The single most important decision a president of a country can take is to go to war. Because the decision to go to war is so crucial, it should only be taken if there is no alternative and there is no doubt about the validity of the reasons for going to war.
George W. Bush took the decision to take the United States to war on Iraq. The reasons given for this decision were that there were stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that Iraq had long-established ties with Al–Qaeda.
Before the 2004 US presidential elections, the chief U.S. arms inspector in Iraq officially reported that Iraq did not possess stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction at the time of the US invasion in March 2003. The report also said that Iraq’s WMD program was essentially destroyed in 1991.
And, also before the 2004 US presidential elections, the September 11th commission reported that it found “no collaborative relationship” between Iraq and Al–Qaeda.
This means that the most important and crucial decision George W. Bush has taken during his first term in office, taking his country to war, was based on false assumptions.
A president who takes his country to war on false assumptions should not be rewarded by being re–elected, but should be held accountable for being dead wrong.