U.S. War Against Iraq \'The Big Lie\':

U.S. War against Iraq

'The Big Lie': Larry Mosqueda's Historical Analysis of U.S. Imperialism and Its Significance with the U.S.-Iraq War (Gulf War II)

Media reports about the current state of the U.S.-Iraq War, also called Gulf War II, illustrates how the war is premeditated and triggered by the bombing of the World Trade Center in 2001. The Bush Administration, generally perceived as the whole country of United States, decided to end these string of terrorist attacks against the country by waging an offensive war against Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan's Taliban government. The ongoing search for bin Laden extended onto the countries that Bush identified as the "Axis of Evil" -- Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. Bush's attempts to eliminate these 'threats' to U.S. security have led to the declaration of war against Iraq. The war led to the immobilization of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, his eventual capture, and the complete rehabilitation plans of Iraq (with the U.S. government's aid).

Larry Mosqueda, professor of Political Science at the Evergreen State College in Washington, reviews the historiography of war of the United States, centering on the decisions made by the George HW Bush during the First Gulf War and his son, U.S. President G.W. Bush, who declared Gulf War II. The article provides readers with an overview of the U.S. government's (as well as American society's) tolerance to terrorist acts, especially if these criminal and violent acts are committed to benefit the country and its people only. Mosqueda's article deviates from other media reports, wherein the Bush administration's side are only aired, and media reports do not give an in-depth analysis of the war with respect to the perspective of the 'antagonists' -- Iraq and its people, as well as bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist group.

The author's main thesis is that the U.S. government argues its position and motivation for declaring Gulf War II based on double standards. The U.S. is perceived as a victim of a terrorist war because of the deaths of people who were victims of the World Trade Center bombing. Similarly, U.S. perceives itself as an 'advocate of justice' when it commits attacks against Afghanistan's Taliban and Iraq's Saddam, arguing that these attacks are necessary to eliminate possible threats not only to U.S. national security, but international security as well. Mosqueda argues further that U.S. views atrocities based on their own standard: if countries and governments commit atrocities parallel to U.S. objectives, they are supported and encouraged to continue these violent attacks and political instabilities. An example of a political leader who became a willing victim to U.S. government's design is Saddam Hussein, who used to be an asset for the U.S. government, where "Hussein could gas his own people, repress the population, and invade his neighbor (Iran) as long as he did it with U.S. approval."