I also found this on another BB can you add to it of refute it?
Here's my take on the whole WMD and Iraq affair (not that it counts for much, but I figure most should know why I support the President).
I asked myself some questions:
1. Was there evidence that Saddam had WMDs?
Yes. I did not use Republican reports for this conclusion. Instead I relied on the intel provided by the UN, allied and non allied countries and Iraq's stockpile history.
PRIOR TO THE WAR.
2. Did the UN exhaust all means of locating WMDs.
IMO yes. The inspectors were not being allowed to do their jobs, Saddam's forces were intentionally preventing them from accessing certain sites while the loading of trucks was taking place and no records of destroyed munitions were provided.
Additionally, the UN had exhausted its sanctions (as we can see now, Saddam had found ways to bypass the sanctions and keep the money coming in) and resolutions were clearly not working.
3. Was the president authorized to attack Iraq?
Yes. A bipartisan congress, including Senator Kerry, authorized the use of force against Iraq. For those that say this should've been used differently, my time in the military says differently. If you see a threat and you are then authorized to use force against that threat, you attack. To then turn around and say "Well, we didn't mean for you to attack when we said you could" is political bullshit.
4. Should the US have waited and garner more support prior to the attack?
IMO no. The countries that opposed the US attack had very close ties with the Saddam regime and were heavily dependant on Iraqi oil. As we have also found out, many were receiving kickbacks in return for bypassing the embargo. I don't think they would've come on board even if we had found an atomic bomb sitting in Saddam's living room.
Post war questions:
5. Is the world a better place without Saddam?
Yes. While the war has cost lives, it pales in comparison to the number killed each year under the Saddam regime either directly or indirectly.
6. Has this war cost us allies or increased the hatred towards America?
IMO, no. France, Germany, Russia have never really been our allies just like Saddam when he worked with us against Iran, they worked with us only to achieve their own goals. As for anti-American sentiment throughout the world, it's been there for quite awhile. The mid east has always hated us because we support Israel. Europe has never had any love for us (except the UK...I think they still view us as their illegitimate children) and Asia/Pacific countries have entirely different reasons for not liking us. Nothing has really changed. If a catastrophe occurred here, the US would be on its own (just like we always are).
7. Is the instability in Iraq reason to consider the President had no idea what to expect once the main fighting was over?
No. Time and again, prior to the war, the President told the American people that this would take time. It was not going to be a simple invasion then pullout. He knew what to expect and he tried to tell us. History has shown that nations do not change overnight and one has to be patient. Unfortunately for Bush, we aren't a patient society.
Anyway, those are my reasons. Not all of them mind you, but a lot of the ones pretty high up on the list.