The Conservative Revolution 329believe that the action of the Iraqi dictator proved he had hidden
WMD and therefore had violated the UN resolution. In February
2003 , Secretary of State Powell spoke before the UN and argued the
case for war. But France, Russia, and Germany opposed any such ac-
tion and the UN refused to sanction the U.S. demand. Frustrated but
still determined to take action, Bush went ahead and signaled the start
of a U.S/British assault on March 19 to topple Hussein. He asserted
the claim that the United States “has the sovereign authority to use
force in assuring its own national security.” He argued that the invasion
was linked to the continuing war against terrorism.
The invasion of Iraq proved to be one of the most disastrous foreign
policy mistakes ever committed by the United States. A relatively small,
high-tech force was employed; no plans had been devised about occu-
pying the country; and no plans had been worked out as to how and
when American forces would be withdrawn.
The actual war proceeded rapidly. A co ali tion of armed forces from
a number of European countries, including Spain, Italy, Poland, and
several other nations, was formed. About 150 , 000 American troops
based in Kuwait, along with a smaller British force, swept northward
and overwhelmed the Iraqi army, which melted away. Hussein disap-
peared, the major cities were captured, and looting by the native popu-
lation began immediately. A nearly total breakdown of essential services
like water and electricity resulted, and Iraq headed toward civil war
between Sunni Muslims who had ruled the country with Hussein and
Shiite Muslims who represented the majority of the people in Iraq. On
May 1 , 2003 , Bush flew to the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and
standing under a banner that read “Mission Accomplished,” he an-
nounced to cheering sailors and a live television audience of millions
that the war against Iraq had been successfully ended.
Nothing could have been farther from the truth. To be sure, it was
not a war that the United States had fought before against enemy
armies. This was a war of random car bombings, kidnappings, mortar
attacks, and guerrilla opposition to what was seen by many Iraqis as an
occupation army, not a liberating force. The Bush administration had
been warned that it would take a much larger army than the one pro-
vided to subdue the country and restore law and order. But under the
mistaken belief of Secretary Rumsfeld that his so-called high-tech