The United States believed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction which posed a great threat at the hands of the dictatorial leader Saddam Hussein. It also believed that terrorists were supported and even harbored by the country. So, to remove the dictator from power and to get rid of any weapons and eliminate or drive out terrorists were the main objectives behind the attack on Iraq.
Explanation:
The rationale behind the motive to invade and attack Iraq was to primarily end the regime of the dictatorial leader Saddam Hussein. Other purposes were to end the harboring of terrorists in the land and eliminate any weapons of mass destruction that Iraq was believed to be in possession of.
The attack on Iraq by the United States in 2003 was based on US's beliefs that the Arab nation has disobeyed the demands of the United Nations and had harbored and supported terrorists. Moreover, the need to eliminate the dictator Saddam Hussein and establish a democratic government and provide peace to the Iraq people also became the main objective behind the invasion. The US also believed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction which can act as a huge threat to the overall safety of everyone around the world. So, the need to identify, isolate and destroy such weapons before they are actually put into use also led to the attack. US military continued to stay in Iraq till 2011 after which all troops were withdrawn.
