Prior to the Iraq War, the United States accused Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction and having links with al-Qaeda. In 1991, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 was adopted and subsequent UN weapons inspectors were inside Iraq. This period also saw low-level hostilities between Iraq and the United States-led coalition from 1991–2003.
In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the dominant U.S. foreign policy view towards Iraq was one of containment. However, during the 1990s, the view, most prominently advocated by neoconservatives, that the threat of Saddam Hussein's regime could only be addressed through regime change and democratization became more salient. After the 9/11 attacks, a foreign policy consensus formed in favor of regime change.[1]
- ^ Stieb, Joseph (2021). The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108974219. ISBN 978-1-108-83824-5. S2CID 241342080.