The issue has once again raised the question of the justification of the U.S. invasion.

In the process, defenders of the invasion are making big attacks on those who are critical of U.S. policies. Those persons are even questioning the patriotism of those now opposing the occupation.

Before the facts are lost in the charges and counter charges, it is apposite to recall some salient points.

In the first place we should note that since the end of the first Gulf War, Iraq was facing huge sanctions. Many in its vulnerable population were suffering greatly from those sanctions. Reports exist that show how devastating the effects were on children, old people and the poor. As a result of this, humanitarian voices in the U.S. and around the world pressured the administration to lift the sanctions. That caused the U.S. to allow Iraq to sell some oil to buy food and medicine.

True, the Iraqi regime did expel a team of weapons inspectors charging some as being spies for the U.S.

However, the sanctions continued including no-fly zones imposed on the Iraqi military. It is also important to recall that even before the Bush administration took office that a group was pushing the idea of invading Iraq. Reports in the U.S. press stated that then President Clinton was approached with such a plan. Many from that group were appointed to senior positions in the Bush administration.

The September 11, 2001 strikes on the U.S. by al Qaeda created the atmosphere in the U.S. for the invasion.

Dick Clark’s book entitled “Against all Enemies” stated that senior people in the administration knew that Iraq was not involved in al Qaeda or the September 11 attack on New York and Washington. However, it was an opportunity that some in the administration did not want to miss.

It is necessary to also note that the U.N. had sent in a team of specialists to search for “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” However, the U.S. administration was not prepared to allow Hans Blix’s team to continue their search. They forced them to leave and then invaded.

No such weapons were found.

Unfortunately, in the process, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have died in Iraq. The country has been driven to the brink of civil war.

Many persons have been critical of the Bush administration’s lack of an exit strategy. One wonders if anyone ever thought of an exit strategy before the war began, or was the intention from the beginning to permanently occupy Iraq? Is the talk of an exit strategy now being dictated by the resistance? These are questions that are still to be answered.

Many analysts in the U.S. and farther afield have been saying that the real reason behind the invasion was the desire to control the strategic oil reserves of Iraq. The charge of weapons of mass destruction was only a pretext that kept the real reason hidden.

The real solution lies in the need for the U.S. to withdraw the occupying forces and allow the Iraqi people to resolve their problems. The oil resources of Iraq must be left in the hands of a legitimate authority in Iraq to decide how it would be used and it should not be divided up by the invading countries.

Secondly, the U.S must become an honest broker in the whole Middle East situation. Their recent position in allowing Israel to bomb and invade Lebanon shows why the Arab populations in the Middle East cannot trust the U.S. Its support for Israel no matter if Israel is right or wrong has made it untrustworthy in that region.

Because of this and the enormous power of the USA the conflicts will continue so long as that bias for Israel remains unchanged.

It is not too late for the United States to use its considerable power and influence to really make peace and a better world.