War in Iraq is about preventing the next 911. The President has never been anything but crystal clear about that.
I think he's been fairly clear on it. His supporters have been much less clear. There is no connection between Iraq and 9-11. Iraq War is not an answer or response to 9-11. The President frames his messianic Wilsonism freedom march as a strategic response to the post 9-11 world. I understand his point. But many many people, including the poster on post #2, seem confused by that. Al Qaida attacked us on 9-11, not Iraq.
"War in Iraq is about preventing the next 911. The President has never been anything but crystal clear about that."
Yet every single terrorism expert since the next big attack is inevitable.
But 9/11 is not needed to justify Bush's response to Hussein's war.
Frankly, Bush could have simply announced on the day he took office that the US was going to unilaterally invade Iraq to end the regime, and he would have been justified.
There was only one war--Iraq invaded Kuwait. The limited nature of the coalition's response to that invasion was contigent upon Iraq's compliance with the ceasefire. Iraq repeatedly violated that ceasfire. The coalition then responded definitively.
Everything else is about the politics within the coalition, not about the justification of US & coalition actions.