Nope, while Kurds are in Northern Iraq, and controlled territory there thanks to the no-fly zone, they didn't control the area which held Al Ansar (Al Ansar did)
However, with the Kurds help we blew their base straight to hell.
It was later discovered that agents of Saddam's regime had loose ties with the organization. If I recall that was detailed in the 911 Report. Any organization that gave the Kurds grief were friends of Saddam.
Essentially, there was plenty of precedent and justification for going into Iraq...the failure of Saddam to live up to the armistice accords of GW1, the failure to observe UN resolutions (We now know why he did, contempt for the institution...Saddam knows the UN is corrupt.)
And the end of the day...this is a great "experiment in democracy", which American is well acquainted with. Sadly, many forget their history or understand why it is extremely important that we maintain our resolve.
Thanks for clearing that up. I'll keep that in mind from now on.
Essentially, there was plenty of precedent and justification for going into Iraq...the failure of Saddam to live up to the armistice accords of GW1, the failure to observe UN resolutions
Whatever other reasons may have justified the invasions, the thing about "UN resolutions" was most definitely not one of them. UN resolutions are not worth the paper they're printed on. We should never put our soldiers' lives on the line for their enforcement.