attacked Russia.
@bolsa3136 the US would lose a war against China or Russia. Sure they have the upper hand in taking the war to China or Russia territory, sure, they wouldn't be able to take it into American territory, but they just wouldn't be able to handle it 1v1 against either Russia or China. Such invasions are just not possible without the cooperation from third party country, so speaking in a pure one on one conventional war, they would actually get destroyed upon invading. They wouldn't survive a russian winter and without supplies, an invasion of Russia is impossible. Against China, attempting to invade by sea, would also result in a complete destruction of ships carriers and men. And if we measure by missiles and nuclear, Russia completely annihilates America, Russia has better, bigger nukes. Russia has the most advance hypersonic missiles.
@@imfromisrael489 so in what conditions are they living now? Yes they were libereted of civilian infrasturcture and 460.000 civilians were libereted from their lives (indirectly or directly becouse of USA's war). Good statistic from democracy, freedom loving country.
many poorer nations people join the military not to support / defend the country but for food and money so when they do have to fight many drop the weapons and run, while others are forced to fight with the threat of death by top officials
2:36 in comparison, russia used the same amount in its invasion of ukraine. russia used 190k(source Marine Corps University Press) and usa used 170k in its invasion of Iraq. meaning possibility for disaster for the initial invasion was real.
They were absolutely not secular. Saddam Hussein's Sunni Arab government was in a near constant state of civil war with the country's Kurdish and Shia population. It was sectarian, not secular.
@@XandateOfHeavenkurds are Sunni. Saddam was a secular baathist and arab nationalist. He opressed the kurds because they were seperatists and the shia because he viewed them as more loyal to Iran than Iraq. But he also didnt like Islamists or allow them to have any influence.
@ yea but we’re speaking specifically on this one. Us taking him out caused complete destabilization of his sector of the Levant, Isis emerged, al quada became more emboldened, and lots of Iraqi civilians starved and were left with contaminated water for the longest. All for our greed for Arab oil.
was the late Colin powel not a liar ??? the main source was " curveball" living in Geremny and he was telling ghost stories .. Still the USA pressed on the comit the war , war on wrong grounds if you tell my .. Thank God not of our troops were send in ( Duch ) but we help with logistics .. We went later to Afgahistan after the Aussie but and still on these day ..iam waiting to a Dutch "Breaker Morant " from that time ..
I am astonished that I knew more at age 16 about Saddam Hussein's weapons situation than apparently the US government did, and all because I had followed the story and read the early reports made by Hans Blix. I used to drive my high school history and political science teacher nuts with this topic, particularly when the war started, as he was being fairly jingoistic about the whole invasion, but his tone changed soon enough.
Can't say I took it that far, but as a 12 year-old I didn't understand how a secular socialist party like the Ba'athists were supposed to have anything to do with Al Qaeda.
Riiiight. So 16 year old you has more resources then the entire American intelligence organization? That you knew more from reading early reports by Hans Blix as your only source. I bet those teachers rolled their eyes when you spouted all this with such all knowing importance. Such a narcissist.
You were wise for your age, good job! As for the invasion of Iraq, it shouldn't suprise anyone at all. The US government knew exactly what they were doing, it's called "Regime change". Anyone who doubts this should look up U.S. involvement in regime change around the world and "Operation Northwoods". It's what the United States has been doing for decades without anyone being able to hold them accountable. I'm saying this as an Iraqi who's family saw both the rise and fall of Saddam from 1979-2003.
Let’s be honest. You didn’t know more an anyone at 16 😂. He did use chemical weapons so they definitely had them. still should’ve just left it alone however
@sc1338 he used up his stockpile long before the Americans invaded. Also, there's a out 40 former classmates of mine who would recall my anti-war stance at the time.
Disbanding the regular Iraqi Army units was a grave error. They could have controlled the looting, and they could have staved off the following insurgency. Instead, with US funding new Iraqi units were raised - pretty late! - which often only existed on paper and were not combat-proven, nor had they any sort of real training. Their commanders just vanished with the funds. Then, years later, in Afghanistan... basically the same tragedy. When the generals say "No, we can't do this, building a stable civil society", we should listen to them.
He made an enemy out of Iran, so he couldn't rely on Iran for resupply. The Americans have a military base in kuwait,and so it wasn't a resupply route either,He wasn't on good terms with the Syrians either, meaning that no help of any kind was coming from there,so considering saddam Hussain's previous history of picking a fight with everyone around him one can come a conclusion,which was that given Iraqs lack of depth and resupply route the war was lost the moment that the first shot was fired.
"The Al - Nasirah RPG -7 was an effective anti-tank weapon" Want to tell us how tanks it took out then ? I know Britain didn't lose any MBTs to enemy action and I doubt if very many Abrams were destroyed by Iraqi RPG-7s
Thank you for not ignoring the flaws and errors in the invasion and showing a transparent picture of the whole operation.
Not true. Bush knew there were no WMD’s. It was actually quite obvious that they didn’t due to lack of evidence. Bush junior and senior had a personal vendetta towards Saddam which is why they wanted the invasion.
they should change their title into how the story of iraq invasion played out because there no so many analysis described and tokd
i guess the twin towers was all in error also
I'm guessing he isn't American, so he sees the truth and isn't afraid
Whats outrageous is the IDF not participating in the invasion considering how the Israeli government lobbied hard for the invasion. Sadam was a secular Muslim a socialist who fought extremists his entire life and the audacity to claim he was associated with Al Qaeda is nonsense.
Why would the IDF fight when they have their puppets sending our kids go fight for them? Isn’t funny how the Democrats & Republicans disagree on everything, even the color of the sky, but the 1 thing they both absolutely BLINDLY support is anything Israe| does, & unconditionally sends a blank check to Israel no questions asked.
They rather send cops and threaten college protesters in the most liberal cities to suppress their freedom of speech. And the mainstream media and social media silencing critics and omitting any coverage on the war crimes.
It’s horrifying to see how our countries have become puppets of |sr*el. It’s never been about oil as we were initially told, it’s always been about doing the bidding of the war criminals - at our expense and our children’s lives.
I agree he had nothing to do with 9 11 and he got
The blame
But also think about
This
Other middle eastern countries were scared to do anything when he was still in Iraq getting rid of him made other m.e countries think they can do what they want. Like Iran
@@jasondh4777
He wanted the price of Oil to remain high as the sale of oil was Iraqs primary source of income.
He wanted other oil producing countries to do the same. Kuwait refused and increased production they were acting in the best interest of the US.
What I find hilarious is the Saudis are literally doing the same thing right now.
@@AalliiiqIsn't Idsrael really in Gaza in order to lift the trillions of barrels of OIL identified below and offshore same - for free, once that neighbour has become depopulated ?
You're focused on the IDF? You need therapy
I think it’s worth mentioning that Sadaams army was still reeling from the first gulf war, the events of the highway of death was conducted to limit Sadaams capabilities in future wars, this without a doubt played a big part in the coalitions success in the invasion
Great Video!!
And even from the iraq iran war which devesteaded iraqi economy
Let's also not forget that not a SINGLE WMD was ever found ! Both Bush and Blair are war criminals.
Also, Sadaam's paranoia limited cooperation between different branches of the Iraqi military. This meant the Army, the Republican Guard, and the Fellahin Sadaam all distrusted each other.
@@T_money1738 The gulf war was over a decade ago. No way that’s a viable excuse
@Man77772 it's not an excuse it's fact. First Iraqs economy never recovered after the war with Iran. Then after the first gulf war Iraqs military couldn't rebuild because of sanctions. And like they said strikes like the highway of death as well as the constant air campaign between the two wars degraded Iraqi military capabilities further.
They kicked a** and chewed bubblegum, then later realized chewing bubblegum was not a viable step two
The chewing gum was brought in by an endless supply of private military companies, logistics contractors, and anyone else who could soak up all the money meant to actually rebuild the countries infrastructure.
4 trillion, good job and oh, now now you're getting cucked by Iran.
4 trillion, good job and oh, now you're dealing with Iran.
@@fasfuhknf234 We always dealt with Iran, tf you mean? Read some books on US V Iran history.
@@Optimaloptimus The US supporting Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war allowed the newly formed Islamic government in Iran to establish power. They weren't popular at the start but nothing brings a country together like an invasion by an outside enemy. US then removing Saddam allowed Iran to gain more influence throughout the middle-east and establish a bigger presence. US may be Iran's biggest hater but they sure helped them many times.
I'm a reservist. Several senior members of my squadron fought in Iraq and stormed Saddam's palace. One obtained a container of instant coffee, the best instant coffee he had ever tasted and has yet to find another like it in any UK supermarket. Another friend, now a retired WO1, found Saddam's Field Marshal rank slide. He considered taking it to the antique roadshow but kept it as a reminder of the war.
So they looted
@koala-ytt does it count as looting when it is non violent and against an enemy military property?
@@monarchist1838 how many children did you kill?
@@koala-ytt Liberated, with the rest of the population. As was the case when Iraq lost it's King.
@@koala-ytt Yeah, that's not looting 🤦🏻♂️
Both leaders lied and led a "coalition" into an unecessary war against an already weak and beaten leader costing the lives of mostly innocent civilians.
If it feels clever to pretend to think so......
One of these is not like the other.
George Bush and Dick Cheney should be in prison, at the least. There is no punishment harsh enough for what they two were guilty of. Not only did they lead us into war with a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, they failed to allocate the US forces to the country where the actual perpetrators were living in. They had to leave it to the president who voted against the Iraq invasion. George Bush was the worst president in my lifetime. I hope you rot in hell for the lives you wasted.
Awwww poor Saddam he was such a good boiii he totally didnt commit genocide against the Kurds or anything
No evidence that they lied about anything, as this video makes explicitly clear. And lots of innocent civilians were killed by Saddam Hussein's régime, and would have continued to be killed had he not been overthrown.
.... basically , got rid of the mad dog , that kept the other mad dogs in-check .........
Not even close. While the insurgency civil war was awful, it's a simple matter of fact that it was inevitable. Whether Saddam left power peacefully or not, there was GOING to be a civil war. Decades and decades and decades, fuck it, HUNDREDS OF YEARS or conflict between Shia and Sunni Islam don't disappear just because democracy now exists. The civil war was a ticking time bomb that was going to go off Coalition invasion or not. Saddam had tortured the shit out of the Shia and Kurd populations. Saddam's reign went on for decades, the civil war only lasted years. Now Iraq, while imperfect, is a free and democratic country. Not a modern, western liberal-democracy, but a country that is developing and has the power to determine its own future instead of having it dictated to them.
Even for the Iraqis who say "Iraq was better under Saddam". Well consider the following irony: you couldn't say the same while Saddam was in power unless you wanted to be killed or jailed. You couldn't have said about Saddam, "well yeah but how it was before was better". That's all you need to know for you to know that you must START from that position for any other reality to be meaningful. If you cannot say how you feel in public, then you do not have a nation.
some countries need a STRONG PERSON in power to control tribes and religious divide and other countries influences that could cause chaos
I worked with a guy from Iraq and he said exactly the same thing
@@hitan2005 Same with Yugoslavia, it fell quickly after Titos death. It fell quickly after his death with a Leader who stood against everything Titos standed for by pushing Serbian Nationalism.
Yes won the war but lost the peace...
You mean won the battle lost the war more like
The lost the Iraq and Afghan War
@@dionjewitt1816 that works too.
Normal when politicians dictate everything to the military
Q) How many nations has Iraq invaded since?
A) Zero.
There was never any peace to begin with under Saddam's Stalinist dictatorship.
Disbanding the Iraqi army was a dumb move. Could have used 500K relatively happy (still getting a steady pay cheque) soldiers to help keep the peace. Instead, they instantly created 500K angry young unemployed men with training and nothing to do
As a veteran of this war and a veteran of the invasion we all ask, WHY? Went to iraq multiple times and for no reason at all. People have no clue what it’s like to go to war just cause reason by rich republicans and rich democrats. None have helped us at all since. Illegals get more help than us veterans
What Rich Democrats started this war?
A coalition of super power nations against a sovereign nation crippled by embargoes and having a weak army...yeah, its definitely a "cakewalk" tour
Perhaps Iraq should have moderated the behaviour that got their butts kicked?
@@dragon888193ftw I'm going to class that question as a 'look at me' exercise in virtue signalling rather than a serious question.
I realise trying to rewrite history is a popular pastime in this day and age but I try not to pander to this trying to do it.
@@dragon888193ftw lmao stop lying iraq never disarmed its military lol america invaded and forcefully disarmed iraqis military
@@muhammadafg1126 They disarmed their effective ballistic missiles as per UN resolutions. Also demobilized hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Go learn some history then come back here.
@@dragon888193ftw That's not what you said in your earlier post. He is right. Pwned.
Reminder this war was a crime and bush should be in jail. RIP to the heroes of iraq who fought for their country.
Us kids in the west grew up playing Call of Duty, simulating what kids the world over were unfortunately going through same time as us
@@jontaedouglas7244 these games are made to recruit…
I was just a kid in third grade when this started, but I vividly remember all of the footage being shown on TV. It's interesting how dominating the presentation of the war was in the media of the time. Games focused on modern warfare instead of WWII started popping up, and often had a US/Coalition vs. "Middle East" aspect to them. Early UA-cam at the time was also filled with videos of American soldiers fooling around etc. Haven't given it a deep thought before, but a good portion of my childhood was spent consuming media related to this conflict. For better or for worse.
We literally grew up playing COD which was based off of this
The TV went all out pitching how cool war was and all our fancy toys. They completely dropped the "weapons of mass destruction" narrative and switched to "spreading democracy" and "anti-terror". The same TV channels now tell you orangeman bad
I grew up thinking Middle East was the region of terrorism. But it turns out the other way.
009 Sound System
@@jontaedouglas7244 How ironic the guy was named Al Assad. Foreshadowing much? lol
Saddam was doomed either way. If he said he had WMD's the U.S. would invade. If he said he didn't have them he would be seen as weak by Iran. “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know.” -Don Rumsfeld...we didn't know A LOT.
We knew he wanted to trade oil in Euros, big mistake
Saddam was doomed but not Iraq and the chaos would have been significantly less awful
The public statement on Iraqi WMD and their delivery systems was laughable for anyone with knowledge of the region. But it must be remembered that Saddam had previously had chemical weapons and had used them against his own people. So it was reasonable that some might still exist. But they didn't.
@@timgosling6189 Osirak was no joke. Ask the IDF
Excuse for a war crimes invading of another country, no different then the others but for US it is forgiven and of course for Bush and Tony Blair that should be long time ago in prison.
@@The_kneidlach_engineer True.
Actually, there were a significant number of chemical artillery shells discovered during the American occupation of Iraq.
You hit it on the head. Intelligence is a guessing game about probabilities - it was impossible to assume Saddam wouldn't have a clandestine program
Rumsfeld has a lot to answer for because of the aftermath of the invasion. The sacking of Iraqi civil servants and security forces was so incompetent to this day it's hard to believe. Yes remove the leadership of those organisations but removing those working on the ground was insane. History could have been very different and will not judge us kindly.
Rumsfeld passed away awhile back.
E'sHay inyay ellHay owNay.
2 of my comments disappeared. My account is super flagged.
The Brits warned Sam not to do so. Became ISIS eventually didn't they, initially to support themselves/families ?
How Tony Blair escaped prosecution is beyond me...
Because Bush and Blair are part of the elite
The winners write history / decide on the prosecutions. Should Bush & Blair be in gaol yes absolutely same as Trump for different reason. Not happening sadly.
History is written by the Victor
Because they didn’t lose, likewise with Bush, zero accountability
@@partimeninja5388 not always, look at the civil war.
Ever heard of two things can be true at the same time? Well…
1. I served in the military and was apart of 82nd airborne division that originally closed down Iraq in 2011.
2. I don’t know the exact intelligence we had that caused for us to invade Iraq but strongly feel that “this war should’ve never occurred.”
3. I didn’t like Saddam Hussein for what “they told us about him.”
4. However, when I worked with local Iraqis, they were actually cool. They used to call me “air head” because they said I always talked like I knew everything but didn’t know anything (didn’t know what they meant at the time…. Anyway).
5. One particular story one of the local Iraqis talked to me about was during “The Days of the Dam” (referring to Suddam Hussein’s reign), he stated that Saddam’s leadership involved “fear and intimidation” because he had no other choice. And, that sometimes leadership required doing “some harsh/evil things to some to keep the majority from acting a certain way.” Furthermore, that Americans didn’t understand his leadership because we have a completely different worldview.
6. Also, that in the Days of the Dam, Iraq was a peaceful place as anyone could walk around with no problem from different countries.
7. While I couldn’t believe it at the time because of the amount of disarray, condolences to my fallen comrades, Iraqi military, civilians and those who’ve lost loved ones.
Beating a third rate foe is not something you "beat your chest" about. With the exception of the Republic Guard the army was under trained and under equipped. The U.S. was technlogically superior in aircraft and aerial intelligence gathering. One young Iraqi soldier that was captured still wore his patent leather dancing shoes. He had been pulled off the dance floor, handed and uniform and gun, and sent to war. Some Iraqui soldiers surrendered to passing American helicopters.
@@transplant-f3p cry about it
@@rangerdollins9518 The US hasn't won a war independently in over 100 years, cry about it.
@@lmaolollmao Name me a country that has though
@@warhead160 By independently I mean without joining a war late when others have already started it.
So countries that have would be nations like Russia, Vietnam, Israel, etc. etc.
@@lmaolollmao Winston Churchill had his 1st good night's sleep in years after pearl harbor because he knew that he US would bring its military might into WW2 ensuring allied victory. We were already sustaining them with the lend lease act. The US military isn't to be played with. And don't mention Vietnam in which US won every major battle and pulled out because of political pressure from the American public and suffered zero consequences.
That was the dumbest war fought in my lifetime. 2003 I was a soldier and I went to a huge demonstration against the war on my city. Everyone knew full well it was all absolute madness and lies.
i like how they're handling things from 20 years ago like they're ancient artifacts. gloves and everything lol
I'd be interested for IWM to make a video about Britain's invasion of Iraq in 1941 -- a remarkable campaign & underrated in terms of its effects on the Second World War.
Excellent program.
Amazing explanation and documentary also intelligent historians, well done IWM ! 🙌
I know this is unrelated but Assad losing control of Syria is more quicker than Saddam's
Depends, he has been losing ground since 2011. I mean since that time Syria was never fully controlled by Assad.
@@VillanuevaRheyvienJaveB “more quicker”
My Dad fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom he was part of the 3rd Infantry division and was a tanker he hasn’t talked about it all that much but he told me he was a sort of scout for his tank crew and would frequently travel on foot when in combat thanks to all the veterans out there for your sacrifice, one thing I forgot to mention is he was in Saddams main palace in Baghdad he has a crystal ashtray from his desk. he also took a giant like 30 foot long flag but he lost it in transit back to the states. Thought that was interesting 🙂
@@holdenchute7883 لماذا حارب والدك العراق؟
@ he joined the army in 2000 after Highschool and then he just happened to be sent over in 2003
He ain’t fight for no freedom. He fought for Bush and his imperialists. He hasn’t talked about it much because he knows all the horrific things he did to those innocent Iraqi people. He will answer for it tho on judgement day when he stands before God 🤞
What sacrifice?
@@ShafiAhmed479 wow so compassionate
Yeah, invading Iraq wasn't a good idea now wasn't it?
Saddam gone. Iraq no longer a threat. Noice.
And yet leaving it in the sole control and ownership of a mad and genocidal dictator was not a good idea either.
It was, they acquired oil
@@Blastoice Who acquired oil? Oil exports from Iraq to the US fell after the invasion. If you look at the mandates awarded for oil drilling sites, none were given to the US oil majors.
@@cchj768 yeah, creating islamic extremist group that murders innocents in the end was also not a good idea.
I thought the thumb nail as presented on my phone was some kind of weird Star Destroyer.... 😅
Yeah. Let’s not talk about the fact that Iraq and other nations were working on centralizing currency and pushing out the dollar in regards to oil money. They knew exactly why they attacked Iraq.
1:21 "... public knowledge that he no longer had WMDs"
100% he had, and used chemical weapons on Iran, and his own population. Don't forget that fact when talking about Iraqi WMDs
And did not America had..rather has ...wmd doesn't refer small chemical weapons lol..
@@skrizwanulhaque9513 then what does WMD mean
It’s amazing you didn’t know this from the mainstream media
Bush and Blair should be in prison for this.
Throw in Johnny "Brown Nose" Howard, Australian PM at the time.
Blair has a lot to answer for. Horrible individual.
@@michaelgurd7477 Like bringing Iraq democracy?
@@wowomah6194 As if Iraq is a functioning democracy today. Saddam was a dictator and a criminal. But the coalition has no business invading Iraq.
Presidential immunity
It's NEVER as easy as the media portrays...
That's criminal incompetence. Regardless of whenever the war was justified or not, complete lack of thinking about what's next is just inexcusable. I remember that when I heard about the idea of the invasion, it was obvious to me that there will be guerilla resistance and that IEDs will be used.
Sure, but they knew that also, but it was more about "what could be done to stop/prevent said thing"? They had plans for what to do next, just not plans that could actually stop it all.
My brother was in the war unfortunately he witnessed atrocities committed by those us troops that are disgraceful
The Iraqi Military suffered the same rapid collapse in the Gulf War, lasting only 4 days of fighting before they completely routed. Both times, the Iraqi military was considered the 4th largest military in the world...
Both times, numbers meant nothing if you don't have quality and training behind it, with competence to lead it, and motivation to move it.
The Iraqi army of 21st century suffered enormous damage to the Brutal Sanctions, Operation Desert Storm, and the Shiite Uprising in the 90's.
The Shiites/Kurds offered little to no resistance. Forget weapons or technology, there was no cohesion among his people.
Ironically the exact same thing happened to Bashar Al Assad of Syria against the Rebels (who hardly have the power of America).
We haven't fought someone who could meet the U.N definition of "war" and not "occupation" (in other words defend themselves) since Iraq/Serbia in the 90's.
They all fall quickly. They look stronger than they actually are.
The Comand you’re talking about is the order called broken arrow. I know that because I was there we only called that when all lines are overrun calling all available artillery and air acid
سمعت قصه ذات مره شخص في امريكا كان يمشي في شارع وسمع عائله أمريكيه تتكلم عن صدام وينظرون اللي الخريطه ويلعنو صدام ثم قام الرجل بالتوقف فوجدهم ينظرون اللي الخريطه مقلوبه ويعتقدون ان صدام حسين كان في خليج المكسيك صم قام الرجل بتعديل الخريطه فوجدت العائله الامريكه ان العراق في قاره اخري وراء البحار ثم شكرو الرجل واصبحو يتسألو لماذا بوش اخذ أبناءنا اللي بلاد بعيده وقامو بلعن بوش باختصار هذا هو الشعب الامريكي لايعرفون أسماء الدول علي الخريطه او ما يحدث او السبب ليس لديهم ثقافه أو معرفه فقط يعرف التعصب بدون سبب وحكوماتهم تفعل ما تريد فقط الشعب يدفع الضرائب ويتعصب
At 12:01AM March 19th I crossed into Iraq.
Thank you for your service. Nothing else to say on the subject beyond that!
@@doberski6855what service ? 🤣
I landed in Iraq with other SOF in mid-June 2014. Some of the first airstrikes that were televised, were set up by other SOF JTACs - and myself.
@@LordBaron1 The service to kill bad guys?
@@doberski6855what tf did we accomplish? 😂
Saddam was responsible for 9-11 right? Right? Oh dang it
No. But the invasions of Iran and Kuwait were things.
Nah don't act like he wasn't evil
@ evil as hell no doubt but get to the point, was he involved in 9/11?
@@brucepoole8552 No, but was responsible for Iraq failing to comply with the conditions set down by the victors of Desert Storm and constant niggling. Of course that was tolerated at the time. Until 9/11 meant the US wasn't in the mood to put up with it.
Sucked to be Saddam at that point.
@@brucepoole8552 Probably
Good information 😊
Let’s not forget that over 1.000.000 innocent civilians got killed in this useless war
I had a dream that I was a Storm Trouper on the deathstar. I just sat and looked at the helmet. The other troupers left the locker room and did not really wish to leave.
I did not understand the dream as a small boy.
But as an adult, it makes so much sense.
Some dreams are vivid, and you can not forget them.
This was whey before the prequel films.
I m sorry to say but the result was that so many coalition soldiers and iraqians died for and that so called nuke arms or others doesn t exist anywhere in Iraq.
Iraqians 🤣
It's Iraqis.
I watched the whole 21 minutes video and I couldn’t understand why Sadam Hussein fell so quick, is it just me?
2:20 - This was one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history. My cousin and college roommate received his honorable discharge papers from the Marines two days after 9/11. I was nearing the end of college and student teaching. The Bush Administration kept talking about Iraq, not Afghanistan. And I realized that they needed tanks rolling and planes flying because the American people needed to know something was being done - and intelligence and drone spies cannot be shared with the media. So the Bush administration starts talking about Iraq and I'm like wtf? Our state rep came to talk to the kids and I asked him if he would vote for a war with Iraq and he said, 'oh I see that you are a liberal', (I am a libertarian, probably considered myself liberal at the time) I will support the president in any military action". State reps dont vote on war, but hypothetical hell yes, and I knew we were screwed.
The best people from my generation (tail end of X, early millennial) died, or came home physically or mentally damaged for Bush's war in Iraq and godawful regimw change in Afghanistan.
I vote republican now, but wouldn't have dreamed of it in 2004. The paradigm has shifted massively
When I first read the title, I thought why he fell so quickly when hung. I was like um gravity.
Britain has not deserved a voice on any issues since 1950.
the military done its thing very well, the people who sent them, well what can you say lied, misled, sold out. thank you IWM, well presented.
To put things into perspective about Iraq's army. Isis in 2016 captured 40% of Iraq with just 20k soldiers on the back of pick-up trucks.
This information has been out for decades. There are several movies, documentaries, books, and freedom of information sources out for millions to see. Great video, though.
Awesome recap. Really interesting
I've always understood that the Brits advised their US comrades to NOT disband Iraqi existing sec serv's. Problematically they did just that, by virtue of their religious branch they found themselves unemployable - with families to support and turned to gangster ism for income and, effectively, the kernel which became eventually ISIS. If I'm wrong in this assumption please put me right. Notwithstanding the iffyness of the claimed reason for going in anyway, being more to do with grabbing oil than taking hold of mythical WMD, the whole concept seemed to be a mistake, as with Lybia.
America won this war but the question is at what cost since we know sadam Hussein was allied with USA so why they defeated own allies?the answer is oil ithink
Israel won this war
Nope not oil
Why does every other video uploaded here have the title and thumbnail changed after they are published? Sometimes multiple times (eg. F15 video). Bizarre.
If they had faced the Iraqi Army from the pre Iran-Iraq War and sanctions... The US army would've faced
5 × more the number of casualties and losses ...
Maybe definitely not technology wise. After the Iran war Iraq had better equipment. But manpower wise yes the Iraqi army would of been more willing to fight had they not already been fighting for a decade.
That not true at all. Before Iraq Iran war Iraqi army were small and weak. Equipment and manpower growth happen after war started.
The Americans killed, wounded or captured 200,000 of Saddam Hussein's men in 100 hours during the Gulf War with fewer men and fewer tanks. It was one of the most lopsided victories in the history of war. The massive technological and equipment gap would not have been closed if that had twice as many men.
Well the invasion was successful because of two reasons
1-us didn't fight the war alone
2- nobody give iraq aid like Ukraine
Do you think any nation on earth eould stand a conventional war against the US? Lol come on
@bolsa3136 bro forget about your conventional might, if you want to fight any war don't go with anybody
Yeah but here's the difference: Ukraine is a democracy and is defending it's territory from senseless aggression and Poo-tin, Putler, Pooty-boy trying to TAKE Ukrainian land and say it's Russia. The USA did nothing like that. The USA wanted to take out Saddam who had cruelly, brutally ruled Iraq for 30 years and bring democracy to Iraq (and we succeeded). Our aims were true and pure, Russia's are selfish, imperial, and destructive. Ukraine is more democratic than Russia. That's all you need to know.
So OF COURSE people are going to aid Ukraine, because it's the right thing to do. Whereas with Saddam's regime, we had seen for 30 years how he treated his neighbors...he attacked Israel. He attacked Iran. He gassed his own people. He subjugated the Shia populations. He invaded and annexed Kuwait. And so on. Name one time where Ukraine invaded its neighbor or attacked Russia.
@bolsa3136 the US would lose a war against China or Russia. Sure they have the upper hand in taking the war to China or Russia territory, sure, they wouldn't be able to take it into American territory, but they just wouldn't be able to handle it 1v1 against either Russia or China.
Such invasions are just not possible without the cooperation from third party country, so speaking in a pure one on one conventional war, they would actually get destroyed upon invading. They wouldn't survive a russian winter and without supplies, an invasion of Russia is impossible. Against China, attempting to invade by sea, would also result in a complete destruction of ships carriers and men.
And if we measure by missiles and nuclear, Russia completely annihilates America, Russia has better, bigger nukes. Russia has the most advance hypersonic missiles.
@@UsmanOlayinka-c7fAmerica appreciates their allies but they were almost on their own in the Iraq war, and they understood that going in
And now the same war drum is playing towards iran but iran will have Russia and China supporting them that's why US is working out is it worth it
You mean Iran is the one beating the war drum
you know its a fire documentary when you hear the scottish narrator
I remember hearing an interview with Hans Blix, and he made it clear there was no WMD before the war.
You failed to mention what actually moved the needle for the Americans. Toby Keith released and album called "Shockin' Y'all" and the rest was history
Literally half of the country jumped him? Plus Kurds and Shias betrayed him 2/3 of Iraq betrayed him
Loooool "betrayed him" 😂😂😂
You expected them to side with their oppressor? 😂😂😂
@@beri4138 I expect them not to side with foreign invaders?
@@dragon888193ftwOf course they view the Americans as liberators, rightfully so
@@imfromisrael489 so in what conditions are they living now? Yes they were libereted of civilian infrasturcture and 460.000 civilians were libereted from their lives (indirectly or directly becouse of USA's war). Good statistic from democracy, freedom loving country.
@@dragon888193ftwyea so it makes sense for Kuwait to join UN instead of iraq as u said you clown 😂😂😂
I’m an Iraqi and I want to say this video is full of bullsh*t and lies.
@@spookjongen well what are the lies?
@@spookjongen Iraqis are pro American why you say this video is lie?
Such as?
@@MACH1TIPS bot accout
@@MACH1TIPSThe accusations put on Iraq? Read some history.
After 20 years, Iraq is still struggling to recover
long live the holy nation of Iraq 🇮🇶 💕💖
many poorer nations people join the military not to support / defend the country but for food and money so when they do have to fight many drop the weapons and run, while others are forced to fight with the threat of death by top officials
Can you please make a video about Afghanistan, The Soviet and U.S invasion.
2:36 in comparison, russia used the same amount in its invasion of ukraine.
russia used 190k(source Marine Corps University Press) and usa used 170k in its invasion of Iraq. meaning possibility for disaster for the initial invasion was real.
Waiting for video on bangel famine
I don't think that has anything to do with this channel
another illegal war😏
Well when you in the desert there is no place to hide
The kuwaiti's were drilling sideways and stealing the iraqi's oil. 🙄
And that excuses a full blown invasion? 🙄
They were actually a bulwark against Iranian expansion and were a secular dictatorship, but Netanyahu went to congress and encouraged invasion.
They were absolutely not secular. Saddam Hussein's Sunni Arab government was in a near constant state of civil war with the country's Kurdish and Shia population. It was sectarian, not secular.
@@XandateOfHeavenkurds are Sunni. Saddam was a secular baathist and arab nationalist. He opressed the kurds because they were seperatists and the shia because he viewed them as more loyal to Iran than Iraq. But he also didnt like Islamists or allow them to have any influence.
Germany doesn't have veto power in the UN.
Colin Powell let himself be deceived and used. He should've resigned. A disgrace
He did not serve a second term as secretary of state I think by Powells decision
What a WASTE of human life on both sides. He would’ve been better off alive today. Great video
Every war
@ yea but we’re speaking specifically on this one. Us taking him out caused complete destabilization of his sector of the Levant, Isis emerged, al quada became more emboldened, and lots of Iraqi civilians starved and were left with contaminated water for the longest. All for our greed for Arab oil.
@@Motownsports89there are justifiable wars. This wasn’t one
was the late Colin powel not a liar ???
the main source was " curveball" living in Geremny and he was telling ghost stories ..
Still the USA pressed on the comit the war , war on wrong grounds if you tell my ..
Thank God not of our troops were send in ( Duch ) but we help with logistics ..
We went later to Afgahistan after the Aussie but and still on these day ..iam waiting to a Dutch "Breaker Morant " from that time ..
There were WMD, his two son in laws were killed after they escaped to Jordan and forced to return to Baghdad. Even his daughters were widows.
If WMDs include chemical/bio weapons, we found a ton of them...
you forgot to mention the wikileaks that showed the actual civilian deaths ...
Because he didn't have weapons of mass destruction :(
And no charges were ever filed against Bush.
How was Taskforce Viking inserted to the far Northwest of Iraq?
And they Americans wonder why they always get attacked these people won't forget
I am astonished that I knew more at age 16 about Saddam Hussein's weapons situation than apparently the US government did, and all because I had followed the story and read the early reports made by Hans Blix. I used to drive my high school history and political science teacher nuts with this topic, particularly when the war started, as he was being fairly jingoistic about the whole invasion, but his tone changed soon enough.
Can't say I took it that far, but as a 12 year-old I didn't understand how a secular socialist party like the Ba'athists were supposed to have anything to do with Al Qaeda.
Riiiight. So 16 year old you has more resources then the entire American intelligence organization? That you knew more from reading early reports by Hans Blix as your only source. I bet those teachers rolled their eyes when you spouted all this with such all knowing importance. Such a narcissist.
You were wise for your age, good job! As for the invasion of Iraq, it shouldn't suprise anyone at all. The US government knew exactly what they were doing, it's called "Regime change". Anyone who doubts this should look up U.S. involvement in regime change around the world and "Operation Northwoods". It's what the United States has been doing for decades without anyone being able to hold them accountable. I'm saying this as an Iraqi who's family saw both the rise and fall of Saddam from 1979-2003.
Let’s be honest. You didn’t know more an anyone at 16 😂. He did use chemical weapons so they definitely had them. still should’ve just left it alone however
@sc1338 he used up his stockpile long before the Americans invaded. Also, there's a out 40 former classmates of mine who would recall my anti-war stance at the time.
That was a war for Israel. It was never in American interest to fight against iraq.
So what was the message? Never mess up with powers you can't defeat kid.
Well we expected Israel to fight on it's own. So it means When they try to fight on their own they will be nothing called Israel again.
Disbanding the regular Iraqi Army units was a grave error. They could have controlled the looting, and they could have staved off the following insurgency.
Instead, with US funding new Iraqi units were raised - pretty late! - which often only existed on paper and were not combat-proven, nor had they any sort of real training. Their commanders just vanished with the funds.
Then, years later, in Afghanistan... basically the same tragedy. When the generals say "No, we can't do this, building a stable civil society", we should listen to them.
@Keimzelle And Many of them went on to help found ISIS.
You can’t get dead triggered of truth can you?
It was like a game of civ
Super advance nation taking on an opponent with outdated weapons.
Just with GPS navigation the us had a hugggeeee advantage
It was a cake walk because it was preceded by a 13 year siege of the country and the starving of the Iraqis
Tom Holman is the best,!!!!
Killing Saddam and people like Gadaffi always remind me of that saying: “better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t”
nope
Fighting against the best army is not easy
He made an enemy out of Iran, so he couldn't rely on Iran for resupply. The Americans have a military base in kuwait,and so it wasn't a resupply route either,He wasn't on good terms with the Syrians either, meaning that no help of any kind was coming from there,so considering saddam Hussain's previous history of picking a fight with everyone around him one can come a conclusion,which was that given Iraqs lack of depth and resupply route the war was lost the moment that the first shot was fired.
Makes you wonder if Iran actually has them.
Let me guess, 80% of those at 3:16 are people who now fill the streets shouting "From the river to the sea..."
Couldn't have Saddam Hussein moving away from the Petrodollar could they, Everything else surrounding this Conflict stems from that.
Best to stick to reality.
Lmao no, no it doesn't.
You can defend this devil in hell.
Gaddafi suffered the same fate.
No it's actually about Saddam being a fascist that invades countries
"The Al - Nasirah RPG -7 was an effective anti-tank weapon" Want to tell us how tanks it took out then ? I know Britain didn't lose any MBTs to enemy action and I doubt if very many Abrams were destroyed by Iraqi RPG-7s
west won the war, but after 20+ years no peace achieve. people's living standart is it better then or now?