Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. liberation of the Iraqi people, began four years ago. As predicted by senior military planners, the attack only lasted seven days. With the destruction of the ruthless regime of Saddam Hussein, the Middle East grew to appreciate the United States. Truly, we were greeted as liberators. The destruction of Saddam Hussein’s regime was not without difficulty, however. With Al-Qaeda assistance, he had been able to smuggle in yellowcake uranium and use it to develop his weapons of mass destruction. His newly created nuclear device was then placed inside one of his ICBMs purchased from the Russian mob. The ICBM had previously avoided notice as it was housed within one of Saddam’s many presidential palaces.
If Hussein had allowed B-2 bombers to conduct surveillance operations over his country, we would have seen the ICBM before it was too late. Proof of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction almost came in the form of a mushroom cloud over New York. The Russian ICBM was capable of reaching the eastern coast of the United States within thirty minutes.
Although Bush acted honorably, giving Saddam Hussein two days to leave Iraq before the invasion began; Saddam Hussein instead used that time to prepare his nuclear device and to insure his soldiers’ biological and chemical weapon readiness.
The Shock and Awe campaign was designed to intimidate the Iraqi military while causing few civilian casualties. This goal was accomplished despite launching 1700 bombs on Bagdad, a city of 7 million. Unfortunately, the two days were enough time for Saddam Hussein to prepare.
The ICBM had been launched and was heading towards New York just as the opening hours of Shock and Awe began. Fortunately, the Bush Administration had prepared for that contingency. The Star Wars missile defense system had just been completed two weeks before. The ICBM was shot down just miles from its target, the former World Trade Center, in New York City.
Some of the Iraqi Republican Guard (not to be confused with Republicans) fled with various chemical, biological, and nuclear weapon materials. Those who fled into Saudi Arabia were quickly arrested by our allies in the War on Terror, the Saudi royal family. Intelligence and satellite imagery shows that some of the biological warfare trucks exposed by Colin Powell instead drove north into Iran.
Those trucks have not yet been recovered. The rest of the material, with the exception of the ICBM, was well hidden, so much so that weapons inspector, ElBaradei, was unable to find it before the war. Fortunately, Republican Senator S******m noticed some patterns in old CIA intelligence reports that lead to the discovery of massive chemical weapons stockpiles. The stockpiles were seized and stored away before they could be stolen by Bathist Al-Qaeda members.
Following the defeat of the Iraqi Republican Guard (not Republicans), Saddam Hussein could not be found. So filled with joy and rage, the Iraqi people decided to destroy his statue anyway, just as American news cameras happened to be there to capture the moment. Many Iraqis had hidden American flags during Saddam’s rule and unveiled them following his fall; we were greeted as liberators and showered with flowers.
Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi George Washington, worked with the United States to help establish the Iraqi democracy and constitution. After it was established, he served with distinction as its first prime minister. The 363 tons of cash that disappeared were used in secret government projects to spread democracy throughout the region, especially in Iran.
Not everything was peaceful in Iraq. The remains of the Bathist Al-Qaeda party were upset at the new freedoms seen in Iraq and devised a plan to ruin the new country. Pretending to be Sunni rebels, they destroyed the Shiite mosque in Samarra. Some Shiites reacted violently, but the majority showed restraint and waited for justice to come to the evil doers and for the police to do their job.
Rumors of Shiite death squads wearing police uniforms executing Sunni leaders were found to be untrue. Bathist Al-Qaeda members had instead stolen police uniforms and worn them while executing other Sunni Muslims, a failed attempt to stir up more controversy and sectarian violence.
Al-Qaeda, weakened from the American victory in Iraq, tried to reinforce their position there by sending in more soldiers and terrorists. In addition to bombing, Al-Qaeda added a new trick to their arsenal – non-lateral warfare. Al-Qaeda members would be willingly captured and sent to prison. While there, after sustaining a few fraternity-style jokes, they would whine and complain, attempting to hurt the U.S. resolve. Other members of Al-Qaeda found a missing storage sight of deadly chlorine gas and began using it to poison good Iraqis.
Despite these setbacks, the insurgency of terrorists is truly in its last throws. If we had to describe Operation Enduring Freedom in two words, those words would be “Mission Accomplished.