Invasion of Iraq was one of the worst mistakes that were made by Bush administration. It was a mistake that cost Republicans return to power after being in the office for two terms. Invasion of Iraq was sanctioned by President George Bush after the September 11 attack but critics argue that Bush planned to invade Iran long before the September 11 attack. Invasion of Iraq was purely based on lies that had been spread by the Bush Administration alleging that Iraq was harboring weapons of mass destruction.  President Bush convinced Americans that they were not safe with Saddam Hussein in power and therefore he proclaimed himself a messiah who would use military might to bring down Saddam Hussein and make it safe for Americans. However, critics points out that there were other reasons why Bush invaded Iraq on ground of harboring weapons of mass destruction. It was a well calculated move coming only after the September 11 attack and after the war on terror had been started (Schuler). Primarily, Bush pointed out at three main reasons for invading Iran. First, it was the weapons of mass destruction. Second it was the war on terror where he argued that Iran was harboring terror groups (Bakhtiar). Third, it was the desire of Americans to spread democracy in the Middle East and this would begin by toppling Saddam Hussein.  Analysis of the three strategic reasons reveals that none of them has ever been achieved and the whole plan has flopped. Years after the war started no evidence that links Iraq with production of weapons of mass destruction have been found. The world is still not safe from threat of terrorism and in the course of war in Iraq, Britain was attacked in 2007. Instead of bringing democracy to Iran, this invasion led to death of thousands of people and Iran is still engulfed in conflict. Critical assessment of these three points of attack and their outcome reveal that the invasion of Iraq was a misplaced idea as it did not bring out the desire results.

U.S invasion of Iraq was a unilateral decision that was made by United States. Under the guise of fighting terrorism, President Bush convinced a number of developed nations that they were at risk of terror attack and invading countries like Iraq that harbored terror groups was a major step in fighting terrorism (George). Analysts have argued that President Bush hind under the guise of global war on terror in order to accomplish his long held vendetta against Iraq. He seemed to be determined to complete what his father, George Bush senior, started. Analysts also argue Bush knew that American forces were enough to topple Saddam Hussein but he had to get international support for his idea to be supported.

The first main reason why Bush decided to attack Iran was that it was harboring weapons of mass destruction. It is to be noted that claim of production of weapons of mass destruction in Iran can be traced back to 1990s during the Gulf war. However, during this war, the international community, including the Arab countries, was willing for a regime change in Iran in order to bring peace and stability to the world.  President Bush insisted that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction despite Iraq agreeing to cooperate with the international community in order to inspect its sites. However, the plan to attack Iraq was opposed by the international community. It was evident that attacking Iraq was against rule of international law which required formal application of peace process before a military action was taken. Under the international law, global governance bodies are the only ones which are given power to invade countries using military attack but this should be done on a humanitarian ground. Iraq was a sovereign nation that had been recognized by the international community and attacking a sovereign country amounts to breaking of international law (The University of Tulsa). In addition, Iraq had already agreed to abide by UNSC resoltuoin1441 and also allowed UN inspectors to assess if in reality the country was making weapons of mass destruction (The University of Tulsa). Therefore, the first reason why United States should not have invaded Iraq was because it violated international law and undermined the authority conferred on bodies like United Nations, which U.S has supported right from the time it was created. However, years after the war started, still now weapons of mass destruction have been found. United States government has found it hard to prove to Americans that in realty Iraq was a threat to their life. The international community has also condemned Untied States and her allies that there were weapons of mass destruction. President Bush was to acknowledge that it was a mistake they through Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. During an inquiry in Britain about Iraq war, former Prime Minister Tony Blair argued that they had been convinced that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction but they have never  found evidence to prove that (Cusick).

The second reason why Iraq was invaded was that it was a safe for terrorist groups. Immediately after the September 11 attack, President Bush launched a multibillion anti terror campaign that was meant to eradicate terrorism in the face of the world. Analysts point out that instead of tactical plans to fight terror, United States government decided to use force and intimidation but it has not produced the desired results. It was presumed that due to the unruly and high handedness and anti-Americanism in Iraq, it was a safe ground for terrorist and they could use it to set up large scale attacks to the rest o the world. In his letter to the congress justifying the attack on Iran, President Bush argued that "further diplomacy would be a waste of time..." (Sparkle) and that United States was  "continuing 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" (Sparkle). These two statements clearly show that Bush was convinced that Iraq was assisting terrorist organizations that carried out September 11 attacks.  While it was evident that the world was facing a major threat from terrorism and it was necessary to force regimes supporting those groups to change their ways, this did not approve a military attack. The main target for war on terror was to dismantle terror group network which had bases on countries like Iraq. Although there was a high probability that Iraq was serving as a center of operation for terrorist groups, this did not guarantee President Bush to take unilateral decision and attack the country. He should have used the right channels through international organizations. Years after Saddam Hussein was toppled, United States has not eradicated terrorism from the country.  There are many terror groups which are attacking the citizens. This means that American citizens became important that Iraq citizens who are killed en mass during terror attack. United States and her allies have not defeated terrorism even after attacking Iraq. This means that invading Iraq on ground of harboring terror groups was a misplaced idea that should never have taken place.

The most obvious reason that would have been supported by majority of Americans why United States had to attack Iraq was for regime change (Bakhtiar).