Iraq became an independent kingdom in 1933, have the destruction of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Proclaimed a republic in 1958, the country has in actuality been ruled by various tyrants and military strongmen since. Iraq is 432,072 square miles, approximately twice the size of Idaho (CIA World Factbook 2002 - Iraq). With a population of about 24 million people and a GDP of $59 billion (debt of $140 billion), Iraq is a relatively small country. The current 'president' is Saddam Hussein, who originally rose to power in 1979 through a coup in which the Ba'ath Party (Arab Socialist Renaissance Party) overthrew the government of General Abdul Arif (Iraq 12/01). During his twenty-year term, Saddam has engaged in many atrocities and human right violations. He has oppressed and massacred Iraq's native Kurdish population in the north and native Shia popula

tion in the south, which represent 20 percent and 60 percent of the population respectively (Pollack, 61). During Iraq's eight-year war with Iran, Saddam used chemical and biological weapons against his enemy, including a massive chemical weapons attack against the city of Halajaba that killed several thousand civilians (Iraq 12/1). In 1981 fourteen Israeli warplanes entered Iraq airspace undetected and blew-up Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor, the key to Saddam's nuclear weapons program, setting his nuclear program back a few years (Pollack, 17). In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and was quickly counter-attacked by a U.S. led coalition. Though the coalition forces attempted to locate and destroy Saddam's weapons of mass destruction facilities, Israel's attack ten years earlier had scared Saddam into hiding redundant facilities all over Iraq. In an attempt to keep Saddam under control, the United Nations passed several resolutions that created sanctions and inhibited Iraq's actions.

Though the United States had previously supported Iraq against Iran and as part of the Soviet containment policy, the first Bush administration eventually came to realize that Saddam was too much of a threat to their vision of peace and interests in the Middle East. The administration, and every administration thereafter, was divided into two camps comprising of the 'hawks' and 'doves'. The doves preferred a policy of determent or containment, as the believed that Saddam was a rational leader and that there were more important problems in the world. The hawks, on the other hand, believed that the least they could do was to institute a regime change, while the extremists felt the need to a war. The doves were the predominate group in Bush's and Clinton's administrations, as well as George W. Bush's administration before September 11.

With the possibility of containment eroding due to blatant disregard for UN sanctions by even members of the P5, the only passive option would be deterrence. Deterrence assumes that the country that is to be deterred has rational leadership, which Iraq does not. Saddam Hussein has proven time and time again that his

Some common words found in the essay are:
Saddam Hussein, Security Council, Iraq's Osiraq, War Debate, France Russia, Arif Iraq, Deception Defiance, Middle East, Defiance Iraq, Iran Saddam, saddam hussein, iraq able, security council, iraq country, un resolution, country analysis, iraq country analysis, country analysis brief, analysis brief, weapons mass destruction, bush administration, recent un, humanitarian supplies, un security council, decade deception defiance,
Approximate Word count = 1455
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)