Alexander Downer, the Australian foreign minister from 1996-2007, recently penned an article on The Diplomat, an international relations news site focusing on the Asian-Pacific region, about why the United States was just in its invasion of Iraq in 2003. It's a fairly interesting read, mainly because he voices an opinion that is widely disputed by the majority of the world. For the majority of people, the only justification for going to war with the Iraqi regime was the WMD issue, however this is hardly the case. Hussein committed multiple human rights violations, breached numerous UN laws, and worked with terrorists (though not A.Q.). More than enough justification for forcefully revoking Iraqi sovereignty. Granted, that doesn't mean I agree with the invasion. I feel as if our interests were not benefited from the invasion. I mean, we have the justification to invade dozens of countries, but do we? No, because we only have limited resources to be allocated for actions that serve to benefit us. Anyways, it's a good read nonetheless. There is one thing I'd like to highlight: [quote]The fall of Saddam's dictatorship sent a clear message to the world: extreme cruelty coupled with bellicose threats to neighbors won't be appeased. Since those fateful days in 2003, several dictatorships in the Arab world have gone: in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen as well as Iraq.[/quote] There are a lot of I.R. scholars who think that the Arab Spring wouldn't have occurred without the Iraq War. [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21752819]Iraq War 10 Years On: In Numbers[/url]* *Provided by Lonepaul2441