"We will meet that threat now with our army, air force, navy, coastguard and marines

so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of

firefighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities."

                                                                            - President George W. Bush, Address on the Start of War with Iraq, 20 Mar 2003

A Just and Moral War

Whereas after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Iraq entered into a United Nations sponsored cease-fire agreement pursuant to which Iraq unequivocally agreed, among other things, to eliminate its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs and the means to deliver and develop them, and to end its support for international terrorism;

Whereas the efforts of international weapons inspectors, United States intelligence agencies, and Iraqi defectors led to the discovery that Iraq had large stockpiles of chemical weapons and a large scale biological weapons program, and that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weapons development program that was much closer to producing a nuclear weapon than intelligence reporting had previously indicated;

Whereas Iraq, in direct and flagrant violation of the cease-fire, attempted to thwart the efforts of weapons inspectors to identify and destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and development capabilities, which finally resulted in the withdrawal of inspectors from Iraq on October 31, 1998;

Whereas in 1998 Congress concluded that Iraq's continuing weapons of mass destruction programs threatened vital United States interests and international peace and security, declared Iraq to be in "material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations" and urged the President "to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations" (Public Law 105-235);

Whereas Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations;

Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolutions of the United Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population thereby threatening international peace and security in the region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait;

Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people;

Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its continuing hostility toward, and willingness to attack, the United States, including by attempting in 1993 to assassinate former President Bush and by firing on many thousands of occasions on United States and Coalition Armed Forces engaged in enforcing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council;

Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;

Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of American citizens;

Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001 underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by international terrorist organizations;

Whereas Iraq's demonstrated capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction, the risk that the current Iraqi regime will either employ those weapons to launch a surprise attack against the United States or its Armed Forces or provide them to international terrorists who would do so, and the extreme magnitude of harm that would result to the United States and its citizens from such an attack, combine to justify action by the United States to defend itself;

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 authorizes the use of all necessary means to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 and subsequent relevant resolutions and to compel Iraq to cease certain activities that threaten international peace and security, including the development of weapons of mass destruction and refusal or obstruction of United Nations weapons inspections in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687, repression of its civilian population in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, and threatening its neighbors or United Nations operations in Iraq in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 949;

Whereas Congress in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) has authorized the President "to use United States Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 (1990) in order to achieve implementation of Security Council Resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, and 677";

Whereas in December 1991, Congress expressed its sense that it "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 as being consistent with the Authorization of Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1)," that Iraq's repression of its civilian population violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 and "constitutes a continuing threat to the peace, security, and stability of the Persian Gulf region," and that Congress, "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688";

Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338) expressed the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi regime and promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime;

Whereas on September 12, 2002, President Bush committed the United States to "work with the United Nations Security Council to meet our common challenge" posed by Iraq and to "work for the necessary resolutions," while also making clear that "the Security Council resolutions will be enforced, and the just demands of peace and security will be met, or action will be unavoidable";

Whereas the United States is determined to prosecute the war on terrorism and Iraq's ongoing support for international terrorist groups combined with its development of weapons of mass destruction in direct violation of its obligations under the 1991 cease-fire and other United Nations Security Council resolutions make clear that it is in the national security interests of the United States and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions be enforced, including through the use of force if necessary;

Whereas Congress has taken steps to pursue vigorously the war on terrorism through the provision of authorities and funding requested by the President to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 or harbored such persons or organizations;

Whereas the President and Congress are determined to continue to take all appropriate actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;

Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to take action in order to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States, as Congress recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40); and

Whereas it is in the national security of the United States to restore international peace and security to the Persian Gulf region;
Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq

 

...Twelve years ago, Saddam Hussein faced the prospect of being the last casualty in a war he had started and lost. To spare himself, he agreed to disarm of all weapons of mass destruction.

For the next 12 years, he systematically violated that agreement. He pursued chemical, biological and nuclear weapons even while inspectors were in his country.

Nothing to date has restrained him from his pursuit of these weapons: not economic sanctions, not isolation from the civilized world, not even cruise missile strikes on his military facilities.

...The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological weapons materials sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax; enough doses to kill several million people. He hasn't accounted for that material. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed it.

...Year after year, Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous sums, taken great risks to build and keep weapons of mass destruction. But why? The only possible explanation, the only possible use he could have for those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate or attack.

...Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained: by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape.

If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning.
 

...Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike?
 

If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option.

President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 2003

...Deploring also that the Government of Iraq has failed to comply with its commitments pursuant to resolution 687 (1991) with regard to terrorism, pursuant to resolution 688 (1991) to end repression of its civilian population and to provide access by international humanitarian organizations to all those in need of assistance in Iraq, and pursuant to resolutions 686 (1991), 687 (1991), and 1284 (1999) to return or cooperate in accounting for Kuwaiti and third country nationals wrongfully detained by Iraq, or to return Kuwaiti property wrongfully seized by Iraq,
 

...Recalling that in its resolution 687 (1991) the Council declared that a ceasefire would be based on acceptance by Iraq of the provisions of that resolution, including the obligations on Iraq contained therein,

UN Security Council Resolution 1441

If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately and unconditionally forswear, disclose, and remove or destroy all weapons of mass destruction, long-range missiles, and all related material.

If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately end all support for terrorism and act to suppress it, as all states are required to do by U.N. Security Council resolutions.

If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will cease persecution of its civilian population, including Shi'a, Sunnis, Kurds, Turkomans, and others, again as required by Security Council resolutions.

If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will release or account for all Gulf War personnel whose fate is still unknown. It will return the remains of any who are deceased, return stolen property, accept liability for losses resulting from the invasion of Kuwait, and fully cooperate with international efforts to resolve these issues, as required by Security Council resolutions.

If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately end all illicit trade outside the oil-for-food program. It will accept U.N. administration of funds from that program, to ensure that the money is used fairly and promptly for the benefit of the Iraqi people.

If all these steps are taken, it will signal a new openness and accountability in Iraq. And it could open the prospect of the United Nations helping to build a government that represents all Iraqis -- a government based on respect for human rights, economic liberty, and internationally supervised elections.

The United States has no quarrel with the Iraqi people; they've suffered too long in silent captivity. Liberty for the Iraqi people is a great moral cause, and a great strategic goal. The people of Iraq deserve it; the security of all nations requires it. Free societies do not intimidate through cruelty and conquest, and open societies do not threaten the world with mass murder. The United States supports political and economic liberty in a unified Iraq.

President George W. Bush's Speech to the United Nations, September 12, 2002
 

Text of Pres Bush's Address on opening of War.

Saddam Hussein: Crimes and Human Rights Abuses - A pdf file from the UK documenting these things
 

Iraqi WMD parts/facilities/etc Reportedly moved by UNMOVIC - pdf file of the report UNMOVIC Homepage

Saddam Hussein - Apparatus of lies - pdf file

Saddam the Terrorist (Supporter):

... Iraq has given substantial financial and military aid to terrorist organizations operating under its purview.

Primary among these organizations is the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF), headed by Mahmoud Zidan Abu El Abbas who operates from Iraq, and the Arab Liberation Front (ALF), which are both avid pro-Iraqi organizationss. The culmination of this support was the arrest in 2001 of ALF and PLF terrorist groups from the Asqar refugee camp in the Qabatiya area near Nablus and Ramallah. The members admitted during questioning by the Israel Security Agency (ISA), that they had undergone military training in Iraq and subsequently carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, civilian and military alike. This mode of operation continues today.

Iraq's involvement in terrorism in the territories includes extensive financial aid transferred from Iraq to terrorist groups in the territories, and to families of suicide bombers as well as to injured terrorists and those whose homes were destroyed. The funds are given to the families in public and in highly publicized ceremonies, which take place throughout the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria. During these ceremonies funds are distributed on behalf of Saddam Hussein, the President of Iraq. This activity is legitimized by the Palestinian Authority, with the participation of Palestinian ministers, members of the legislative body and mayors in the ceremonies.
International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism
 

Abu Nidal Organization

PLF

Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK)

“President Saddam Hussein has recently told the head of the Palestinian political office, Faroq al-Kaddoumi, his decision to raise the sum granted to each family of the martyrs of the Palestinian uprising to $25,000 instead of $10,000,” Tariq Aziz, announced at a Baghdad meeting of Arab politicians and businessmen on March 11, 2002, Reuters reported the next day

Saddam and Genocide/Murder:

Since the Saddam Hussein regime was overthrown in May, 270 mass graves have been reported. By mid-January, 2004, the number of confirmed sites climbed to fifty-three. Some graves hold a few dozen bodies—their arms lashed together and the bullet holes in the backs of skulls testimony to their execution. Other graves go on for hundreds of meters, densely packed with thousands of bodies.
"We've already discovered just so far the remains of 400,000 people in mass graves," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Iraq's Legacy of Terror: Mass Graves   

Iraq's Legacy of Terror - Mass Graves - pdf File

Mass Graves of Iraq: Uncovering Atrocities

The Mass Graves of Iraq

Shia News

WMDs:

Iraqi intelligence documents, confiscated by U.S. forces and obtained by CNSNews.com, show numerous efforts by Saddam Hussein's regime to work with some of the world's most notorious terror organizations, including al-Qaida, to target Americans.

The documents demonstrate that Saddam's government possessed mustard gas and anthrax, both considered weapons of mass destruction, in the summer of 2000, during the period in which United Nations weapons inspectors were not present in Iraq. And the papers show that Iraq trained dozens of terrorists inside its borders.

Iraqi Documents Show Saddam Possessed WMD, Had Extensive Terror Ties

Fallen Iraqi President Saddam Hussein did not have stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, but left signs that he had idle programs he someday hoped to revive, the top U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq concludes

...Saddam was importing banned materials, working on unmanned aerial vehicles in violation of U.N. agreements and maintaining a dual-use industrial sector that could produce weapons.

Weapons Inspector: Saddam Had WMD Programs Waiting to Go

..."One of the heads of his nuclear program, Mr. Obeidi, said in the New York Times just a few days ago that Saddam Hussein could have restarted his nuclear program at the snap of a finger," Rice told ABC

Condi: Saddam Prepared to Restart Nuke Program

The Iraqi physicist who ran his country's uranium enrichment program says that Saddam Hussein continued to fund efforts to develop nuclear weapons right up until the U.S. invasion in March 2003.
"Saddam kept funding the IAEC [Iraq Atomic Energy Commission] from 1991 ... until the war in 2003," reveals Dr. Mahdi Obeidi

Iraqi Nuke Scientist: Saddam Had WMD Program
 

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that a report indicating that Saddam Hussein smuggled his weapons of mass destruction to Syria just before the U.S. attacked last year is "a scenario that has to be looked into."
Condi: Saddam's WMDs Possibly Smuggled to Syria

Saddam Hussein had an active nuclear weapons development program at the time of the U.S. invasion in March 2003, chief U.S. weapons inspector Charles Duelfer has told Congress.
Duelfer testified that Iraq was "preserving and expanding its knowledge to design and develop nuclear weapons." One Iraqi laboratory "was intentionally focused on research applicable for nuclear weapons development,"
...Saddam was financing his nuclear program by misappropriating funds from the U.N.'s Oil-for-Food Program.
Iraq Survey Chief Duelfer: Saddam Was Developing Nukes

Five hundred tons of yellowcake uranium ore stored at Saddam Hussein's al Tuwaitha nuclear weapons research laboratory near Baghdad could have been enriched to produce 142 nuclear weapons, a prominent British physicist has determined
Physicist: Saddam's Uranium Stockpile Enough to Yield 142 Nukes

Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong (USMC Ret.), who until last September was the No. 2 in command of the Iraq war under Gen. Tommy Franks, revealed Sunday that U.S. military intelligence had determined that weapons of mass destruction were being smuggled out of the country as the U.S. prepared to invade. "I do know for a fact that some of those weapons went into Syria, Lebanon and Iran,"
Two days before the war, on March 17 [2003], we saw through multiple intelligence channels - both human intelligence and technical intelligence - large caravans of people and things, including some of the top 55 [most wanted] Iraqis, going to Syria,"
"We also know that before then, they buried some of the weapons of mass destruction," he added. "There are also some in Lebanon and probably a small amount in Iran."
"In order to transport their biological weapons, they could take their entire experimental weapons system in one or two suitcases - pretty easy to hide,"
Ex-CENTCOM No. 2: Intel Showed Iraq Smuggled Out WMDs

Known Iraq WMD Facilities

Iraqi Special Weapons Facilities

Iraqi Special Weapons Guide

Regarding No WMDs Found so far (so what):

Kay on The Kay Report:

..."Senator Warner, I think the world is far safer with the disappearance and the removal of Saddam Hussein. I have said -- I actually think this may be one of those cases where it was even more dangerous than we thought. I think when we have the complete record you're going to discover that after 1998, it became a regime that was totally corrupt. Individuals were out for their own protection, and in a world where we know others are seeking WMD, the likelihood at some point in the future of a seller and a buyer meeting up would have made that a far more dangerous country than even we anticipated with what may turn out not to be a fully accurate estimate."

Arms Inspector Dr. David Kay, former head of the Iraq Survey Group to Armed Services Committee on January 28, 2004

The Duelfer Report:

The Duelfer report is a comprehensive study on WMDs in Iraq.  It's conclusion is that the intelligence we used to determine Iraq's possession of WMDs was incorrect.  It also determines that Saddam was: "systematically gaming the system, using the U.N. oil-for-food program to try to influence countries and companies in an effort to undermine sanctions. He was doing so with the intent of restarting his weapons program, once the world looked away. "

The Report is in 4 Parts - They are available here in case they are removed from the CIA Site at some point.

Key Findings    Volume 1    Volume 2    Volume 3

CIA Website Duelfer Report page

..."The Duelfer report makes clear that much of the accumulated body of 12 years of our intelligence and that of our allies was wrong."

... "Based on all the information we have today, I believe we were right to take action, and America is safer today with Saddam Hussein in prison. He retained the knowledge, the materials, the means, and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction. And he could have passed that knowledge on to our terrorist enemies. Saddam Hussein was a unique threat, a sworn enemy of our country, a state sponsor of terror, operating in the world's most volatile region. In a world after September the 11th, he was a threat we had to confront. And America and the world are safer for our actions."

President Bush on the Duelfer Report   

Video of Pres Bush commenting on the Duelfer Report

The Horrors found in Iraq:

Links to articles posted or linked to on FreeRepublic:

U.S. Army Says It Finds Shell With Sarin Agent in Iraq

Chinese sold Iraq 'dual-use' chemical
Kurd PM: French, Russians to lose Iraq oil
U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: GLOBAL WARMING BIGGER DANGER
We Shall Not Sleep This is an incredible article!
It's All About Oil. For the French
When War Is the Best Medicine
Comments & Articles on Iraq
Conscripts shoot their own officers rather than fight
Note to Appeasement Activists: Iraqis Cheer U.S. Troops
I was a naive fool to be a human shield for Saddam
"Shielded" From the Truth Here's the true story of another idiot.
Awestruck An excellent synopsis of the war in the first few days.
US TROOPS CAPTURE CHEMICAL PLANT
MEDIA BOOMERANG Caution: Graphic Images of US War Dead.
Human shields caught in crossfire
Fleischer: Rape of POWs 'not worth mentioning'
Commander's background a strength
None So Blind
See men shredded, then say you don't back war The Times (London)
History or Hysteria?
Reporter Arnett: U.S. War Plan Has Failed
Saddam bunker 'almost impenetrable'
One in kisser for Saddam
Daisy's the fire of hell
Lynch Shot Enemy Soldiers Prior to Her Capture, Officials Say
Jubilant Crowds Greet Troops Near Shrine
Complex found bulging with food in hungry city
Iraq gives up its grim secrets
Saddam's 'gruesome' Kuwaiti war crimes
I Was Wrong About War
Troops, journalists undergo cleanup for nerve gas exposure
Steady as We Go
Jailed Iraqi children run free as marines roll into Baghdad suburbs
NOOSE TIGHTENS ON IRAQ-SEPT. 11 CONNECTION
Blowback: The case for civilian control over the military and the need for reform in the intelligence community.
CNN Exec Admits Covering Up 'Maniac' Saddam's Atrocities
Iraqi hit list cards
The Clinton Army
Display of U.S. Flag Barred After Unfurling on Statue
At Palace, a New Case of Shock and Awe
Revealed: Russia spied on Blair for Saddam
Inside the Secret World
Abu Gharib Prison: Nowhere in Iraq was butchery more rife
Media Research Center's Special Edition: Saddam Bests Hypocrite Bush: Humourous PC Airhead "Journalists" on the War
Cyanide-Shooting Guns Found in Baghdad
Democrats to adopt Iraqi 'super lies'?
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Minister of Information
Out of the 'Quagmire'
Tales of superman Saddam
Shepherd tells his long-hidden tale of desert murder
So many got the war so very wrong
Palestinian Abu Abbas in U.S. Custody in Iraq
Rescuers Nearly Called Mission Off
Marines free 123 from Iraq hellhole
Cleaning Up More Clinton Crap
Secretive Marine Special Ops Trio Discuss Their Role in POW Rescue
Captives buried alive
U.S. urges U.N. to lift Iraq economic sanctions
Saddam link to terror group
AT LEAST SADDAM WASN'T AT TAILHOOK!
Saddam golden gun found at Heathrow
Political Shock and Awe
Mass grave found near Kirkuk, claims Kurdish TV station
Report: Troops find $650 million in Baghdad Eventually over 1 BILLION US dollars in CASH found hidden away....why US dollars?
Painting believed stolen from Iraq seized by Jordan
After Decades of Fear, Iraqis Revel in Their Greatest New Freedom - Speech
Military historians heap praise on war strategists
Saddam's World
The Saddam Files
Diaries could lead to Saddam's secret backers
Galloway was in Saddam's pay, say secret Iraqi documents
Muffling U.S. Missile Success
Dust and Stars
They Said What?
Tariq Aziz in Custody
Blair's secret war meetings with Clinton
Dean: 'We Don't Know' If Iraqi People Are Better Off Without Saddam
CHEERED GIS GET DOWN TO BUSINESS OF PEACEKEEPING
Mass grave holds victims of Saddam's last purge
Inside the private prison of Odai Hussein
Everything the Left Said About the War was Wrong
Iraqi prostitutes back on the streets after Saddam
Abu Mazen Financed the OIympics Massacre in Munich
Iraq's Odious Debts
Britain reined in US military’s shock and awe strategy
Iraqis tried to bribe Scott Ritter with gold
How Saddam hid his dirty money
France helped Iraqis escape
Hussein's Son Took $1 Billion Just Before War, Bank Aide Says
Rough Exit From Iraq Payback for the Palestinians
U.S. captured 'Mrs. Anthrax' after Syria expelled her
Suspected Bioweapon Mobile Lab Recovered
What Ever Happened to the Republican Guard?
Thank You
Years of Pain, And the Words To Describe It
Buyer Prepare: Once-Banned Items Now Within Reach
The liberators How the media LIED about the war and liberation.
Iraq's Crude Awakening
SEEING THE FACTS CONVERTS A CRITIC
Was this the mother of all misjudgments?
What Kay Found
 [Saddam's] WMD Lies
WMD In a Haystack
Salary Rises Come With Deadly Catch
Saddam Captured While Hiding in Hole Near Hometown
Long Search for Saddam Ends in Ironhorse's Backyard
Saddam Hussein Captured in Iraq Hideout
Many Arabs Skeptical on Saddam's Capture
Cardinal Says U.S. Treated Saddam 'Like a Cow'
Iraqi Slams U.N. Inaction
Inside Red Dawn: Saddam Up Close
Mass Graves Testify to Saddam's Evil
Saddam Hussein's Philanthropy of Terror
What Has Gone Right in Iraq
Iraqi Artifacts, Manuscripts Recovered
IRAQ: WORK TO BE PROUD OF
Crazy-Like-A-Fox News Viewers
Chalabi's Betrayal
Saddam's Files New Evidence of Links Between Iraq and al Qaeda
Ignoring Putin's Revelation Iraq WAS Planning to Attack the US!
Saying NO to Saddam
The American Triumph
Saddam Scoffs at Charges of War Crimes
Saddam in Custody--Moore, Soros, Dean Still at Large
Not a Shred of Remorse
New Guard Force Finds Welcome on Streets of Baghdad "The Iraqis will be tougher on the criminals," Abdul-Karim predicted. "The Americans arrest robbers and then they let them go again a week later. The Iraqis won't do that."
Operation Tiger Claw A young student takes on the Politically Correct Left-Wing Extremists Running His School
Saddam's Victims Eager to See His Trial
Islamist Gunmen Threaten to Behead Saddam Lawyers
Saddam Paid Off French Leaders

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