The Iraq War: How Lies, Oil, and Empire Cost a Million Lives

On March 20, 2003, the United States launched an illegal war of aggression against Iraq based on lies.

There were no weapons of mass destruction. There was no connection to 9/11. There was no imminent threat.

There was oil. There was empire. There was profit.

And there were over one million Iraqi deaths.

Twenty years later, not a single architect of this war crime has been held accountable. Instead, they write memoirs, get paid for TV appearances, and are rehabilitated as respectable elder statesmen.

This is the story they don't want told.

The Lies That Launched a War

Lie #1: Iraq Has Weapons of Mass Destruction

What They Said:

• Colin Powell at the UN: "Iraq has weapons of mass destruction"
• Dick Cheney: "There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction"
• George W. Bush: "The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons"

The Truth: Iraq had zero WMDs. UN weapons inspectors, led by Hans Blix, repeatedly said they found no evidence of WMD programs. The Bush administration ignored them, fabricated intelligence, and invaded anyway.

The famous "yellow cake uranium" claim? Forged documents. The mobile biological weapons labs? Fabrications based on a source codenamed "Curveball" that the CIA knew was unreliable. The aluminum tubes supposedly for enriching uranium? Regular artillery rockets.

Every. Single. Claim. Was. False.

Lie #2: Iraq Was Connected to 9/11

What They Said: Bush administration officials relentlessly linked Iraq to al-Qaeda and 9/11, despite having zero evidence.

The Truth: The 9/11 Commission found no collaborative relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda. Saddam Hussein's secular Ba'athist regime and Osama bin Laden's religious extremism were ideologically opposed.

But the propaganda worked. By 2003, 70% of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was personally involved in 9/11. A lie, manufactured through repetition.

Lie #3: We're Bringing Freedom and Democracy

What They Said:

• Bush: "We will bring freedom to Iraq"
• Rumsfeld: "We will be greeted as liberators"
• Cheney: "The war will last weeks, not months"

The Truth: The U.S. brought death, destruction, and chaos. The war lasted 8 years and destabilized the entire region. Iraq became a failed state plagued by sectarian violence, corruption, and continued U.S. occupation.

"Democracy" meant installing a puppet government that served U.S. corporate interests while Iraqi civilians died by the hundreds of thousands.

The Real Reasons: Oil and Empire

Oil

Iraq has the fifth-largest proven oil reserves in the world. Dick Cheney, former CEO of Halliburton (an oil services company), led the charge to war. Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell all secured contracts for Iraqi oil fields after the invasion.

As Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman, admitted in his memoir: "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."

Empire

The Project for a New American Century (PNAC), a neoconservative think tank, published a report in 2000 calling for regime change in Iraq to establish U.S. dominance in the Middle East. Key signatories? Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz—all later Bush administration officials.

The goal was never democracy. It was securing U.S. hegemony and protecting Israel's regional dominance.

Military-Industrial Complex Profits

War is business. And business was booming:

• Halliburton (Cheney's company): $39.5 billion in Iraq contracts
• KBR (Halliburton subsidiary): $32 billion
• Blackwater (mercenary company): $1 billion+
• Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon: Billions in weapons sales

As journalist Glenn Greenwald documented in The Intercept: "The Iraq War wasn't a failure for everyone. For defense contractors, oil companies, and security firms, it was wildly successful. They made fortunes while Iraqis and Americans died."

The Human Cost: Over 1 Million Dead

Estimates of Iraqi deaths vary, but even conservative counts are staggering:

• Iraq Body Count: 200,000+ documented violent civilian deaths
• Lancet Study (2006): 655,000 excess deaths
• Opinion Research Business (2007): 1.2 million deaths
• Physicians for Social Responsibility (2015): Over 1 million deaths when including indirect deaths from infrastructure destruction

Who Died?

• Civilians killed in bombings
• Children who died from lack of medical care after hospitals were destroyed
• Families who died from cholera because water treatment plants were bombed
• People killed by sectarian militias armed by U.S. occupation
• Those who died from malnutrition, disease, and lack of electricity

American Casualties

• 4,491 U.S. soldiers killed
• 32,000+ wounded
• Thousands more suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and Gulf War Syndrome
• Working-class kids sent to die for oil company profits

War Crimes and Torture

The Iraq War wasn't just illegal—it was criminal.

Abu Ghraib

In 2004, photographs revealed U.S. soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison:

• Sexual humiliation
• Electric shocks
• Attack dogs
• Beatings
• Mock executions

This wasn't "a few bad apples." Torture was official U.S. policy, authorized at the highest levels.

Fallujah

In November 2004, U.S. forces laid siege to Fallujah, a city of 300,000. They:

• Used white phosphorus (chemical weapons) on civilians
• Killed an estimated 4,000-6,000 civilians
• Destroyed 60% of buildings
• Created a public health catastrophe with birth defects and cancer rates spiking due to depleted uranium ammunition

Haditha Massacre

In 2005, U.S. Marines murdered 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha, including women and children, in retaliation for a roadside bomb. Only one Marine received any punishment: a reduction in rank.

Nisour Square Massacre

In 2007, Blackwater mercenaries opened fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square, killing 17 people including children. Trump pardoned the perpetrators in 2020.

The Media's Role: Manufacturing Consent

The Iraq War couldn't have happened without media complicity.

New York Times

Judith Miller's front-page stories about Iraq's alleged WMDs were pure propaganda, sourcing claims from Iraqi exiles with ties to U.S. intelligence. The Times later admitted the reporting was flawed, but only after the war had started.

Cable News

CNN, MSNBC, Fox News all acted as cheerleaders for war:

• Uncritically repeating administration claims
• Hosting retired generals with financial ties to defense contractors
• Marginalizing or firing anti-war voices (Phil Donahue's show cancelled for opposing war)
• Creating graphics like "Countdown to War" that treated invasion as inevitable entertainment

Punishing Dissent

Journalists and celebrities who opposed the war faced consequences:

• The Dixie Chicks blacklisted for criticizing Bush
• Bill Maher's show cancelled for saying 9/11 hijackers weren't "cowards"
• Reporters who questioned WMD claims sidelined from coverage

As Noam Chomsky documented: "The media's role isn't to inform the public—it's to manufacture consent for elite agendas. The Iraq War coverage was a textbook example."

No Accountability, Just Rehabilitation

Not one person has been held accountable for the Iraq War:

• George W. Bush: Paints pictures, gets praised by liberals for being "friends" with Michelle Obama
• Dick Cheney: Writes books, gives interviews, daughter Liz becomes Democratic hero for opposing Trump
• Colin Powell: Rehabilitated as "respectable statesman" before his death
• Condoleezza Rice: CBS hired her as a commentator
• Tony Blair: Still given platforms, made millions as "Middle East peace envoy"
• Judith Miller: Still gets journalism gigs despite facilitating war propaganda

Meanwhile, Chelsea Manning was imprisoned for exposing war crimes. Julian Assange faces extradition and life in prison for publishing evidence of U.S. atrocities.

The message is clear: you can lie to launch illegal wars that kill millions and face no consequences. But expose those crimes, and the full force of the law comes down on you.

Iraq Today: A Destroyed Nation

Twenty years later, Iraq remains devastated:

• Ongoing violence from ISIS and sectarian militias
• Massive corruption in the U.S.-installed government
• Destroyed infrastructure: Electricity, water, healthcare systems still broken
• Brain drain: Professionals fled the country
• Environmental catastrophe: Depleted uranium contamination, oil spills
• Continued U.S. presence: Military bases and corporate control of oil

The "democracy" we brought looks like a failed state under continued occupation.

The Pattern: Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen...

Iraq wasn't an aberration. It's the template:

1. Fabricate or exaggerate a threat
2. Use media to manufacture consent
3. Invoke "humanitarian" justifications
4. Launch war for resources and empire
5. Destroy the country
6. Extract profits
7. Leave chaos
8. Face zero accountability
9. Repeat

Afghanistan (20 years, trillions spent, Taliban back in power). Libya (destroyed state, open slave markets). Syria (proxy war, half a million dead). Yemen (worst humanitarian crisis, U.S.-backed Saudi genocide).

The military-industrial complex isn't broken. It's working exactly as designed.

What We Can Learn

The Iraq War teaches us:

1. Never trust the government's war justifications—they will lie
2. Media manufactures consent—think critically, seek alternative sources
3. War is about profit—follow the money
4. The military-industrial complex is real—Eisenhower warned us
5. Accountability doesn't exist for elites—the system protects itself
6. Anti-imperialism is essential—U.S. empire creates suffering globally

Oppose the Next War Before It Starts

The same playbook is being prepared for:

• Iran (decades of threats and sanctions)
• China (new "yellow peril" propaganda)
• Russia (proxy war in Ukraine)

The lies will be different. The justifications will sound noble. The media will manufacture consent.

Don't fall for it again.

Every war is sold as necessary, defensive, humanitarian. Every war is actually about power, profit, and empire.

Remember Iraq. Remember the lies. Remember the million dead.

And organize to prevent it from happening again.

Sources & Further Reading

• The Intercept: Iraq War Anniversary Coverage - 20-year retrospective
• Democracy Now!: Iraq War Timeline - Comprehensive archive
• Al Jazeera: Iraq War's Lasting Impact - Middle East perspective
• The Guardian: Iraq Death Toll - Mortality studies
• Costs of War Project (Brown University) - Academic research
• Book: "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein - Disaster capitalism
• Book: "Dirty Wars" by Jeremy Scahill - U.S. global war on terror
• Film: "No End in Sight" (2007) - Documentary on occupation failures

Never forget. Never forgive. Never again.