how many reasons did Bush give for invading Iraq?
A senior honors thesis at the University of Illinois, “Uncovering the Rationales for the War on Iraq,” details the 27 different reasons the Bush administration gave for invading Iraq. As the university describes, student Devon Largio:
not only identified the rationales offered for going to war, but also established when they emerged and who promoted them. She also charted the appearance of critical keywords such as Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Iraq to trace the administration’s shift in interest from the al Qaeda leader to the Iraqi despot, and the news media’s response to that shift.
It’s a long study, 212 pages, but it’s excellent work. As her professor, Scott Althaus, observed:
“It is first-rate research…the best senior thesis I have ever seen – thoroughly documented and elaborately detailed. Her methodology is first-rate.”
(Here are links to the abstract and TOC, the executive summary, and the thesis.)