Those responsible for the attacks, while Powell’s U.N. presentation relied on intelligence later shown to be wrong. (9/11 Commission)
The Iraq War remains one of the most consequential tragedies arising from the aftermath of 9/11. George W. Bush and his administration presented Saddam Hussein’s Iraq as a grave threat because of alleged Weapons Of Mass Destruction, while repeatedly linking Iraq in the public debate to terrorism.
Yet the 9/11 Commission found no evidence that Iraq was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. In fact, Colin Powell told the Commission that Paul Wolfowitz had argued for attacking Iraq, but could not justify the claim that Iraq was behind 9/11. (9/11 Commission)
In February 2003, Colin Powell presented intelligence to the United Nations asserting that Iraq possessed and could produce Weapons Of Mass Destruction. The intelligence later proved substantially wrong. Powell himself acknowledged that some of the information he presented was inaccurate. (Office of the Historian)
The consequences were enormous. The invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, unleashed devastating violence and instability, and contributed to conditions in which extremist organizations could flourish. The abuses at Abu Ghraib further damaged America’s credibility and raised profound questions about accountability.
The central lesson should be unmistakable: intelligence must be rigorously tested, public claims must be truthful, and the decision to wage war must never be based on assumptions presented as established facts.
Twenty-three years later, Americans still deserve a full accounting of how these decisions were made—and what was learned from the catastrophic consequences.
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