Iraq War - Background to War & War Debate

Iraq War Background & Debate
U.S. Senate - Select Committee on Intelligence - Iraq Intelligence Reports

• Postwar Findings about Iraq's WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How they Compare with Prewar Assessments (September 8, 2006)
  No link between Saddam's government and al-Qaida.
  
• The Use by the Intelligence Community of Information Provided by the Iraqi National Congress (September 8, 2006)

CNN.com Special Report - Showdown: Iraq
Sections includes: Inspections ; Top Stories ; Friend or Foe ; Showdown: Iraq ;  Iraq ; Military ; Regime Change ; The Unfinished War.

• Text of Iraq Letter on Missiles (Feb. 28, 2003)
• Powell's Speech to the UN (Feb. 5, 2003) | Iraq Rebuttal
• Iraqi Weapons Declaration (Dec. 7, 2002)
  Links to documents submitted by Iraq.
  

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - IRAQ: A New Approach
Sections include: Carnegie Analysis ; Hearings on Iraq.

• The Bush Administration on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities
  August 2002. Prepared by Christina Andersson.
  

Al-Ahram Weekly - Special on Iraq
Coverage of the lead up to war.
Published in Cairo, Egypt.

American Academy of Arts & Sciences - Occasional Papers - (dead link)

• War with Iraq: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives (December 2002) [.pdf]
  "...finds that the political, military, and economic consequences of war with Iraq could be extremely costly to the United States."
  

The American Prospect (TAP) - TAP on Iraq - (dead link)

Arms Control Today
Published by the Arms Control Association

• Iraq-Niger Uranium Chronology
  "This chronology details the intelligence that the United States possessed on reported Iraqi attempts to obtain uranium from Africa, along with relevant administration statements."
  By Paul Kerr.
  
  

Atlantic Monthly

• Spies, Lies, and Weapons: What Went Wrong (January/February 2004)
  By Kenneth M. Pollack.
  
• Weapons of Misperception: An Interview With Kenneth M. Pollack (January/February 2004)

Brookings Institution

• The Power and Peril of High-Speed Warfare
  Iraq Series Briefing, March 20, 2003
  
• The Iraq Crisis: What Does the World Think About the Diplomatic Wrangling at the UN?
  Release of New Study on Arab Attitudes Toward War
  Iraq Series Briefing, March 13, 2003
  
  
• Merci for the French Correction
  The Washington Post, February 15, 2003
  By Justin Vaisse, Visiting Fellow, Center on the United States and France
  
  
• Iraq Confrontation Splits the Allies
  Iraq Series Briefing, February 13, 2003
  
• Expect Hussein To Target Oil Fields
  The Baltimore Sun, February 13, 2003
  By Shibley Telhami, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies
  
  
• A Time for War
  The Washington Post, February 5, 2003
  By Michael E. O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies
  
  
• The Dangers of Delaying an Attack on Iraq
  Financial Times, January 19, 2003
  By Michael E. O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies
  
  
• Iraq's Declaration on Weapons of Mass Destruction
  Brookings Press Briefing, December 12, 2002
  "Three Brookings experts and a former UN weapons inspector will discuss the release of the report and the implications for U.S. policy, and take questions from the audience."
  
  
• Foreign Policy Studies - Iraq - (dead link) [link not working February 2006]
  Sections include: Current Commentary ; Selected Readings ; Iraq Memos ; Middle East Policy ; Project on Terrorism ; Sanctions ; Internally Displaced Persons ; U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World.
  • Who Will Fight for Saddam?
    Iraq Memo #13, March 19, 2003
    By Amatzia Baram, Saban Center for Middle East Policy
    
    
  • Terrorism and the War with Iraq
    Iraq Memo #12, March 3, 2003
    By Daniel Byman
    
    
  • The Crisis in the Alliance
    Iraq Memo #11, February 24, 2003
    By Philip H. Gordon, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies
    
    
  • Saddam's Strategy on the Brink of War
    Iraq Memo #10, February 20, 2003
    By Amatzi Baram, Visiting Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy
    
    
  • Would Saddam Husayn Abdicate?
    Iraq Memo #9, February 4, 2003
    By Amatzia Baram, Visiting Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy
    
    
  • Facing Saddam's Child Soldiers
    Iraq Memo #8, January 14, 2003
    Peter W. Singer, John M. Olin Post-Doctoral Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies.
    
    
  • Sizing Up an Invasion of Iraq
    Iraq Memo #7, December 18, 2002
    By Kenneth M. Pollack, Senior Fellow and Director of Research, Saban Center for Middle East Policy
    
    
  
  

Carter Center

• Just War - Or A Just War?
  Op-Ed by Jimmy Carter
  New York Times, March 9, 2003
  
  

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

• Carnegie International Non-Proliferation 2002 Conference (November 2002)
  "...approximately 650 experts, journalists, scholars and officials from more than 20 different countries gathered in Washington DC for the 2002 Carnegie International Non-Proliferation Conference. Audio, video, transcripts and presentations are now available."
  Concurrent panels include: New Nuclear Powers in Asia ; Reshaping US-Russian Threat Reduction ; US Nuclear Policy ; An Uncertain Future for the Nuclear Testing Moratorium ; North Korea's Nuclear Challenge ; The Challenge of Iran ; Weapons in Space ; Nuclear Terror Threats ; Preventing the Misuse of Biotechnology ; Consequences of War with Iraq.
  
  

• Deadly Arsenals: Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction (June 2002)
  "...provides the most comprehensive assessment available on the dangers nations face today from weapons of mass destruction, and the successes and failures of international nonproliferation efforts."
  Available online: Chapter One: Global Trends ; Chapter Sixteen: Iraq.
  By Joseph Cirincione with Jon B. Wolfsthal and Miriam Rajkumar
  
  
  

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - IRAQ: A New Approach
Sections include: Carnegie Analysis ; Hearings on Iraq ;

• Iraq: What Next? (January 2003) [.pdf]
  "...describes in detail the status of inspections and Iraq's WMD capabilities. The report provides key data in a Q&A format, and analysis addressing intelligence sharing, site visits, inspectors' use of advanced technology, and a realistic timeframe for inspections."
  
• IRAQ: A New Approach: Coercive Inspections
  Special Carnegie Report, 5 September 2002
  "The papers in this collection grew out of discussions held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from late April to late July of this year [2002]. The discussions included top regional and military experts, former inspectors with dozens of man-years' experience in Iraq, and individuals with intimate knowledge of the diplomatic situation at the United Nations."
  
  

CBSNews.com - Showdown With Saddam

• Saddam Defiant On Missiles (February 24, 2003)
  "In an exclusive interview with CBS News' Dan Rather, Saddam Hussein denied his al-Samoud 2 missiles violated U.N. mandates and indicated he will resist demands to destroy them. He also challenged President Bush to a debate."
  

CNN.com Special Report - Showdown: Iraq
Sections includes: Inspections ; Top Stories ; Friend or Foe ; Showdown: Iraq ;  Iraq ; Military ; Regime Change ; The Unfinished War.

• Text of Iraq Letter on Missiles (Feb. 28, 2003)
• Powell's Speech to the UN (Feb. 5, 2003) | Iraq Rebuttal
• Iraqi Weapons Declaration (Dec. 7, 2002)
  Links to documents submitted by Iraq.
  

CNN.com - Larry King Live - Former President Clinton is Interviewed (February 06, 2003)
"Tonight, exclusive. Former President Bill Clinton here for the hour with lots to talk about: Iraq, the space shuttle tragedy, North Korea, his new foundation, AIDS and Black History Month."

Commonwealth Institute - Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA)

• War Report - Iraq War and Afghan Aftermath
  "Select articles, key documents, and analyses compiled and frequently updated..."
  
• First Strike Guidelines: The Case of Iraq (September 2002)
  Briefing Memo #25, By Charles Knight
  

Commonwealth Institute - QDR [Quadrennial Defense Review] Page
A Compendium of Online Resources about U.S. Defense Strategy, Force Planning, and Policy Reviews.

• Can Saddam Be Contained? History Says Yes (November 2002) [.pdf]
  John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, Cambridge, MA: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, International Security Program Occasional Paper, November 2002 (.pdf file).
  Posted on the Commonwealth Institute Website.
  
  

East Carolina University Library

• The War on Terrorism: Saddam & Iraq
  Sections include: News and Commentary ; Government Documents ; Political Background and Analysis ; Military and Strategic Issues ; Weapons of Mass Destruction ; Impact of Sanctions
  By David Durant, Joyner Library, East Carolina University
  
  

Foreign Affairs

• Intelligence, Policy, and the War in Iraq
  "Summary:  During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, writes the intelligence community's former senior analyst for the Middle East, the Bush administration disregarded the community's expertise, politicized the intelligence process, and selected unrepresentative raw intelligence to make its public case."
  By Paul R. Pillar, March/April 2006.
  
  

Friends General Conference of the Religious Society of Friends (FGC)
[The Quakers]

• Joint Statement in Response to Threat of War with Iraq - (dead link)
  From the General and Executive Secretaries of Five Quaker Organizations Ninth Month 24, 2002.
  

Global Policy Forum (GPF)
"We monitor global policy making at the United Nations"
"On the site, GPF has dozens of Publications on global policy issues, as well as thousands of pages of documents and data. The site is designed to be used by the general public as well as by students and specialists. GPF also provides many interviews to print and broadcast media and we respond to hundreds of inquiries from students and citizens."
Sections include: Financing for Development ; Sanctions ; Global Taxes ; Globalization ; Iraq Crisis ; Secretary General ; Tables and Charts ; International Justice.

• Iraq Crisis
  "This section provides coverage of the Iraq crisis, with special concentration on the period beginning in late 1998. It covers a broad range of issues, including sanctions, arms inspections, US-UK military threats, and international rivalry for control of Iraqís oil resources."
  

• Iraq Sanctions: Humanitarian Implications and Options for the Future (Policy Paper, August 2002)
• Threat of US War Against Iraq
  "By September, it had become clear that Washington was planning a full-scale invasion, as it won authorization from the US Congress and sought support from the United Nations Security Council. This section looks critically at US war threats and war plans."
  

GlobalSecurity.org - Target Iraq - (dead link)
Sections include: News & Analysis ; Military Options ; Attack? Pro and Con ; International Reaction ; Iraqi Military Power ; Links (US Government, Other Government, Anti-War, News, Iraq.
By John Pike

George Washington University - National Security Archives

• U.S. Army Identified 500 Alleged Iraqi War Criminals in 1992 (March 20, 2003)
  Report Released under FOIA is a Precursor to 2003 War Criminals Proceedings
  
• Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction (December 2002)
  Electronic Briefing Book No. 80
  Edited by Jeffrey Richelson
  "The documents presented in this electronic briefing book include the major unclassified U.S. and British assessments of Iraqi WMD programs, the reports of the IAEA and UNSCOM covering the final period prior to the 1998 expulsions, the transcript of a key speech by President George W. Bush, a recently released statement on U.S. policy towards combating WMD, and documents from the 1980s and 1990s concerning various aspects of Iraqi WMD activities."
  
  
  

Guardian Unlimited - The Observer

• Bush and Blair Made Secret Pact for Iraq War
  "Decision came nine days after 9/11."
  April 4, 2004 article by David Rose.
  
  

Human Rights Watch

• Background on Iraq and Possible War

• U.S. Plans for Iraq Tribunals "A Mistake" (Press Release, April 7, 2003)
• Considerations For the Management Of Oil in Iraq (April 2003)
• Iraq: Impending Inter-Ethnic Violence in Kirkuk (March 28, 2003)
• International Humanitarian Law Issues In A Potential War in Iraq

• An Occupying Power's Duty to Provide Security

• Justice for Iraq: A Human Rights Watch Policy Paper (December 2002)
  "As the possibility of armed conflict and a possible transition increases in Iraq, however, it is necessary to consider how such crimes should be brought to justice."
  
• U.S. Needs to Screen Iraqi Opposition Allies (November 2002)

Institute for Science and International Security
"Its efforts focus on stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, bringing about greater transparency of nuclear activities worldwide, and achieving deep reductions in nuclear arsenals. ISIS's projects integrate technical, scientific, and policy research in order to build a sound foundation for a wide variety of efforts to reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons to U.S. and international security."

Publications, Papers and Assessments (selected)

• ISIS Report: Aluminum Tubing Is an Indicator of an Iraqi Gas Centrifuge Program: But Is the Tubing Specifically for Centrifuges? (Sept. 23, 2002)
• ISIS Issue Brief Back to Basics: Achieving Effective Inspections in Iraq
  By David Albright and Corey Hinderstein (Sept. 16, 2002)
  
• Iraq's Efforts to Acquire Information about Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear-Related Technologies from the United States
  "by David Albright and Kevin O'Neill. This report, prepared for the Department of Energy, summarizes a draft report authored by, and transcripts of interviews with, former Iraqi scientist Khidhir Hamza. The ISIS summary report was the subject of an article in the New York Times, which appeared on March 22, 2000."
  
• Comparison of Drafts of Comprehensive Security Council Resolution on Iraq
  "by David Albright and Corey Hinderstein
  
• Nuclear Terrorism
  "...created this temporary web page as a resource of ISIS findings that may be relevant to an understanding of the threats and risks posed by nuclear terrorism."
  

Moscow Times

• Global Eye - Gangs of D.C.
  Op-Ed by Chris Floyd, March 7, 2003
  
• The Iraq Endgame
  Op-Ed by Vladimir Frolov, March 5, 2003
  

New York Times
Free registration required

• Blix Blames Politicians, Not Intelligence, for Iraq
  Op-Ed by Michael E. O'Hanlon, Brookings Institution, March 20, 2004.
  
• Military and Economic Trends in Postwar Iraq
  Op-Ed by Michael E. O'Hanlon, February 11, 2004.
  
• Ex-Inspector [David A. Kay] Says C.I.A. Missed Disarray in Iraqi Arms Program (January 26, 2004)
• The Right War for the Right Reasons
  O
  
• p-Ed by John McCain, March 12, 2003
• A Last Chance to Stop Iraq
  Op-Ed by Kenneth Pollack, February 21, 2003
  

Observatory of European Foreign Policy (Spain)
Sections include: Presentation ; Themes ; News ; Working Papers ; Library ; Activities ; Research ; Services.

• Special Iraq
  "Short papers on the position of the international actors before the conflict."
  

PBS - Frontline - Blair's War (April 2003)
"Tony Blair tried - and failed - to bridge the gap between the U.S. and Europe over Iraq. Now, having risked everything, will his political fate be decided by the battle for Baghdad?"
Sections include: The Prime Minister ; The Fractured Alliance ; The Liberal Divide ; The Failure of Diplomacy ; Interviews ; Readings & Links ; Tapes & Transcripts.

PBS - Frontline - Truth, War and Consequences (October 2003)
"As the Bush administration faces continuing questions about its failure to secure peace in Iraq, FRONTLINE takes an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at what some government officials say is the underlying cause of America's current problems in Iraq: the prewar political infighting among the Pentagon, State Department, and White House that hampered U.S. efforts to plan for an orderly postwar transition."
Sections include: Interview ; Why Did We Go to War ; What Went Wrong ; What's at Stake? ; Watch Online ; Discussion ; Links & Readings ; Teacher's Guide.

PBS - NOW - Focus on Iraq (March 2003)
With Bill Moyers
"As events in the White House, U.N. Security Council and on the ground in the Middle East unfold, time for reflection may seem short. Below are a series of interviews and features from NOW that focus on the prospect of war with Iraq. They address many issues and come from many points of view."

PBS - Online NewsHour - The Iraq War
Sections include: The Military Campaign ; The International Impact ; The Home Front ; The Humanitarian Situation ; Key Maps ; Key Players ; Media Watch ; For Students & Teachers ; Special Report: The Road to War ; PBS Coverage of Iraq.

PBS - Wide Angle - Saddam's Ultimate Solution
Web site to accompany TV broadcast
"Are Iraq's chemical and biological weapons attacks on Kurdistan part of a larger agenda of terror...Decide for yourself here."
Sections include: Introduction ; Photo Essay ; Interactive Map ; Info-Graphic ; Classroom Connection ; Resources.

Peace - See our separate Peace Studies: No Iraq War page.

Project for the New American Century (PNAC)
"...is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle; and that too few political leaders today are making the case for global leadership...It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America's role in the world."

["The founding members included Vice-President Dick Cheney; Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Paul Wolfowitz of the Defence Department; Richard Perle, head of the defence advisory board; Louis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff; John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control; and Elliot Cohen of the defence policy board." - From CBC News Online - (dead link), March 17, 2003]

• Iraq / Middle East

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Iraq Revisited (October 2002)
"P-I foreign desk editor Larry Johnson and photographer Paul Kitagaki Jr. spent two weeks in Iraq to report on the mood and conditions as the country is under threat of attack from the United States. They are among only a handful of Western journalists reporting from Iraq."
Includes: Special Reports ; Photo Gallery ; Background.

Seattle Times - On the Brink: Understanding the U.S.-Iraq Conflict (January 2003)
Sections include: The Issues ; The Current Crisis ; Two Decades of Turmoil ; Allies & Exiles ; Timeline ; Photo Gallery ; Discussion Guide ; Reader Comments.

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

• Iraq and Arms Control
  A SIPRI Archive
  "This SIPRI Internet page presents a chronological collection of excerpts from SIPRIís published research findings on Iraq. Most of the material is from the annual editions of the SIPRI Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security. Links are provided to the full text of each document from which the excerpts were taken."
  
  

TheStranger.com (Seattle)

• Relevant Contradictions (February 27, 2003)
  In Defense of Humor, Irony, Satire, and a Native American Perspective on the Coming War on Iraq
  By Sherman Alexie
  
  

Time Magazine - 6 Reasons Why So Many Allies Want Bush to Slow Down
February 3, 2003 cover story.
By Johanna McGeary

Time Magazine - The French Resistance
February 24, 2003 cover story.
By James Graff

TIME Magazine - Should We Attack Iraq?
September 16, 2002 cover story.
Sections include: Convincing the Country ; The Evidence ; Preparing for Urban Warfare ; Getting Allies on Board ; The Alternative ; Unfinished Family Business.

Times Online - The Sunday Times

• The Leaked Iraq War Documents
  "The level of interest in the now famous Downing Street Memo, published in the May 1 edition of The Sunday Times, and in the leaked documents published over subsequent weeks, has been extraordinary...This new web page is designed to give our readers access to all the stories we have written about three highly classified documents on the Iraq war that were leaked to The Sunday Times ahead of the British General Election on May 5, 2005."
  The three documents: Downing Street Memo ; Iraq: Conditions for Military Action ; Foreign Office Legal Advice.
  
  

TrapRock Peace Center

• Claims and Evaluations of Iraq's Proscribed Weapons
  "This reference file is an inventory and critical analysis of the claims made about the weapons and programmes that Iraq is proscribed from having under the terms of Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), paragraphs 10 and 12: that is, nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as well as ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150km."
  By Glen Rangwala
  
  

United Nations - See our UN - Iraq Resources

United States - See our US Government - Iraq Resources

United Kingdom

• 10 Downing Street
  Prime Minister Blair
  

• Legal Basis for Use of Force Against Iraq (17/03/2003)
• PM outlines vision for Iraq and the Iraqi people (17/03/2003)
• Recent Speeches and Statements by the PM on Iraq

• Foreign and Commonwealth Office

• Policy Iraq
  Sections include: Dossiers ; The Iraqi Threat ; Iraq's Obligations ; The Iraqi ; Regime's Choice ; UNSCR 1441 ; Oil for Food ; Human Rights Abuses ; Northern Iraq ; Iraqi Opposition ; No-Fly Zones ; Myths & Facts ; Links.
  

University of Buffalo Libraries - Iraq Crisis
Sections include: Background Reports ; Blogs ; Casualty Lists ; Depleted Uranium ; International Law ; Librarians' Weblographies ; Military Info ; News Sources ; Anti-War ; Post-War Iraq ; Think Tanks ; United Nations ; U.S. Government.
By Karen Spencer

University of Michigan Documents Center - Iraq War Debate
Sections in include: Books & Articles ; Threat Assessments ; Containment Strategies ; Military Issues ; War ; Projected Political Aftermath of War ; United States Occupation  ; Transitional Government ; Saddam Hussein Capture ; Interest Groups ; Primary Players ; Related Web Pages.

University of Notre Dame - Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies

• Disarming Iraq: Nonmilitary Strategies and Options (September 2002)
  By David Cortright and George A. Lopez, Arms Control Today
  
• Policy Report- Sanctions, Inspection, and Containment- Viable Policy Options in Iraq (May 2002)
  By David Cortright, Alistair Miller and George A. Lopez.
  

Washingtonpost.com - The Debate About Iraq
Sections include: Latest Columns and Letters ; President Bush's Case ; Weapons of Mass Destruction ; War on Terrorism ; Role of Congress ; United Nations ; Do Allies Matter ; The Costs ; Alternatives.

• A Course of 'Confident Action' (November 2002)
  "Bush Says Other Countries Will Follow Assertive U.S. in War on Terrorism"
  "This report is adapted from an interview for the book, 'Bush at War,' an inside account of the debate within the Bush administration that led to U.S. military action in Afghanistan and the decision to confront Iraqi President Saddam Hussein."
  By Bob Woodward
  
  
  

• Homepage for Z Magazine
  "A Community of People Committed to Social Change"
  

• Chomsky on Iraq