Outside Reading #3, A History of the World Since 9/11

The fourth chapter is titled Groupthink 7075-T6. Last year we learned about Groupthink during U.S. History. Groupthink is when a group of political leaders, who all share a common goal, get together and make poor decisions because there is no mediation or opposing force to weigh the pros and cons of a certain situation. The chapter mentions two quotes from American political leaders.

"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction" - Dick Cheney, August 2002

"Fuck Saddam. We're taking him out." - George W. Bush, March 2002

The two most powerful leaders in our nation were convinced that the United States needed to enter Iraq and take down Saddam Hussein. In my previous post about A History of the World Since 9/11 I talked about how the United States had strayed away from its original plan when it first entered Iraq. I believe that the United States straying away from its original plan was a result of Groupthink.  The United States first entered Iraq and Afghanistan to hunt down those who were responsible for 9/11, and to serve justice. But after entering Iraq it seems that the United States realized that not only was the Taliban a threat to America, but so were nations like a Iraq that were ruled by tyrants like Saddam, and that Saddam could be supporting these terrorist groups, which caused the American battle plan to shift. The American government became a victim or groupthink because our leaders were so focused on bringing justice to those responsible for 9/11, and they used Saddam as a way to ease the American public, but they didn't think about the consequences that come with groupthink.