Gabbard, the first Hindu American to be elected to the House of Representatives, criticised the US attack on Iraq as a ‘disastrous decision’ that resulted in the death of thousands of American soldiers and the emergence of Jihadist groups. “This disastrous decision led to the deaths of tens of thousands of American soldiers, millions of people in the Middle East, mass migration, destabilisation, undermining of the security and stability of our European allies, the rise of ISIS, strengthening of Al-Qaeda and other Islamist-Jihadist groups and strengthening Iran”, she added.
Iraq invasion was a 'disastrous decision' — Tulsi Gabbard who lists off the consequences:
— RT (@RT_com) January 30, 2025
— Deaths of MILLIONS of people
— Destabilization of European security
— Rise of ISIS
— Strengthening of Iran https://t.co/lmgj8WclGG pic.twitter.com/aQv3i6Hi5h
Gabbard, a former Democrat, was nominated by Donald Trump as the Director of National Intelligence, overseeing US intelligence agencies including the CIA and the FBI.
The US narrative of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and the Iraq war
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, the Bush administration announced an all-out attack at the global level against terrorism. The Iraq war was part of the broader campaign against terrorism called the Global War on Terrorism. On March 19, 2003, a US-led coalition of countries including Australia, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland and Britain on Iraq on the pretext of the use of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ by the Saddam Hussein regime against his neighbours and the people of Iraq. The war went on from 2003 to 2011.
The Iraq invasion was not an overnight decision but the culmination of a series of occurrences. The Saddam Hussein regime was accused of violating the Gulf War Settlement between Iraq and the US which included the imposition of a cease-fire, sanctions, reparations and weapons inspections on Iraq. Baghdad had allegedly refused to allow access granted to the US under the Settlement. The CIA sought UN intervention in the violation of the Gulf War Settlement by Iraq by acquisition of ‘weapons of mass destruction’. Failing to receive a mandate from the UN to invade Iraq to ‘disarm’ it, the US-led coalition launched an attack on Baghdad.
Colin Powell and the glass vial
In the events leading up to the ultimate action, one pivotal moment that stood out was when the US Secretary of State Colin Powell made a case for the invasion of Iraq in his speech before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The picture of Powell, who famously opposed the US intervention against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, holding a vial in his hand in the UNSC became a historic visual. On 5th February 2003, as the US was preparing to invade Iraq, Powell sat before the UNSC explaining how the content of the vial could be anthrax that Iraq for the invasion of Iraq. Powell claimed that the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq was using chemical weapons against its neighbours. “Sadam Hussein has chemical weapons. Saddam Hussein has used such weapons. And Saddam Hussein has no compunction about using them again- against his neighbours, and against his own people, ” Powell claimed before the UNSC. He said that his every statement was backed by ‘solid sources’.
A month after Powell’s speech before the UNSC, the Bush administration ordered strikes over Baghdad. It marked the beginning of a military operation entitled ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ that lasted for about a decade in the name of ‘freeing the people of Iraq and saving the world from grave danger’ as claimed by then-US President George W Bush.
Notably, no weapons of mass destruction were found during the UN inspections of more than 70 sites preceding the US invasion. Moreover, the US military also could not find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
