For over 20 years Saddam Hussein terrorized the Iraqi people and his neighbors. He had hundreds of thousands of people killed, tortured, raped, and beheaded. Saddam had as many as 100,000 Kurds in northern Iraq killed using chemical agents, mustard gas and nerve agents. After the Gulf War, Hussein ordered 250,000 Shia killed during uprisings; they were primarily in the south. UN sanctions included an oil-for-food program that made food and medicine available to Iraqis. However, during this time over 400,000 children under the age of five died from malnutrition and disease. Saddam’s regime prevented the Iraqis from getting the food and medicine. After the invasion of Iraq, coalition forces discovered warehouses filled with food intended for the Iraqi people.

The UN continued to be concerned about Iraq’s disarmament. Iraq continued to refuse UN inspectors access to areas where weapons might be made or stored. The UN Security Council pressed the issue with Iraq and in late 2002 Iraq agreed to new inspections. The UN inspections did not find any weapons of mass destruction, WMD, but the inspectors were not given unfettered opportunity to inspect all arsenals.

The United States was convinced Iraq had reconstituted their WMD programs. President Bush addressed the United Nations on September 12, 2002 demanding Iraq meet certain conditions to avoid military action against them:

• Immediately and unconditionally forswear, disclose, and remove or destroy all weapons of mass destruction, long-range missiles, and all related material.
• End all support for terrorism and act to suppress it.