WHY DID the U.S. invade and occupy Iraq? There have been a lot of reasons advanced, from rooting out weapons of mass destruction to freeing an oppressed people from tyranny, to bringing democracy to the Middle East. They are excuses designed to mask American imperialism’s real aims in Iraq, aims that were so well described even before the invasion began by Jay Bookman, deputy editorial page editor of
the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

The official story on Iraq has never made sense. The connection that the Bush administration has tried to draw between Iraq and al-Qaida has always seemed contrived and artificial. In fact, it was hard to believe that smart people in the Bush administration would start a major war based on such flimsy evidence.

The pieces just didn't fit. Something else had to be going on; something was missing.

…As it turns out, this is not really about Iraq. It is not about weapons of mass destruction, or terrorism, or Saddam, or U.N. resolutions.

This war… is intended to mark the official emergence of the United States as a full-fledged global empire, seizing sole responsibility and authority as planetary policeman. It would be the culmination of a plan 10 years or more in the making, carried out by those who believe the United States must seize the opportunity for global domination, even if it means becoming the "American imperialists" that our enemies always claimed we were.

Once that is understood, other mysteries solve themselves. For example, why does the administration seem unconcerned about an exit strategy from Iraq once Saddam is toppled?

Because we won't be leaving. Having conquered Iraq, the United States will create permanent military bases in that country from which to dominate the Middle East, including neighboring Iran.

Source: “The President’s Real Goal in Iraq, “ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 29, 2002.