On this date 10 years ago (the evening March 19, 2003, here in the USA) the invasion of Iraq began. At that time I supported the war. I was not alone. A Gallup Poll taken right after the war started showed 76% of Americans supported the war.

The Great Falls (MT) Tribune is asking their readers this morning, “Was the Iraq War a mistake?” The answer to that question is really pretty simple: It was a mistake. 10 years ago most folks believed it was the right thing to do because almost everyone believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and they feared he would use them.

It’s OK to Monday morning quarterback the Iraq War to prevent us from repeating those mistakes.

It seemed almost everywhere we looked back then someone was beating the war drum to take out Saddam Hussein – both Democrats and Republicans – and it became a slippery slope. Around 40 governments participated (in some capacity) in the Iraq War.

For some reason the checks and balances that normally strangle our government (and other governments) failed. It’s interesting to watch some of the news networks today playing clips of politicians from both parties saying in 2003 that we needed to take Saddam Hussein out.  Continue reading →