The documentary does initially touch upon other aspects prior to the reconstruction. One mis-assumption that Bush made was that the Shi'ites (forming a 60% majority of the population) would welcome the invaders. This premise seems to arise from the fact that in 1991, after the end of the Persian Gulf War and encouraged by President George H. W. Bush, the Shi'ites rebelled against Saddam Hussein.
However, despite heavy losses from the Gulf War, Hussein's remaining forces crushed the rebellion. The US did not offer any support to the rebels at the time, nor did the US stop the Iraqi government troops. Another issue in the 2003 invasion was the number of troops that were to be sent.
Donald Rumsfeld estimated that the job would take half of the number of troops that Colin Powell and other US Army Generals had requested, but Rumsfeld essentially had his way as he enjoyed more support within the George W. Bush administration than Powell.
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1 comment:
In early 2003, 2/3 of Americans polled in favor of the war in Iraq. In 2006, 2/3 were against it. I was among the 1/3 of Americans who thought the operation would make things turn out for the better but was proven wrong by Bush's incompetant leadership, letting rightwing profiteers turn the whole thing into a war for graft. The country could have turned out for better, but those big blunders ruined it:
*disbanding the army
*debaathification, firing 100,000 Iraqis just because they were forced to join the Baath party under threat.
*Letting the contracters run amok.
This came out in 2006
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