Bloomington Herald-Times, June 11, 2008
To the Editor:
I supported the invasion of Iraq and have defended the invasion and occupation in the five years since. I have come to the conclusion that I was wrong. As I explained in my October 15, 2005 letter to the editor, Saddam Hussein presented a threat, but Congressman John Hostettler was right when he said that Hussein did not present an imminent threat that justified an invasion.
We made a mistake (an understatement) with a pre-emptive invasion of a country that had not attacked us. Five years later, this war is looking like a quagmire. That President Bush has poorly handled the occupation has not helped matters. Bush has displayed weakness and encouraged terrorism by not eliminating war criminal and mass murderer Moqtada al-Sadr.
I do not believe that President Bush "lied" about weapons of mass destruction. We simply had faulty intelligence, and it was known that Hussein had ambitions of acquiring WMD. I believe the President's intentions were honorable and his desire to protect this nation is genuine. But it is time for our leaders to recognize this war was a bad idea (another understatement) and seek a quick and orderly withdrawal while also ensuring the stability of Iraq.
Scott Tibbs
