Abstract
As of November 2005 the American public is becoming increasingly preoccupied with
an important reason for going to war in Iraq : the existence of weapons of mass destruction
(W.M.D.’s). The failure to find them, and evidence that intelligence was « cherry picked » by
the Bush administration, has cast doubt on the principal legal justification for intervention. It
can be argued, however, that W.M.D.’s had little to do with the « real reasons » for going to
war. When one looks as Bush’s rhetoric, he cites a higher calling for going to war,
purportedly on instruction from God himself. It has become almost a cliché to say that Bush’s
policies seem « faith based ». The intervention in Iraq, however, seems to give new meaning
to “faith-based” for several reasons.
First, the Bush administration stated that weapons of mass destruction would be found,
despite the paucity of fresh evidence to support this. It seems increasingly obvious that there
was a leap of faith that the weapons were being developed, and this was used to convince
congressmen to adopt the resolution giving Bush the authority to wage war.
The second would be the notion that the Iraqis would endure sanctions, bombings, and
military occupation, and then willingly accept an American blueprint for redesigning the Iraqi
polity. The Bush administration seemed to think that American magnanimity would
compensate for a nation ravaged, and seemingly dismissed or did not consider the possibility
of a long-term insurgency.
Third, a Democratic Iraq would inspire other Middle Eastern nations to democratize. If
one applies the democratic peace theory, which holds that democratic states do not wage war
on each other, such a Middle East would eventually reduce the need for American
intervention and lessen the threat to Israel. This notion is central to the neo-conservative
movement.
Finally, Bush suggests that God supports American policy in the Middle East. Looking
through Bush’s speeches, notably his inaugural speech of 2005, one cannot escape the
perception that he believes that he is doing God’s work in trying to spread freedom and
eradicate tyranny.
This paper will further explore the role of faith of these four founding assumptions of
the war in Iraq. It will seek to show that during the decision-making process, this quasi-
religious logic has taken precedence over a realistic assessment of the threats posed by a long-
term occupation of Iraq and its implications throughout the broader Middle East. The paper
will finish by considering the implications of basing foreign policy on such grounds.
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Convention