Canada and the Iraq War 2003 (Decision not to join)

Canada and the Iraq War 2003 (Decision not to join)

Thursday December, 12th 2013
A War Not Worth Fighting
“We say to George Bush, as Canadians: Read our Canadian lips. We say peace. Not war” (Former NDP Leader Jack Layton). Staying out of the 2003 War in Iraq was a good decision for Canada. This was a good choice for several reasons such as the lack of evidence of weapons of mass destruction, the United States looking for revenge, no imminent threats existing, Canada being a nation of peacemakers, war crimes, the war being costly, and many others disagreeing. In essence staying out of the Iraq dispute was a positive decision for Canada.
First there was a lack of evidence about the weapons of mass destruction (WMD). After the Persian Gulf War ended in 1991 Iraq was ordered to destroy all weapons of mass destruction and dismantle biological, nuclear, and chemical weapons programs. The UN failed to secure the Iraq President, Saddam Hussein’s full cooperation in regards to the disarmament of the dangerous weapons. The UN Security Council inspection team was unable to gather complete information about Iraqi weapons programs and continually asked for Hussein’s compliance. This lead to Iraq releasing a 12,000 page document about its weapons and programs associated with them. Some were in violation of the 1441 resolution made previously by the United Nations. The United States and the U.K. both claimed that the document was false and demanded that the Coalition of the Willing go and invade Iraq and destroy the weapons themselves. Other Security Council members– particularly France – had appealed for more time for a peaceful resolution for the Iraqi weapons crisis. The U.S., U.K. and Spain put together a resolution for Iraq giving a specific deadline or else military action would take place and that Saddam Hussein would be removed from power. On the evening of March 17th, 2003 U.S. President George W. Bush issued Saddam Hussein and his two sons...

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