There were plans developed by Wolfowitz to take over Iraq dating back to 1997. He advocated a very agressive pre-emptive strategy that was focused on removing Saddam from power. He had no luck convincing Clinton to adopt the plan so he had to wait for the Bush administration. Their plan involved reforming the Middle East through transforming Iraq into a free-market globalized economy. They thought it would be a gradual process unless there were "some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor."
For more read here http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/DailyNews/pnac_030310.html
Fast forward to september 11th 2001. We are attacked by Al Qaeda 2 days later Wolfowitz begins discussions with the president about attacking Iraq.
We went to Afghanastan (something the entire world supported because the ties to 9/11 were clear). While we were there wolfowitz and Rumsfeld were planning the Iraq war.
But why delay going to Iraq you may ask... White House chief of staff Andrew Card told The New York Times ``From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August.'' http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/09/12/schneider.iraq/
So we rollout our new product and it is based on WMDs, but the world isn't buying at the UN security council so we decide to go in anyway and we kick some serious ass. Fucking crushed Saddam. What's next for the Iraqi people? Democracy and freedom? Well maybe.... You see the Neocon's have a plan for that as well.
The neocons all belive in the gospel of Milton Friedman who hasn't ever seen an economy that couldn't use less regulation. Well what better place to test free-market theory out than Iraq. It is a virual Tabula Rasa! A perfect laboratory for proving that free-markets are the best markets.
Unfortunately Jay Garner (the original coallition leader of Iraq who did an amazing job in helping the Kurds form a democracy in N. Iraq http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/04/07/timep.governor.tm/) doesn't want to go along with their paln and his recommendations for elections in 90 days get him promptly fired from the post and the job is handed over to Paul Bremmer. http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=320&row=1
Bremmer quickly privatizes all industries creates a flat tax system, and opens up the borders for bidding and investment from around the world. http://www.harpers.org/BaghdadYearZero.html
Unfortunately things don't go as planned. All of those govt. workers who got fired to be replaced by private industry are mad and they start a revolution....which is getting worse each day.
Based on these events it is my belief that the Bush administration declared war on Iraq in an attempt to reshape the Middle East for a variety of economic and secuirty reasons. It had very little to do with WMD's, terrorism, or helping the people of Iraq.
You may believe that this is a good reason to go to war. I have friends who do. I personally don't think that it is worth 1000+ american allied lives, 10,000 injured and 30,000+ Iraqi lives. In addition I am VERY disturbed by the fact that the President was not honest in his explanations about the reasons for going to war, and continues to mislead the public to this date.
Don't kid yourself about the reasons for the war. It is pretty clear why we went and if you are OK with that then Bush is your man.