.ByronYork's Daily Memo: It's been two decades since, on March 19, 2003, United States forces invaded Iraq. President George W. Bush ordered the invasion to neutralize what he said was the threat of WMDs posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE U.S. INVASION OF IRAQ. It's been two decades since, on March 19, 2003, United States forces invaded Iraq. President George W. Bush ordered the invasion to neutralize what he said was the threat of weapons of mass destruction posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Except, it turned out Saddam did not have WMDs. U.S. forces searched and searched and searched and never found them. In all, 4,586 American service members died in the war, and 32,455 were wounded.
Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine that will keep you up to date with what's going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue! Making a mistake of such immense proportions was not a politically survivable event, and by his final months in office, with the war widely seen as a failure, Bush's job approval rating sank to 25% in the Gallup poll.
That changed with Donald Trump in 2016, when his unorthodox candidacy invited many Republican voters to reassess their feelings about the war. Trump relished attacking rival candidate Jeb Bush, who was a former governor of Florida but, more importantly for Trump, also the brother of George W. Bush. Trump repeatedly called the Iraq War a disaster,"a big, fat mistake," and got away with it. By 2016, criticizing the Iraq War was no longer a third rail of Republican politics.
Another question:"When it comes to the Iraq War, who do you think ultimately turned out to be right? People who totally supported the war? People who supported the war initially, but eventually opposed it as circumstances changed? People who opposed the war from the start? Or don't know?" Just 9% said people who totally supported the war turned out to be right.
Most of the time, White House supporters did not directly call opponents"unpatriotic" — although some did — but more often said the critics' words undermined the American cause in Iraq and gave aid and comfort to the enemy. When, in 2005, a Democratic member of the House, John Murtha, called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops, supporters of the war went after him hard — so hard that Bush himself later had to renounce some on his own side.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Perspective | Daring and dangerous: The Army’s ‘thunder run’ to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003Perspective: What a Post reporter witnessed during the U.S. mission to capture Baghdad and topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein 20 years ago
Read more »
One million miles for this 2003 Honda Accord | Car News | Auto123A 2003 Honda Accord is the latest vehicle known to have passed the million-miles-driven milestone. Auto123 has the details.
Read more »
Un million de milles pour cette Honda Accord 2003 | Actualités automobile | Auto123Une Honda Accord 2003 est le dernier véhicule en lice connu à franchir le million de milles.
Read more »
2nd biggest snowstorm ever: Remembering the 2003 blizzard that crippled Denver for daysFrom March 17-19, 2003, a blizzard in Denver caused building collapses and Colorado roads and interstates were completely shut down for days.
Read more »
For the perfect St. Patrick's Day toast, take your pick of four new Irish whiskiesFor the perfect St. Patrick’s Day toast, take your pick of four new Irish whiskies
Read more »