The Twentieth Anniversary of the Beginning of the Liberation of Iraq, a Victory in the War on Terrorism

Twenty years ago today, on March 19, 2003, the United States and its allies began the Liberation of Iraq against the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein, the brutal tyrant and terrorist sponsor with a history of aggression. Isolationists on the left and right have misrepresented the purpose of the war, denied its justifications and the facts of the Liberation and subsequent developments, but they cannot take away the truths about what American and allied troops, together with the Iraqi people, were able to accomplish. Even the efforts of violent jihadists to force an American withdrawal have not succeeded in a victory for Islamist terrorism, but a defeat. Iraqi Violations of the Cease-Fire and U.N. Resolutions on WMDs: Hussein had signed a cease-fire after the U.S.-led and United Nations-approved Liberation of Kuwait in 1991, which he had conquered the previous year. Among its provisions were reparations for Kuwait for Iraqi aggression. He failed to pay those reparations. Any violation of a cease-fire signifies and intent to re-engage in hostilities, but Hussein actually engaged in hostilities by repeatedly attacking Coalition aircraft enforcing no-fly zones established to protect oppressed minorities, namely Kurds in the north and Sh’ite Arabs in the south. The Butcher of Baghdad considered the war never to have ended. Thus, it was Iraq that started the war, which was defensive and not pre-emptive. Furthermore, Iraq also violated U.N. resolutions requiring it to give up its weapons of mass-production programs and limiting its missiles to a short range. U.N. inspectors found that Iraq, which had repeatedly used WMDs, had retained a “small but significant” number of chemical WMDs, causing the U.N. Security Council to approve unanimously a resolution that Iraq was in “material breach” of its resolutions and would face “serious consequences,” which meant the use of force. American-led forces, some of whom were injured by them, later found several hundred of these weapons and acquired hundreds more that the inspectors did not know about, as well as tons of the banned chemicals to produce more weapons. All these weapons and materiel were destroyed by the Coalition. Iraq also had long-range missiles. Meanwhile, as Iraq was hiding the remnants of its WMD program, it was violating the economic sanctions regime imposed upon it for its WMDs. Hussein planned to make use of the wherewithal Iraq had retained to reconstitute its WMD program after getting sanctions lifted by hiding its program. Iraqi Sponsorship of Terrorism; Iraq as a Battlefield of the War on Terrorism: Moreover, Baathist Iraq was a state sponsor of terrorism, both harboring and financing terrorists, including those who targeted and killed Americans. The Palestinian terrorist who had killed an American and was financing Palestinian suicide bombers, some of whom targeted Americans, was captured by U.S. forces during the Liberation of Iraq. In addition, al-Qaeda, the Islamist terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on New York, Virginia and over Pennsylvania, the deadliest in history, had a branch in Iraq. During the Liberation, violent jihadists, including militants fostered by the Baathist regime, from al-Qaeda and abroad came to Iraq because they recognized it as a battlefield in the Global War on Terrorism, where thousands of them were killed or captured by Americans, their allies and the Iraqis. The fostering by the former Baathist regime of the bloody violent jihad against the Coalition and the new Iraqi government and Iraqi minorities, and especially the cooperation of Baathists and Islamists, including al-Qaeda, validated the concern about Hussein’s potential collaboration with al-Qaeda. Furthermore, the U.S. was able to withdraw on its own terms the large forces it kept in Saudi Arabia to defend against further Iraqi aggression, and not because American troops were under attack there by Islamists or because of Al Qaeda’s demands. Al-Qaeda was thus deprived of its biggest gripe against the United States. The premature of American forces necessitated their return to defeat the “Islamic State,” which is the offshoot of “al-Qaeda in Iraq.” U.S.-led international forces continue to assist Iraq in defeating this threat in both Iraq and Syria. Benefits of the Liberation of Iraq: Because of the Liberation of Iraq, the Iraqi people were freed from a brutal regime that had committed crimes against humanity, for which Hussein was brought to justice by the Iraqi people, who were able to choose their own government. The replacement of the “Republic of Fear” with a constitutional parliamentary republic under Islamic values, but representative of all Iraqi ethnic and religious groups inspired movements for liberty and representative government across the Arab world. The Liberation of Iraq was thus a victory for international law against aggression, for non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, against Islamist terrorism and state sponsorship of terrorism, against crimes against humanity, and for self-determination, liberty and representative government. The accomplishments of American and allied troops, instead of being denied or minimized, should be appreciated and celebrated. The U.S. and its allies and the international community must remain vigilant against aggression and terrorism.