The Ultimate ‘What If’: A World Where America Never Invaded Iraq

Counterfactuals are fun, and I’ll offer a laundry list of my own after this starter that illustrates that George Bush was not the sole President concerned about Iraq WMD. This quote is from Wikipedia reference about 4-day Operation Desert Fox in December 1998:

Clinton administration officials said the aim of the mission was to “degrade” Iraq’s ability to manufacture and use weapons of mass destruction, not to eliminate it. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was asked about the distinction while the operation was going on:[6]

“I don’t think we’re pretending that we can get everything, so this is – I think – we are being very honest about what our ability is. We are lessening, degrading his ability to use this. The weapons of mass destruction are the threat of the future. I think the president explained very clearly to the American people that this is the threat of the 21st century. […] [W]hat it means is that we know we can’t get everything, but degrading is the right word.”

The main targets of the bombing included weapons research and development installations, air defense systems, weapon and supply depots, and the barracks and command headquarters of Saddam’s elite Republican Guard. Also, one of Saddam’s lavish presidential palaces came under attack. Iraqi air defense batteries, unable to target the American and British jets, began to blanket the sky with near random bursts of flak fire. The air strikes continued unabated however, and cruise missile barrages launched by naval vessels added to the bombs dropped by the planes. By the fourth night, most of the specified targets had been damaged or destroyed and the Operation was deemed a success and the air strikes ended.

Robert Farley is a big Navy advocate so this piece is no surprise. One might note from the same Wikipedia that in two days in December 1998, B-52s launched 90 air-launched cruise missiles no doubt from the same stand-off that could be used against China instead of using new penetrating LRS-Bs and exquisite UCLASS aircraft. Naval ships launched 325 land-attack cruise missiles, as well. Tactical aircraft bombed also. We also should note that Bill Clinton bombed and/or used cruise-missiles against Iraq two other times in 1993 and 1996 with another Operation Infinite Reach occurring in August 1998 against Sudan and Afghanistan with the latter being possibly a “Wag the Dog” situation since impeachment proceedings were occurring over Monica Lewinsky.